Crime and Consumer Electronics
1 January 2009
Editor, Washington Post
1150 15th St., NW
Washington, DC 20071
Dear Editor:
David Bell writes that "Rather than buying a gun to protect ourselves and our flat-screen TVs from our less-fortunate neighbors, we could forgo buying the gun, sell the flat-screen TV and use the proceeds to help the neighbors" (Letters, January 1).
While there's nothing wrong in principle with helping others, Mr. Bell misses an important part of the reality justifying gun ownership. Persons willing to commit violence while stealing the likes of consumer electronics elicit from their potential victims, not a sense of charity, but a sense of self-preservation. Understandably and rightly so.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Editor, Washington Post
1150 15th St., NW
Washington, DC 20071
Dear Editor:
David Bell writes that "Rather than buying a gun to protect ourselves and our flat-screen TVs from our less-fortunate neighbors, we could forgo buying the gun, sell the flat-screen TV and use the proceeds to help the neighbors" (Letters, January 1).
While there's nothing wrong in principle with helping others, Mr. Bell misses an important part of the reality justifying gun ownership. Persons willing to commit violence while stealing the likes of consumer electronics elicit from their potential victims, not a sense of charity, but a sense of self-preservation. Understandably and rightly so.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Posted by Don Boudreaux on
Tuesday May 26, 2009 at 6:50am