Fire Extinguishers
If you haven’t yet peeked at my It’s For The Children post, well, you really ought to. But it reminds me of the debate, way back when, about arming airline pilots.
One of the objections people had was that if pilots were armed, they might get into gunfights with would-be hijackers. This would distract them from their important task of safely flying and landing the plane.
Analogy, of course, is always flawed, but I thought of one anyway.
Suppose a fire broke out in the cockpit. Which scenario is better:
a) The pilot grabs a nearby fire extinguisher and puts out the blaze
b) The pilot concentrates on flying and landing the plane safely
That’s a thinker.
March 2nd, 2004 at 11:26 pm
Fire extinguishers are my favorite analogy for defensive guns. Sure, you could wait for the (firefighters|policemen) to arrive, or you could take care of the situation immediately using your (fire extinguisher|firearm) before things get out of control.
March 3rd, 2004 at 1:18 am
Great minds, eh?
March 3rd, 2004 at 2:59 am
I think that’s a rather flawed analogy, namely because pulling a fire extinguisher doesn’t have the potential to make the situation much worse.
March 3rd, 2004 at 8:24 am
Chris: you’re right. Pulling a gun could possibly make the situation worse. Maybe we shouldn’t allow police to carry them after all.
Because that’s why you call cops in a crime situation, right? If it’s bad for a civilian to use a gun, it’s bad for cops, too. They’re not necesarily any better-trained than a civilian, or any better of a shot.
March 3rd, 2004 at 8:34 am
How could the situation get any worse than having the ENTIRE PLANE shot down by a military escort? Beats me, but that the solution our government prefers to letting pilots carry firearms.
As for fire extinguishers not having the potential to make things worse, I suggest you google these phrases:
fire extinguisher wrong class
fire extinguisher exploded