Penn Argues Gun Control on Wendy Williams

For those who don’t know me well let me just say this. I love Penn and Teller. I love their magic, I love their TV shows and I love their commentary on current events on society. I’m a liberal Democrat, I think that gay marriage should be legal, I don’t think we should spill our blood for oil, I think we need alternative fuel sources and get rid of gasoline, and I think a lot of corporations are evil mother fuckers. But I’m not for gun control, so I think that throws people off. “Wait, you can’t be a democrat! You’re not for gun control!” To that I say, “Go fuck yourself.”

I used to be for gun control after I watched “Bowling for Columbine” with a friend while in high school. I thought it made so much sense at the time, but I was just young, stupid, and idealistic. Sure, it would be great if guns just suddenly disappeared and world peace commenced, but I’m a realist and I know that is not going to happen. When I started to get older I started to realize that maybe, just maybe Michael Moore was wrong. So I watched “Bowling for Columbine” again and after the movie and I walked away with a completely different view on gun control.

I think Michael Moore makes some good points and I don’t believe the entire movie and its content should be thrown out. It’s like the movie “Zeitgeist”, it has some good information in it, but don’t just follow the whole movie and what it says, pick and choose what you think is best, rather than taking the whole thing as truth.

I do the same with Penn and Tellers show, “Bullshit”. It’s a great show and it has great arguments and information. I sometimes agree with everything they say in any one of their episodes, but there are some episodes that I think are bullshit and some things they say which I don’t agree with. They even say in their show to not take what they say as the absolute truth, that they are just two assholes who have a research team and want to rant about subjects they think are crazy. So do the thinking yourself, don’t let them do it.

I came across this Youtube.com video last night that has Penn on the Wendy Williams Show debating gun control. The video starts off with Penn saying that most people who have guns don’t use them. This is true, but mere facts don’t stop these ladies at all. They continue to say that the old saying “if you have a gun you better know how to use it” translates to “if you have a gun you use it all the time.” The argument that if you have a gun you’re going to use it holds no water.

My favorite line from Penn is at the beginning when he says, “most people are overwhelmingly good.” And I believe that, because if it weren’t true then what type of society would we be living in today? Most likely one that is not very friendly. It would be a society where you would really be afraid of absolutely everything.

The idea that there are 320 million people in America and 310 million guns does not translate to “almost everyone owns a gun.” The numbers don’t work out that way, we all know that, and we shouldn’t say stupid things like that.

Then the argument about violent movies and video games came up. These women actually believe that violent video games and movies encourage or inspire kids to commit school shootings. This bullshit is so far out of left field, there is no proof to back up the claim that violent games and media create killers.

Penn brought up a great point about this too. He says you can’t blame Shakespeare’s work for the violence that happens in the real world. For hundreds of years people have been trying to blame things in art for the violent crimes that are committed. Shakespeare’s work has suicide and murder and is shows the darker side of human nature and a beautiful side as well. He makes the comparison to art and says these violent video games are forms of art, and you can’t blame art for making people go crazy and wanting to kill people, it just doesn’t happen.

Penn got real upset by the middle of the debate when of the women said that Adam Lanza was border line aspergers and that he was inundated with violence from games like Call of Duty and decided to just go on a rampage. Penn stopped her and said that we shouldn’t be attacking people with aspergers and that they are not violent people and video games certainly don’t make them any more violent than people who don’t have aspergers.

But of course they still pushed the issue that violent video games make kids crazy by arguing that Adam Lanza’s favorite video game was Call of Duty. Penn immediately lays the smack down on them by simply stating that many peaceful people play Call of Duty.

“Call of Duty is the most popular game there is. Everyone’s playing it so of course bad people are gonna play it too. To try to blame Shakespeare and the violence in Shakespeare and the violence in art for violence that happens in the real world is something that’s been tried for years and is always wrong. People must take responsibility. We must stop blaming society and start blaming the perpetrator. Call of Duty is something young people like and enjoy and it’s a game and most of those people aren’t violent, most of the people are good and we have to stop disliking our children. We attacked comic books we attacked monster movies, now we’re attacking video games. Love our children, take care of our children and let them play.”

Wendy goes on to say that Jamie Fox says that there can be no doubt that violence in movies and video games has an effect on our children, to which case Penn replies, “Well Jamie Fox is wrong.” And besides, who the fuck cares about what Jamie Fox has to say? Has he done any research? No, it’s just a good thing to say on a TV show because he is a celebrity; therefore he CAN’T be wrong, right? Fucking morons.

“Blame the killers, not the artists,” Penn cries during the show after the incredibly stupid comments made by Wendy Williams about violence in movies and games. “Why are you blaming artists for something that bad people did? Shakespeare is not a bad person, he wrote beautiful stuff. It has suicide, it has murder, and it tells us something about our hearts and people who watch Shakespeare don’t kill, and Call of Duty is art, it is not some sort of propaganda thing.”

I think Penn is right on the money with this one. We have to stop blaming our society, our artists, our film makers, our video game designers, and start loving our children, taking care of them, make sure to listen to them and not blame the artists for the crimes committed by a bad person.

We act as thought the mere existence of guns and violent content in our society is the main cause for mental illness or aggressive behavior when they are not. The people who committed the crimes, regardless of whether or not they are mentally ill or narcissistic, or psychotic, or none of the above should be the ones who we blame, not society!

I think Penn did a great job, but unfortunately the shrews on the Wendy Williams show would barely let him speak and he had to speak over them many times to get his valid points across.

I think if Wendy Williams wants to blame video games for violent behavior then she should blame her show for making people agree with her stupid comments because she has an applause light that flashes every time she makes her point. During the entire video the audience claps for both Penn’s comments and Wendy’s comments, but how can that be when Penn and Wendy are on two opposite sides of the argument? If the audience confused, or are they just being inundated with an applause light that makes them clap when stupid comments are made? I think if she can make the argument that video games make kids aggressive then I can make the argument that she show makes people stupid and forces people to agree with her because she can flash a light which triggers human beings to agree with bullshit comments.

In the end you could tell Penn was upset with the idea that people who have aspergers syndrome can become violent by playing video games, simply because they have issues with what is socially acceptable or not. He ended the video by interrupting Wendy as she was about to go to commercial break by saying, “Aspergers syndrome people don’t become violent, there’s no evidence of that. They’re friends of mine, I love them.”

All I can say is, you rock Penn, and I love you for trying to set these women straight, even though they tried to shut you down multiple times. It is time to stop blaming guns and society and start blaming the perpetrators and stop ignoring our children. 

The 2012 Conspiracy and Why It's Bunk

For the past few years I have heard all sorts of things about the 2012 myth that is gaining momentum as the date, 12/21/2012, draws near. I first heard about the myth when I was attending college from an old friend whom I went to high school with. At the time I thought that maybe this was just some Nostradamus fad and that it would die after some time had passed. Sadly, it didn't. (And sadly Nostradamus' "predictions" are also being hyped up, but that's another blog for anther time.)

More recently another friend of mine has been going all out with the 2012 myth nonsense, as if he were on war time mobilization and needed to spread the word as if he were Paul Revere and 2012 was the British Red Coat army coming to arrest the founding fathers. I remember back in 2008 we used to have all kinds of discussions and debates about the apparent doom that was approaching earth. In fact I remember making a bet with him that if the world didn't come to some cataclysmic end on 12/21/12 he would owe me $50. And if it did come to an end...I would owe him $50...

But back then he could provide no proof or any kind of evidence or any viable research that could prove this unstoppable doom of course. Just things that he heard from others, or maybe got off of the internet or from a book. I don't know where he got the idea to begin with and unfortunately the idea hasn't faded from his mind at all in the past 3 years. And what's even more unfortunate is that this 2012 myth has him scared.

No, I'm being 100% serious. He's actually afraid that he is right, and that something terrible is going to happen on or after 12/21/12. And nothing seems to be able to convince him otherwise. He has claimed to have done all sorts of "research" that he cannot present to prove his stance. The only things he can present are conspiracy videos from youtube with Jesse "The Body" Ventura, and David "HOLY SHIT REPTILIAN ALIENS ARE CONTROLLING THE PLANET!" Icke featured in them.

First off, Jesse Ventura is an ex-pro wrestler from the WWE (formally the WWF), who somehow got elected as Governor of Minnesota. He has no background in science and (in my own words) is a "fly by the seat of your pants" politician.

Secondly, David Icke is a British journalist with no formal college or university education, no background in science, and he seriously believes that the world is under the influence of reptilian aliens that have taking the form of humans. One day he had a strange sensation that he was being pulled to a new age healing book as if he were a piece of metal being magnetically pulled in. He sought out the author, who was a psychic healer named Betty Shine, and was apparently told by her that she had a message for him and that he was sent to heal the earth.

In the early 90's Icke went to Peru where according to him he felt attracted to an earthen mound that was surrounded by waist high stones. He says that he was pulled there, again as if he were magnetically drawn to that place. Now he writes new aged books about vibrations, psychic energies and...oh yeah that's right, reptilian alien shape shifters that control the planet.

Are these credible sources of scientific information? Are these the people you really want to get important information from regarding the end of the world or a hostile shift in American Government policies?

There is more than just one 2012 myth though, and I trust each of them about as far as I can throw Dick Cheney. Of course there is the once wildly believed (and terribly NOT entertaining movie) scenario of the world simply crumbling apart. There are also the scenarios of the massive solar flare, the asteroid, and (Dun, dun DUUUN!!!) the so-called return of "Planet X" (which is considered by most to be a brown dwarf star).

More recent scenarios seem a little more plausible, but as always no one has any evidence to prove the claim. This scenario is a rather vague and unspecified threat of hostile Government action against the people of the United States and the entire world. The scenario begins with, of course, the date of 12/21/2012. According to conspiracy theorists on the day that the Mayan calender ends the "New World Order" will begin with the US Government handing over all sovereignty to the United Nations. That means the Navy, Marines, Air Force, Army, and Coast Guard will be under the full control of the UN. We will be at the mercy and the whim of the UN.

Other theorists believe that...well...they don't know what will happen. But they are pretty damn sure something is going to happened on the day the Mayan calender ends. Whether it's a solar flare, an asteroid or comet colliding with the earth, the planet simply tearing itself apart, hostile Government actions, "Planet X", or even planetary alignments. They aren't sure what it could be, but it will be something, and it's certainly going to happen and it's a real fear that they have.

I wonder if I could coin a new word for someone who is afraid of the date 12/21/2012, and the unknown that it will bring? Mayanaphobe? Twentytwelveaphobe? Eh, I'm leaning toward Mayanaphobe.

But the question still remains. Why? Why are people afraid of this one specific date? What started it all?

This is all caused by the ancient Mayan people (Damn those handsome devils!) and the fact that one of their calenders abruptly ends at a certain date. The truth is that the Mayan were in fact very sophisticated mathematicians. They were comfortable with calculating things right down to a certain day, or even hour. They were also very good astronomers and could predict solar and lunar eclipses. They were able to grasp math in ways that no other culture was able to do. They were also known for sacrificing virgins to appease their gods. But in all seriousness, in Mayan records there is no mention of the world coming to an end.

OK, I have done my research. Most of this stuff I'm getting from Professor Mark Van Stone. He's a Mayan expert. That's right, a Mayan EXPERT. He has a PhD. Yeah, that's right! An actually honest to God PhD! That means he goes by DOCTOR MARK VAN STONE! He has his PhD in Latin American studies with an emphases in archeology. You would want to listen to this man when getting your research, not Jesse Ventura or David Icke.

So why did everyone start to believe the world was going to end on 2012? The story starts with (Dun, dun, DUUN!) "Planet X". Actually, it's called Nibiru. And it was supposedly discovered by the Sumerians which was believed to be heading for earth. The occurrence of Nibiru colliding with earth was originally planned for May of 2003. But as usual when nothing happened on the supposed day of destruction the date was moved back to December 2012. Much like the California priest who predicted the rapture would occur in May of this year, when it did not happen he eventually moved the date back. These two stories (the one about Nibiru being discovered and the other about Nibiru colliding with earth) were soon combined with the end of ONE of the cycles in the ancient Mayan calender, which according to the Gregorian calender is on the Winter Solstice December 21st 2012.

Just as any calender you have in your house does not cease to exist on December 31st, the Mayan calender does not cease to exist on December 12th 2012. The date on the Mayan calender marks the end of a long-count period and just like the calender you have at home begins again on January 1st another long-count period begins again for the Mayan calender.

As far as planetary alignment goes, there are no scheduled planetary alignments for the next few decades, and the earth is not going to cross the galactic plane. And even if it did the earth would be fine. Each December the earth and the sun align with the center of the Milky Way Galaxy and nothing happens.

As for the "Planet X" (Nibiru) theory, there is nothing to fear. There is absolutely no proof what-so-ever that a brown dwarf star is heading toward the earth. And if it was we would know about it, and we would know about it hundreds of years in advance.

The threat of an asteroid or meteor hitting the earth is always a real threat. And the truth is that the earth is hit by stuff from outer space all of the time. If there is a collision that is going to happen then show the proof. Come on folks, we would know if something like that was coming for us. There is no evidence to suggest that on the exact date of 12/21/2012 something will collide with earth causing wide spread destruction/extinction.

Solar flares are something that happen to us all the time. Just recently we were hit by some solar flares. In fact in 2003 the earth was hit with some very large solar flares, some of the largest ever recorded. Nothing bad occurred aside from some communication disruption. Some of the conspiracy theorists say that there will be a huge solar flare that hits the earth and that scientists agree with this notion. But the truth is that solar maximums happen approximately every 11 years. And it is true the that next solar maximum will occur in the 2012-2014 time frame, but it is predicted to be an average solar cycle, just as the cycles we have had through out history.

As for some of those theorists who say that something is going to happen on 2012 they just don't know what, I have this to say: You don't need to set an exact date for something to happen, especially if it is something that you have an irrational fear of. Be it an earth quake, an asteroid, a solar flare, a "Planet X", a hostile Government action, or the unknown. There is no need to be afraid of these things and set a date for when they are going to happen to satisfy your anxiety. Of course something bad can happen on 12/21/2012, and of course something bad can happen afterwards too. Something bad somewhere on earth is going to happen today. Some time, on or shortly after 6/16/2011 there is going to be an earth quake, a fire, a hostile regime abusing it's people. There are always bad things happening but we shouldn't fear them. This is how life is, and it's not just a waste of energy to be afraid of something you can't control it's also neurotic.

So to all of those who are seriously worried that something bad is going to happen today, tomorrow, a week from now, or on 12/21/2012 I say to you relax. Enjoy life for what it has to offer instead of being afraid of the parts you can't control. It's a waste of good mental energy that could be put to better use rather than being afraid and paranoid and spreading that irrational fear and paranoia to others so that they can be afraid with you.

SOURCES:

Penn & Teller BS: 2012 Part 1
Penn & Teller BS: 2012 Part 2
NASA
About Mark Van Stone
Mark Stone Lecture Trailer