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  • On Killing

    The book that made me remember that Goodreads was a thing.

    Why am I reading it?

    Well, a lot of right-wingers are starting to learn about it and they're trying to discredit and get the book pulled from circulation.

    WHY?

    Well, it's a 20 year old book from a retired Marine colonel based on the findings of General SLAM Marshall who served through the 30s-50s and was a training specialist for the early part of the Vietnam War.

    I STILL DON'T GET THE BIG DEAL.

    Well, taking several decades of research from both halves of the 20th Century in America, both military men learned something.

    Before World War II, most shooters had an ingrained instinct not to shoot at fellow humans. 1 out of 5 shooters wouldn't hit their targets. It was involuntary on par with how you don't piss your pants everytime you have to pee. It's a level of control that is just hardwired into your brain.

    It was a problem in recruiting, waste and just getting shooter accuracy up. To combat the rise of Guerilla tactics and the increased prevalence of snipers, the Military switched to human shaped targets starting in 1962. The kill rate went from 20 to 70 percent by 1968. By 1988, the number went to 90 percent.

    In the modern era, the number is 99.6% percent. Meaning if a modern soldier fires a shot, it's going to count every time.

    The last half of the book examines the impact of increasing kill rates and what it means to people likely to be shooters. Whether that's a soldier, a cop or a crazed teenager wanting revenge.

    A soldier restrains because of fear of losing out on military career, a copy restraints out of fear of lawsuits and imprisonment, the psycho kid has no fear as most in that situation have become divorced from consequence.

    WHAT CAN BE DONE?

    This is where the gun nuts are wanting the shit pulled. Once you install a kill pattern in humanity, you can't remove it. We all know how a blade can kill us or a rock. Even if you have no urge to use it as a weapon, you know how it can be fatal.

    Now that guns are that drilled into the populace, you can't walk that ability back. But, we need soldiers and cops. The only rational answer is to limit private ownership to non high capacity weaponry and regulate major weapons to defense and safeguarding units.

    Naturally, this book is getting dogpiled on right now.
    My readers come to me for my thoughts and opinions. I've built myself into a brand


    Click here to visit AndersonVision!

  • #2
    Must check this book out - and you've hit the nail on the head yet again, Troy!

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    • #3
      Grossman's follow up, ON COMBAT, is also good. It tackles the psychological aspect of what happens post-shooting. And the general wear and tear the stress of combat has on your mind and body.

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      • #4
        Originally posted by gravedigger View Post
        Grossman's follow up, ON COMBAT, is also good. It tackles the psychological aspect of what happens post-shooting. And the general wear and tear the stress of combat has on your mind and body.
        I was planning on picking it up, but I can't find a copy locally.
        My readers come to me for my thoughts and opinions. I've built myself into a brand


        Click here to visit AndersonVision!

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        • #5
          and I found ON COMBAT this morning and only a little bit into it.

          Still, the point remains from the first book. Once you install the ability to use an instrument to kill in a culture, the memory becomes genetic. A knife remains dangerous regardless of the circumstance, same with a gun.

          The only solution is regulating the ability to obtain said tool.
          My readers come to me for my thoughts and opinions. I've built myself into a brand


          Click here to visit AndersonVision!

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          • #6
            Yeah, I'm seeing more and more folks coming out against the AR-15 and weapons of that ilk, mostly from former military and police.

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            • #7
              Dude who wrote this book is getting pulled into Trump's war on video games. Naturally, I don't expect Trumpy to get what the book was about now.
              My readers come to me for my thoughts and opinions. I've built myself into a brand


              Click here to visit AndersonVision!

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