Fascists: “We reject your reality and substitute our own!”

Oops, you’re right! Got them mixed up. Clearly it’s been too long since I’ve watched Next Gen.

Hey, I like Alexander! And Lwaxana Troi. And the episode that they both star in where we get to see Data in drag.

It’s fascinating how authoritarians demand respect, but throw fits over such petty symbols. “Our DIVINELY chosen, absolutely perfect leader’s own son was killed while DEFINITELY NOT cooking with eggs. How dare ANY true citizen take pride in making such a VULGAR dish?! Egg fried rice shakes the very foundations of our flawless, unshakable regime!”

West has been confirmed ‘whelmed’ by the intense slamming

Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead. It’s a free, classic-style roguelike that has a massive amount of options. The game takes place in the near-future following an apocalyptic event that has turned most people into zombies. There’s also Lovecraftian horrors, Fallout-esque military installations guarded by robots, the ability to be a furry (like, with a full costume. Or you can get mutagens and transform yourself into an animal hybrid.), vehicle and structure building, and you can even milk cows. It’s updated daily if you want to play the latest test builds, or you can stay with the latest stable build. There are various overhaul mods and loads of single-feature mods. It’s one of my all-time favorite games, and I tend to go back to it every few months.

I don’t have much experience with JRPGs. What’s the gameplay like? Action or strategy, or something of a hybrid? Are they hard to get started with? I see Ys Nordic just released back in September. Would that be a good starting point, or would I be confused from missing prior games in the series?

It warms my heart just a little to see crooks robbing crooks.

I dunno, if a government cares enough to look into this then the corpos might get some VERY sharp slaps on their wrists.

Fascinating! Thank you for this contribution and sourcing further reading material. I just read a bit into the Remington / Sandy Hook lawsuit you mentioned. Despite many opinions posted here suggesting that it’s impossible and/or unethical to blame the manufacturers, there’s a clear case of a civil court recognizing such damages.

I apologize if I am coming across in poor faith. I do not intend to argue, but to understand. I appreciate your discussion, and I hope we both learn more about other people’s beliefs.

I will note that I made no proposal of anything. Holding manufacturers accountable doesn’t necessarily mean we’d need to eliminate their ability to make and sell guns. I’m not even sure what making them accountable could, or would, look like. I was more curious as to what people thought about the idea of reviewing the responsibility of the use of guns to include those who make them.

At the moment, I read news articles everyday about the misuse of firearms. Children shooting each other. Criminals murdering people. Ignorant, though innocent, people playing with guns and accidentally killing others. In all cases, I see arguments of who to blame. I’ve always been confused why the manufacturers are never considered as a party worthy of blame. I was curious why that was the case, and the many answers throughout this thread have been very enlightening. If nothing else, this issue is clearly far more complicated than I first anticipated.

I think my hangup on the issue is a matter of intention and primary purpose. A car’s primary purpose is to transport. A screwdrivers primary purpose is to affix screws. A computer has a wide, unspecified set of applications such that there is no implied purpose outside of personal or economic enrichment. I do not believe that the manufacturers of these products should be held accountable for their products misuse.

However, I’m quite concerned about firearms being used for their primary purpose: killing people. To the manufacturers and legislators credit, as someone else mentioned in this thread, there are at least meticulous safety standards to greatly limit the likelihood of guns killing people OUTSIDE of the users’ intended targets.

I would argue that it’s currently impossible, or at least extremely difficult, to remove the civilian firearms from the United States. If I had a magic spell that could make all the guns vanish at once, I’d cast it in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, there are so many firearms already in the US that it’d be absurd to expect all (or even most) people to voluntarily surrender them. The situation is made all the worse because of a minority of criminals and capitalists who would no doubt seek to profit off of a seizure or surrender scheme.

Hope, then, seems to lie with focusing on a healthier, happier future. An America where less people are forced into crime, and where profit for profit’s sake is frowned upon, sounds ideal.

I tentatively agree with you. You mention how this would be difficult and messy in our present legal system, and I guess I’m trying to consider what an alternative legal system might do to address the problem of gun violence without the “mess.” In a “cleaner” legal landscape, it might be desirable to nip the problem in the bud (restrict manufacturing), but we have the system we have and we need to work within it, I guess.

I think all of the points you make are fair. Seeing your, and other, responses is making me realize that this issue is far more complicated then just accountability. It seems there are a massive amount of economic, political, and cultural ideologies in play. Hopefully, one day, these ideologies can be joined into an agreement that reduces the violence we see today.

That’s a very fair point. Ideally, firearms shouldn’t be sold to those who would use them illegally in the first place.

I have no opinion on you owning a firearm, or using it for any purpose outside of the topic question. I think it’s great that you and many people can use guns for fun and as a hobby.

My question is specifically about the accountability of the manufacturers for the use of their guns as weapons in crimes.

“That’s his eager face.”

“Come and burn some books, Petal!”

Now just have to get through the workday first!