And yet again were are here, again.... again..... again.... damn it

2nd week, 2nd school shooting. How in 2015 is this still acceptable in the USA? History, self narratives, libertarian ideal, and rapid technological change. We as a country have not kept pace with many of the root causes. This makes dealing with any of them progressively harder.

hey I wrote about something relevant 3 years ago.

http://caffeinatedlemurblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/context-its-kinda-important.html

anyhoo

History.

    The 2nd amendment doesn't mean what you probably think it means. Or at least it didn't at the time of it's writing. The founding fathers didn't think of themselves as "Americans." They thought of themselves as Englishmen in America. The Bill of Rights was mostly meant to codify rights they thought they had traditionally under English common law. As such land owning males (aka voters aka writers of the laws) had kept firearms since the fall of knights. For various reasons.

    How do we know this? Well they were very clear about it in the Federalist Papers. The letters and pamphlets used to sell the Bill of Rights. These discussions included why they were written and what they meant to the authors.

   Something proponents of gun control point out is that there was a need for well organized and trained militias. This was for a few reasons. 1) The newly formed collection of states was afraid of England returning in force to reclaim their territory. 2) The founders of the federal government were afraid of a national military becoming a tool of oppression by those in power. As had just happened against them. Sort of. This is also why the 3rd amendment exists. To prevent the same actions the British had taken from being used in the future by an oppressive American government. 3) At the time of founding the federal government had no mechanism or desire to raise the funds to pay for a standing army.

   As the revolution had been won on the backs of average people with hunting and sporting equipment like the Kentucky Rifle (not mentioning the mercenaries and outside nations wanting to stick it to the English Empire and expand their influence in the Western Hemisphere.) The American Revolutionary War was one of the first documented cases of practical sniping of high value targets, as riflemen would aim for commanders and cannoneers. This was unheard of at the time, and we would 200 years later come to resent other groups doing the same to us.

   The idea of keeping these same men trained, and ready to be called upon to defend the State, or Nation was one of the main thrusts of the original 2nd Amendment. Don't need to pay them, they aren't a standing army, and they would self arm. Win, win, and win.

   This would change after more states entered the union, the push to expand ever westward, the War of 1812, and of course the idea that a nation might not be taken seriously until a standing army was available to respond to incidents. Fun (awkward fact) until after the American Civil War, internationally the USA was seen as a very minor power, and considered not a military threat. Only the logistics of trans-Atlantic supply lines really kept people from seriously considering an invasion. Well that and the lucrative trade fighting between states. Huh trade fighting between states? That happens today. Other rant, other time.

Technology:

    Want to know the main technological difference as far as this debate goes between an old muzzle loader like the muskets and rifles (ignoring the whole percussion cap/flint lock issue) used during the revolution and the breech loading weapons that replaced them? Ease of use and rate of fire. A skilled, top tier shooter with the Kentucky Rifle hope to get 2 rounds a minute, perhaps more with some tricks of the trade, and with out careful aiming. The M1819 Hall Rifle which became America's first breech loading rifle and saw use during the American Civil War using a cartridge could fire 8-9 times a minute with much less training, and less need to stand up to load powder. That is a massive difference. It would take four highly trained Kentucky Riflemen to place as much lead in the air as one averagely trained soldier with an M1819 Hall Rifle.

    Not to mention now we are not talking musket balls, we are talking more aerodynamic slugs, that have ridges to grab the rifling. These slugs are also designed to be expanded into the chamber by the explosive force; allowing for a better seal in the rifle for a higher velocity. 1 soldier, 4 times the fire rate, effective range increasing from 200 yards to 1000 yards. How do you foresee that? A weapon system evolving so much in such a short time, that the context of it's use becomes so different between people a single generation later? The difference between a B17 Flying Fortress and a B2 Spirit? Faster, larger payload, harder to hit?

    Now single shot weapons are not the only player on the field. Dr Richard Gatling developed a practical repeating rifle, and one of the first deployed machine guns as we define them today. While not a perfect design (plagued with misfires, feed jams, and poor maintenance leading to gear issues) the same basic design would 115 years later scare the crap out of the USSR when electrified and put into the air. The Gatling Gun was capable of 200 rounds a minute. While taking a crew of 4 to operate, that would out pace almost any marching formation. Gatling designed it hoping to shrink the size of standing armies, and to make war futile by making storming a Gatling Gun defended position impossible. Something Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim would think again when he designs and sells the Maxim Machine Gun to multiple world armies. As does Alfred Nobel think when he give the world dynamite. Alfred Nobel was so scarred about what his invention did to Europe in WWI that he started the Nobel Prize to help reward attempts at peace and science for sciences sake.

    In a pattern that is to be repeat time and time again, the new weapons simply cause high casualties at first under the old tactics and strategies. Then as battlefields adapt, usage and counter usage advances, casualty rates drop, but remain higher than before the new technology. By WWII we have as a species developed automatic handguns, rifles, sub-machine guns, and battle field flame throwers.

   Again, with no way to foresee any of these in the time of the writing of the 2nd Amendment. Not quite convinced that the technology has far surpassed the original use of the text? Let us mention ammunition. We have already touched upon the difference between a musket ball and a civil war slug. Now let us talk about current options.

   How cruel/task specific do you want to get? Hunting, hollow point, or soft lead gotcha covered. Need to penetrate cover, or armor? Metal jacketed, or metal cored Armor Piercing rounds will punch through quite a bit. Add some Teflon coating on top and those weaved protections are now less viable. Short range? Replace a shotgun slug or shot with a flechette charge. Now you have a high velocity hard to remove shrapnel. Want to wound without killing, or maybe start a fire? Magnesium and Phosphorus rounds have you covered there. Oh, some of these not legal in your area? Do you have access to an ammunition press, a 3D printer, and or some power tools you can get at the local hardware store? Whelp so much for that.

Also yes, we now live in a world were you can 3D print a gun.

Here I was going to go on about gun culture, how it has evolved from, novelty of inventors, and monks. It later becomes a hunting weapon and status symbol of the rich. Later becoming the survival and imperial tool of explorers and conquerors. Then slowly becoming the answer to all conflicts, to have the better gun, to use the gun better, quicker, and smarter.

I then realized I am at 1400 words already. Then I wanted to talk about America's love of Libertarian ideals in the sense that the right to swing my fist stops at your nose. As long as it doesn't affect you what I do is my business (mostly, except bedrooms, doctors, and perhaps, childcare.) Then again 1400 words. I was really gonna go into the data of other countries and cultures. How America used to blatantly steal the best ideas around (what I call the post Commodore Perry Japan.)

You get the point.

I was gonna make a pretty bibliography, and insert proper citations everywhere. I mean EVERYWHERE.

I am tired. Tired of writing this again. Tired of talking about this again. Tired of feeling like a reasonable person, willing to listen, learn, and approach an obvious problem pragmatically in hopes of finding a better day tomorrow than today.

And that is why things don't change. This conversation is not easy, it takes buy in. It takes time, energy and the willingness to listen to all concerns. That is a finite resource in a human. Literally a finite resource. There is only so much energy someone can output before wearing out.

At this point I wanted to go into my growing up post Kip Kinkle, in Oregon. Being the weird white kid, that some people labeled “dangerous.” And how I have no way of putting myself in the shoes of a kid who isn't white today, who may be labeled a terrorist, and knows they are more in danger of someone else shooting the school then a terrorist bombing the school. Also, white people who shoot schools are terrorists. By definition.

See again I am tired.

So once again I post my impotent rage, into the void, safe knowing no one will read this far. Knowing as much as I want this conversation I cannot maintain the energy required. And that part of the fault for the continued culture of gun violence in my country is my laziness and failure to be proactive.

/end rant

I am sorry NFL, but after 32 years... I think I have to say we are over

     So again it has been awhile.  This blog was literally in mothballs as I was using the space as a staging area for an other project.  It is now 1:24am and I can't sleep because this is something I need to get out long form to get my ideas to coalesce.  So I have restored this blog to it's previous state and here we are going into another sleep deprived rambling self exlporation....

(aka pompous pontificating)

     I have written about this before.  I grew up in a sports fan household.  Specifically I grew up in a San Fransisco 49ers fan's house.  My dad and grandad are both life long 49ers fans being from San Fran themselves.  During my dad's childhood the 49ers were historically not a very good team.  By the time he had moved up to Oregon Bill Walsh had come to the organization and they were winning.  So my earliest sports memories are of the Joe Montana lead 49ers beating the Bengals in the Supebowl (for the 2nd time.)

     I remember rooting for Joe Montana, and Jerry Rice.  Watching Roger Craig run and catch out of the backfield, and watching Ronny Lott lay the hit on receivers across the league.   I still remember my friends dad taking us up to the Kingdome to watch the Raiders take on the Seahawks when they had Warren Moon.  My friends dad was a huge Raiders fan, so watching Moon set a passing record and beat the Raiders made for an ugly drive home.  I remember being devastated as a kid as Joe Montana eventually went to the Chiefs and never being a Steve Young fan.

     This was Sunday, and Monday evenings.  My dad and I and then later my younger brothers as well would spend the days watching the games,.  We would be yelling at the calls, screaming at the refs, and cringing at the losses.  This is what I remember as something that brought us all together.  Eventually my youngest brothers would play peewee football, and one of them would even play Varsity High School football.  He was no starter, something he is now thankful for, but again football was always present.

     My dad has also been doing fantasy football for over 25 years.  He is part of one of those old school rotisserie leagues.  He used to have to compile the numbers by hand each weak on yellow legal pads on Wednesdays after the stats were finalized.  They now use a Yahoo league, except they still do it by hand for the play offs because no online league does playoff weeks the way they do.  So I also used to play fantasy football.  I remember the years were Trent Green with the Chiefs was the number 1 fantasy scoring QB for 3 years straight.

     So this is really hard to say.

     NFL, we are done.  I am not going to watch you anymore.  I am not going to wear your shirts anymore.  I will not buy your products as gifts.  I will not listen to your podcasts.  I will not watch your DVDs on the Superbowls.  I am done.  This is a decision I have been fighting with over the last 3 years or so.  There is no one thing that is making me come to this.  This is a cumulative decision that can no longer be pushed back any further. 

    There are so many factors, I don't know where to start.  So let us start with the explayers.  The NFL does not take care of veteran and explayers.  In fact the league often goes to lengths to prevent players who have visibly severe symptoms from their wear and tear disappear from public view.  There is no medical coverage for players hurt during the games, let alone practice, work outs, or any other phase of the NFL year.

     Let us talk about those injuries.  The research is coming in.  Brain damage from football starts young.  Peewee football young.  Advanced Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) has been found in High School football players (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/league-of-denial/) .  This is something the league has known about for at least a decade.  In fact they resisted new more advanced helmets being issued to players out of fear it could be seen as an admission that the older helmets were not good enough.  Which is terrible reasoning both legal and health.

     We are better at rebuilding knees and shoulders, but Concussion Syndrome is not something you get over.  There are players who cant get the cushy TV job because they lights literally blind them and cause them such severe headaches they are unable to function.  That is not to mention the depression, the self medication, and the lack of support.  This is not something that goes away.
Jim McMahon was so beat up after his NFL career he had to have a hole drilled in his head to relieve the pressure on his brain from the swelling.

     Then while that is going on a body never really heals from those physical injuries, it only mends them enough to hold back together.  They stay with you.  Many veteran players have difficulty just walking with out pain.  NFL linemen who spent their whole careers unhealthily overweight may suffer even more with metabolic and cardiovascular issues.

     So here is something funny.  Did you know that each team and the league itself are all registered as not for profits?  They don't really pay much of taxes because the US Congress exempted them.  This is a multi billion dollar industry that is listed as a nonprofit.  Teams regularly hold cities and municipalities hostage for hundreds of millions of dollars of tax payer money to build new stadiums or improve facilities.  Yet they pay very little directly back and collect the profits themselves.

     For nonprofits they are run very much like a business, like a brand.  Players illegal gets hidden from those who would cause discipline because "the loss of that player would make us less competitive."  So what if he beats is wife, he is a 1000 yard back and we need him.  So what if he beats his kid, he is a league MVP and we need him to sell tickets (http://deadspin.com/ex-nfl-exec-says-teams-covered-up-hundreds-of-domesti-1644517506) 

     This is a sport that uses and discards people as quick as it can, hides its dirty laundry how ever it can.  And we haven't even gotten to the racial aspect of this yet.  Or the way the lack of pressure from the NFL keeps the NCAA from facing real reform needed, and hurts the NFL itself in my opinion as it gets less polished players in the draft.  Or how about the NFL's need to expand beyond North America but with no player base to do it?  Or about Direct TV's Sunday Ticket deal which is shady.  Then there is Thursday night football which is just terrible.  This list just keeps growing.

    And that is why I am done.  I know Sunday my Dad and brothers will gather around the TV and watch the games together, and complain when their fantasy players don't make the play.  But I won't join them.  The NFL won't miss me.  It will make its billions of dollars, and keep ticking just fine.  I will miss it.  But I can't be a piece of the support anymore.

So long NFL, thanks for 32 years.