# The slacktivist superman ponders a Syrian intervention. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 23, 2013, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slacktivist-superman-ponders-a-syrian-intervention/661713 "2013-06-23T17:29:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2013, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slacktivist-superman-ponders-a-syrian-intervention/661713/21 "2013-06-24T15:58:00Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > What could Superman do to stop AIDS in Africa? He couldn’t even stop [famine in Ethiopia](http://www.comicvine.com/heroes-against-hunger/4050-36723/) back in the 80s. And that was with Batman (prepared) and Lex Luthor on his side. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2013, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slacktivist-superman-ponders-a-syrian-intervention/661713/22 "2013-06-24T16:16:20Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Then people will use rocks. Supes is also a slacker, remember? He isn’t going to work that hard. > > _All_ guns and bullets? What about cops? If the crooks aren’t armed, why do the cops need to be? I’d point you to the bobbies in England. At least in folk lore, their lack of firearms meant the average crook didn’t feel the need to be armed either. Which made things safer for both cops, robbers, and innocent bystanders. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2013, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slacktivist-superman-ponders-a-syrian-intervention/661713/23 "2013-06-24T16:25:33Z")
Eliminating all the world’s firearms is hardly a “game over”. People will just race to make new weapons unless Superguy actively keeps control. If Superguy just eliminates firearms on an ongoing basis and takes no other action, people will just kill each other with swords and arrows. There is some truth in the cliche that guns don’t kill people, people kill people. If Superguy wants to stop crime and war, at some point he’s going to have to deal directly with criminals and warriors and not just the tools they use. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2013, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slacktivist-superman-ponders-a-syrian-intervention/661713/24 "2013-06-24T18:26:20Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > If the crooks aren’t armed, why do the cops need to be? I’d point you to the bobbies in England. I will point you right back. The Armed Response Squads in England have machine guns. Just because the average cop on the street doesn’t carry a gun doesn’t mean they aren’t prepared. And that doesn’t mean just bad guys with guns. No cop is going to go after a nut with a sword without massive firepower. Even Superman couldn’t eliminate all guns on the planet. To think otherwise is foolish in the extreme. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2013, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slacktivist-superman-ponders-a-syrian-intervention/661713/25 "2013-06-24T18:48:34Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I will point you right back. The Armed Response Squads in England have machine guns. Just because the average cop on the street doesn’t carry a gun doesn’t mean they aren’t prepared. And that doesn’t mean just bad guys with guns. No cop is going to go after a nut with a sword without massive firepower. > > Even Superman couldn’t eliminate all guns on the planet. To think otherwise is foolish in the extreme. I’m actually aware of the Armed Response Squads (embarrassingly, mostly from _The DaVinci Code_). However, if we’re positing that SuperSlacker actually destroyed all of the guns, then the playing field between cops and robbers is as level as it is today. And if he does leave guns in the hands of ‘the authorities’, then either the bad guys steal some (and we’re back where we started), or some of the authorities use in the way the more paranoid 2nd amendment supporters have always suspected governments would act. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2013, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slacktivist-superman-ponders-a-syrian-intervention/661713/26 "2013-06-24T18:59:41Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Eliminating all the world’s firearms is hardly a “game over”. People will just race to make new weapons unless Superguy actively keeps control. Finding and destroying munitions factories is even easier than disarming the guns. And maybe guns can be created by 3-D printing, but once he gets rid of the bullets, that presents more of a challenge. > [@](#): > > If Superguy just eliminates firearms on an ongoing basis and takes no other action, people will just kill each other with swords and arrows. There is some truth in the cliche that guns don’t kill people, people kill people. If Superguy wants to stop crime and war, at some point he’s going to have to deal directly with criminals and warriors and not just the tools they use. I’m not expecting Bob to get rid of all crime everywhere, but getting rid of guns would certainly put a big dent in it, big enough that I think Superguy could tell people that what was left was their problem, and they had the tools to solve it. But warfare, OTOH, with swords and arrows is _hard_. You need a hell of a lot more people to help you impose your will with such weapons than you do with guns and bombs and stuff. It was hard for medieval armies to take and hold territory with the weapons of their age. I doubt it would be much easier now. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2013, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slacktivist-superman-ponders-a-syrian-intervention/661713/27 "2013-06-24T19:06:09Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > I’m not expecting Bob to get rid of all crime everywhere, but getting rid of guns would certainly put a big dent in it, big enough that I think Superguy could tell people that what was left was their problem, and they had the tools to solve it. I thought this was the topic under discussion. You’re a super-powered being. Are you obligated to use your super-powers to make the world a better place and at what point do you draw the line? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slacktivist-superman-ponders-a-syrian-intervention/661713/28 "2013-06-26T17:58:59Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > But warfare, OTOH, with swords and arrows is _hard_. You need a hell of a lot more people to help you impose your will with such weapons than you do with guns and bombs and stuff. It was hard for medieval armies to take and hold territory with the weapons of their age. I doubt it would be much easier now. It’s also not a thing you can just jump into on a moment’s notice - or a year’s notice, for that matter. The whole reason firearms took off isn’t that they were _better_ than a good archer. They weren’t - slower, less accurate, less range. But the archer took years and years to train to a state of combat-readiness. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slacktivist-superman-ponders-a-syrian-intervention/661713.md?page=1)