There has been concern that this wonderful forum could deterioriate if we started discussing LST. I think that is a foregone conclusion in light of recent events, but what is not a given is the content of this forum.

I respectfully submit that if you want to talk about guns, knives or other tools for kiling people, we all hold it back from here on.

Not my place, just my opinion.

Dunno. I definitely see your point, but I don't think it's all or nothing. Guns have (relatively) non controversial survival uses as well (hunting), so discussion about that, for example, should be ok. But I agree that their use for defense pushes a lot of the wrong buttons, and maybe that's what should be avoided.

Maybe we should have a gentlemens' agreement to not discuss openly the use of firearms for self defense. We all know it's possible, we all know it happens, we all know where else to turn for more information. And it probably shouldn't be here. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

We are on the same page.

I absolutely agree. I'm not a bit ignorant or timid about firearms for self defense, but I enjoy this site as a place to learn/share about "survival equipment and techniques" that don't involve defending from or killing other humans. Not that I'm unwilling, unsupplied, or incapable of doing so.. but I go elsewhere to chat about looters, marauders, thugs in the woods or streets, etc.

Discussions about guns and knives have been going on here since before I started hanging out, including generic "self defense" threads, and it's never been a problem before. If it gets out of hand Chris takes care of it. Guns and knives are no different than any other gear, and should be legitimate topics for survival. Just my .02.

Regards, Vince

Edit: I just saw your post under "A big rethink" and I must say I agree with that 100%.

"guns, knives or other tools for kiling people"

Tools such as guns and knives, while they can kill people, many other things can kill people, be very careful how you lable, I for one don't appreciate being called a people killer simply because I cally a tool with me. I think you should do some research and find out the true uses for tools such as guns and knives before you assume that they are only inteneded to kill people.

Not talk about knives? The knife is the number one survival tool, hands-down, without a doubt? Surely this is a joke <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> and you really don't want to stop discussing knives. Wouldn't we just be perpetuating the misconception about a knife being a "weapon" rather than a "tool" since that is exactly how we would be labelling it?

I wonder how many people here have read Doug's Urban Survival Primer . IIRC he talks about guns and knives for self-defense as well as other items such as pepper spray and tasers. I would think that if this information was not relevant for responsible discussion then it would not be in a primer linked right off of the main page of this website and written by Doug himself.

Can I mention tweezers, or would I be guilty of making someone feel uncomfortable?

What is LST?