Motherfuckers always got a reason why something won't work to curb gun violence.

[jberryhill]

10. I question the assertion that "how things look" does not matter

You are going to buy your 16 year old one of two cars.

Either this one:



or this one:



They are both Honda Civics. Now, before you pick apart the specific examples (in which there may be some performance parts), the point is that you can make a pretty dull Honda Civic "look like" a race car with purely cosmetic changes.

Now, I keep hearing that "guns don't kill people, people kill people". Okay, that's fine. But the way that people ideate and behave is influenced by a range of psychological influences, INCLUDING HOW THINGS LOOK. You cannot deny that the appearance of an object, how it is designed, to whom it appeals, and what use it suggests, are elements that go into the way that people use them, what sort of people seek to use them, and what they believe the object's appropriate use may be.

To say that "the problem is human behavior" while also saying "but these changes are purely cosmetic" is trying to have your cake and eat it too.

Yes, human behavior with technology is influenced by "purely cosmetic" factors.

Can any kid go nuts in any car? Sure.

But if we are looking at statistical harm reduction, then psychological factors - i.e. how things look - do matter.