John Lott on Mayor Daley and the Chicago gun ban

[unixronin]

Perhaps surprisingly, the article is on NPR.  Perhaps this is a sign that even NPR can eventually see the writing on the wall.

At a press conference two weeks ago, Mick Dumke, a reporter from the liberal Chicago Reader, asked Mayor Richard Daley what should have been an obvious question: "Since guns are readily available in Chicago even with a ban in place, do you really think it's been effective?"  Daley's response wasn't very helpful.  Picking up a very old rifle with a bayonet that had been turned in during one of Chicago's numerous gun buybacks, Daley blustered: "Oh, it's been very effective.  If I put this up your butt, you'll find out how effective it is. . . .  This gun saved many lives — it could save your life."

Reporters greeted Daley's outburst with a moment of stunned silence.  But it wasn't Daley's answer that was important.  The novelty is that a reporter actually questioned Daley on whether the gun ban had failed.

Way to win hearts and minds, Mayor Daley.  This is the Chicago way — "Siddown, shaddap, and think what the Mayor's office tells you to think."

Comments

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

I think it's part of the weird mindset that says that if some X is bad, and more X is worse, it means you need to keep adding X until at some point it magically becomes good.

Compare and contrast to Albert Einstein's dictum that doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is the definition of insanity.

[luxobscura.livejournal.com]

I thought it was Freud that said that.

[lebo-superman.livejournal.com]

No, it was certainly Einstein who said that.

[luxobscura.livejournal.com]

Ok. I don't know why I thought it was Freud, actually.

[docstrange.livejournal.com]

Just a slip, no doubt.