Stand Your Ground

YOU MAY RECALL the sheriff in arizona who made quite a splash some time ago with his stern and spartan methods of treating inmates. Living in tents, dressed in degrading attire, working long, hard hours, the whole works.

This attracted a lot of attention, whether intentionally is impossible to determine. But the people who like this sort of thing really like it. Now that same sherrif has retained the services of the actor steven seagall .

For the purposes of offering instruction to anyone who wants it on martial arts, the proper handling and use of a firearm, and methods to deal with assailants; instruction provided by..an actor? Do we all realize that people like steven seagall, bruce willis,  arnold schwartzennegger and clint eastwood, not to mention sylvester stallone, are actors, in real life, and not super heros?

All over the country (U.S.A.) states have enacted or are considering enacting these "stand your ground" laws, under which self defense killing is immune fro prosecution. This is an issue in florida, where george zimmerman will go on trial for second degree murder in the gun death of the teenager, using self defense as his defense.

If we aaaaare going to become a nation in which a high percentage of citizens are armed, which certainly seems to be the current trend, then it makes sense to pass laws defending people who use their weapons in self defense.

but its a slippery slope, and a long way down the road to justifiable violence. Self defense is often a matter of opinon, and can easily be used as an excuse to do harm.