Day: November 14, 2004

http://www.enjoythedraft.com/draft101.htm

Gulp.

Anyway, the movie night was good and the pizza (crafted by Keith and myself) was perfectly edible, and then we read the names of the dead at the school and lit candles for them. Then we ran outside in the rain and we let off fireworks.

Just so you know, if anybody ever made me the benevolent dictator of Canada, I would promptly increase the fireworks budget by 300%. I am a very fond of the sweet smoky metal smell of fireworks. Snort…. Ah!

2019 says I take this all back, because fireworks scare pets and wildlife, start wildfires and are toxic as fuck.

Discussion questions about Bowling for Columbine.

November 13, 2004

1. How would you go about researching whether the statistics that Michael Moore quotes in the movie about gun deaths in various countries are true?

2. If you were going to make a movie about a social problem in Canada, what subject would you pick?

3. Michael Moore does his best to make some very famous media personalities look stupid. Why did he do this and what did he accomplish?

4. There have been a couple of school shootings in Canada in the last thirty years. Look up the details for the most recent one on the internet (Canadian school shootings for the search criteria) and see if you can draw any parallels and differences between what happened in Littleton CO and Taber AB.

5. Do you think Michael Moore is right when he points to racism and gun availability as being the biggest factors in the ongoing American love affair with guns, or do you think he missed some other possibilities?

6. Why is the interview portion with Marilyn Manson so powerful? What makes Marilyn such a credible witness to the media circus that followed the shootings?

More advanced questions about Canada and guns.

7. All the guns and ammunition used in the tragedy at Columbine were legally purchased, although the two boys were not legally allowed to carry the guns. Research what you would have to do in Canada to legally purchase the guns involved. Be prepared to fill out a LOT of forms. Oh, and DON’T tell the investigator that you just broke up with your s.o.

8. Most Canadians have never even seen a handgun up close, let alone fired one. Do you have any interest in firearms? Would you want to go to a shooting range? If so, why?

9. Canada is having a very hard time with a gun registry law that was passed but not very well implemented. It cost a stupendous amount of money and has had the effect of criminalizing a lot of Canadian gun owners, including people I know. Educate yourself about the gun registration law. Americans point to our restrictive gun laws as a sign Canadians don’t understand liberty. How would you respond to this?