Do all gun and knife forums have such LITERAL viewers?

L

Lavan

Joined
Nov 8, 2000
Messages
2,301
I think we would have a war if there were no smilies.

Satire gets lost very easily on these venues.

:D :) ;)
 
Without knowing any specific posts you are referring to, I can say this (of my own literal opinion).

Gun and knife types tend to be practical people. Some of us view the world the way it is, not the way we wish is would be. This is why we need guns and knives, tools for survival in a world where the inhabitants and nature are not always cooperative.

So, taking someones words somewhat literally is part of the personality. I for one will tend to respond to what I hear someone saying, not what I think they may mean.

Gets me in trouble with the wife all the time :rolleyes:
 
I am not sure I totally understand Lavan's question, but I do think Aux has described well the personality of those of us who collect weapons. I tend to put first the fact that there are people out there who would love to do harm to me and my loved ones, and feel that I have a right to protect myself regardless of whatever problems the perpetrator has. This doesn't mean that I don't care about social problems and the role they play in crime. I have been living in Germany for awhile, and I can see how a more equitable and humane society greatly reduces crime. Still, the bottom line is that I don't see that anyone has a right to harm me and my family members for any reason.

I visited a very liberal friend in Los Angeles shortly after O.J. Simpson was arrested for the murder of his ex-wife and her boyfriend. When this subject came up, my friend just shrugged his shoulders and said (of OJ), "he was born in a ghetto". Ghettos and racial discrimination are wrong, but this does not mean Simpson had a right to carve up two innocent human beings. The murder was even more outrageous in that one of the victims was obviously very liberal and against discrimination, as is evidenced by her marriage to a black man. It wasn't skinheads or exploiting robber barons that Simpson killed - it was California liberals. Being born in a ghetto is no excuse to kill innocent people.

We have to recognize that there are violent thugs out there, both poor and rich, and nothing can excuse their abuse of innocent people.
 
Satire gets lost very easily on these venues.

This is true, but I have learned on other forums that the more I post the more I become part of the "community", and the members know when I am speaking in jest.
 
What I'm referring to is a thread I started on an ancient dagger and just for the hell of it, I called it a REALLY old BOWIE.

ANNNNDDDDD.....got called on it as it is NOT a bowie. Duhhh.

We of the weapons owning class SHOULD be the first to attempt to DISCERN data.

We have items at our disposal that can be absolute tragedy if someone were to assume events are all a LITERAL presentation of what we perceive.

We are the ones who are prepared for anything and it's our DUTY to become the FIRST ones to fully examine the area.

I am not, of course, referring to a bodily threat. We owe it to society to have the ability to ACT immediately in an EMERGENCY.

Course, that's how lawyers make so much money.

IMO
 
Originally posted by Lavan
We of the weapons owning class SHOULD be the first to attempt to DISCERN data.

We have items at our disposal that can be absolute tragedy if someone were to assume events are all a LITERAL presentation of what we perceive.

We are the ones who are prepared for anything and it's our DUTY to become the FIRST ones to fully examine the area.

I am not, of course, referring to a bodily threat. We owe it to society to have the ability to ACT immediately in an EMERGENCY.
IMO
Click to expand...

Ooooohhhh...that stuff is like quicksand.

The concepts of literal presentation, perception, duty, examinations, and actions are quagmires.

If someone points a gun (or other deadly weapon) at myself or another "innocent", I might assume that he intends to LITERALLY kill someone, and therefore I must ACT quickly. If I take too long to examine the situation, someone may become a victim and end up dead.

Now of course I am referring to a threat, but it was to illustrate a point. Things have a way of evolving, and becoming threats. Literal definitions have their place, and they can be both advantageous and troublesome.

For example, what is the definition of a weapon, literally? Depends on the reference, two examples with a modern concept showing an evolution of a definition:

1) Citizen: "Officer, I have a nail clipper in my pocket!"
Cop: "Hey good for you. :rolleyes:"

2) Citizen: "Sir, I have a nail clipper in my pocket."
Airport Screener: "Please come with me. :eek:"

I am not trying to be obtuse on purpose, but defining very specifically and literally what a thing or concept is can be very important. Now, the definition of the thing in your example might not result in significant consequences if it was slightly incorrect, but the modern civil and legal environment does tend to brew all type of cautions among those of us who would frequent this type of forum.

In the end, part of the issue comes down to perspective. To a non-practical/tactical person (many of us are married to one :D), the Benchmade in my pocket is the same type of "thing" as the knockoff SAK in the junk drawer at home. Those persons to not read these forums much. But to those of who do, such a comparison would generate all sorts of responses!

Now, if only everyone could be just literal enough that it would be easy enough to discern exactly what we are trying to communicate at any given time. The world would be a better place.

Yeah, right. ;) Satire?
 
Originally posted by W.T. Beck
I am not sure I totally understand Lavan's question, but I do think Aux has described well the personality of those of us who collect weapons.
Click to expand...

I think they are called "Type A" personalities.

The A means many things.

Sometimes "Argumentative", other times "A person who is always right".

Again, not that that is a bad thing! :D
 
I think there are several reasons why we can experience those communication breakdowns on this or any other forum/chat venue. Chief among them is that we can't see or hear each other. Let's face it, a great deal of communication is non-verbal. Think how often we use body language and facial expressions to get our point across. Then there is the use of volume, tone and inflection in our voices. Without those visual and auditory aids one can easily misinterpret comments. I mean something like "Hi, how are you doing?" can come off like "Go jump in a lake" if we don't see the smile and hear the cheerful tone. The bottom line is that it is incumbent upon each of us to not only word things carefully but to receive them with an open mind.
 
My wife of 30 years and my son of 25 years often misinterpret what I say. They know me well, but our topics of discussion are so broad that they don't always know the context of my remarks and get confused. Coworkers have only known me for a couple years, but quickly catch on to what I'm saying when we discuss specialized technical matters or cars and sports. When the subject matter moves out to broader aspects of life they often pick meanings for my words that match their own philosophy or experience rather than what I meant. They laugh at some of my jokes because they have decided that I am funny, not necessarily that they know where I find the irony in a situation. Satire is only reliably funny within a narrow social order or with close friends. It is almost impossible for a conservative to use satire on a liberal. Likewise it is hard to use satire on your maiden aunt from Maine.

I've noticed that on almost any internet forum thread you will get some answers that relate to members' experience on a previous thread more than they relate to your posting. For example we once had a long discussion over whether one of SOG's knives which they describe as a Bowie variant could properly be classified that way. We have had another thread about whether an Arkansas Toothpick was ever a dagger or dirk or is essentially another name for a Bowie knife. I think your thread may have tapped into members' previous exposure to topics like these. I don't think it reflects particular thick headedness in gun and knife people that your joke would be missed. It just broadly reflects human communication patterns.
 
PS. Some people would read my previous post and consider me pompous and pedantic. People who know me have learned to find the way I talk amusing.:p
 
Satire gets lost very easily on these venues.
Click to expand...

On internet forums, chat rooms, usenet news, IM, etc., that's true. When everything is typed out with no vocalisms or physical expressions, satire and similar meanings can be easily lost.

Thank goodness for emoticons, eh?:)
 
Hey, if you don't own a Sebenza, just zip it.

Oooops wrong thread....


:p
 
Sebenza? What's that?

I own a Mercedes Benz. Is that close enough?

The day they make a Sebenza balisong, I'm there!
:D
 
What you refer to as literal viewing is not just gun and knife forums but ANY collector forum. Go to a Star Wars collecting forum and ask about getting a Return of the Jedi Klingon trooper or refer to the Imperial Royal Guard as the Crimson Guard and see what type of answers you will get. :D Collectors are looking for specific items and specific variations of those items, so being literal is only natural.
 
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