Would Real Jedi use guns?

I have and will continue to use firearms to protect my livestock, harvest food and protect my person. You don't bring a knife to a gunfight and when coyotes are ripping your beloved livestock apart screaming at them does nothing.

In the woods, a pocket knife will not help you from an angry bear or a pack of coyotes hell-bent on attacking your dog or you.

Use your mind, define your perimeters on what you need to keep yourself safe and figure out what is best for you.

I walk a lot of dark places some are not safe without a firearm and have real monsters. I also take protecting my livestock and my family's way of life very seriously.

Finally, my family is all deer hunters, not trophy hunters. We use them to harvest animals that will keep our family fed through the winter. We live in an extreme climate, a firearm helps us make sure that everyone gets fed. Having been attacked by angry deer a sidearm goes a long way to keeping myself safe.

All things to take into consideration. Sometimes it is better to look through anothers eyes not just your own lenses.

Harm minimization is a big part of my Jedi path and I like to think the fiction supports this by presenting it in its most challenging scenarios. I avoid killing or harming animals, fish and insects etc as much as I can, even if (especially if) they are actively threatening or attacking.
There is a line though, I just incorporate helping all participants not end up over it.
Theraupetic application mindset to guide action, ie healing in its myriad ways.
I try not to eat meat even, but still sneak a bit of chicken too often. I've learnt most things we think are true and normal, even who we're told to trust, is often not the best course of action.
Guns though, a tool. Know how to use them properly so you can know if and how to use them according to your morals (and just laws). They have a purpose I suppose in some circumstances, but they are designed to kill. So hunting, no, I'd rather scavenge or eat plants etc. Warfighting and policing (and sport shooting!) are probably the only valid domains IMO, so it makes me wonder what I would consider to be the best roles in those scenarios for how I see the potential of a Jedi.

Edit: of course civilization shields me from most of these dilemmas.

Do Jedi? Yes
Should Jedi? Depends
Jediism isn't limited to only certain people, so it depends on your lifestyle's demands. Some of us may be from countries with few guns and have no use for guns and see the issue as such. Others are from 'murica and use guns as a tool more regularly than most would anticipate.
If you do or don't, the better question is why.

My reply disappeared, I can't be bothered writing it again, but lets all agree that "tortfeasor" is a magnificent word.

JamesSand wrote: My reply disappeared, I can't be bothered writing it again, but lets all agree that "tortfeasor" is a magnificent word.

If your doing a 'quick reply' and it gets vanished, sometimes going to the proper 'Reply' button found with the 'Action: button drop down menu will take you to a page which has remembered your post as a draft.

Tortfeasor.... that's the second new word for me today I was reading about Buccaneers and found 'strumpet' :blink: :lol:

I think it comes down to a personal decision that you have to come to terms with. I personally own a few firearms; for hunting and self defense; but I will stress that choice is not for everyone.

Look inside yourself and if you feel like you should or should not have one then come to peace with that decision.

Fyxe wrote:

Geni Jeuls wrote: real jedi have no use for carrying a weapon wherever they go. Learn a martial art, which betters you physically and prepares you for a physical altercation.

Other than that, preparing to take a life is not in-line with our ideals.

I'm not sure if you should use the term "real jedi" and then make a claim about them. I think real jedi can carry guns as well. What if your a jedi in the army? The movie jedi killed all kinds of people with a weapon as deadly as a gun so I'm not sure I see your point here anyway. Why is taking a life like in self defense not good?

Taking a life in any form for any reasons isn't "good". Something that is necessary isn't "good" just because it may be necessary. One should always seek to avoid it if possible. A Jedi's weapon is not limited to his light saber. This is simply one weapon that evolved for many different use cases. For example, even though Kanan used a blaster, a blaster is not an efficient way to block blaster bolts. Jedi focus on defense, not offense. Sending a blaster bolt back to the shooter makes a saber behave like a blaster therefore making the blaster redundant. But some had to use blasters to hide their identities as Jedi.

So in a real world scenario a Jedi could use a gun since a gun fulfills the ability of a light saber to "return fire", hitting someone at a distance. A regular sword can't do that and so it is inferior to a both a gun and extremely inferior to a light saber as a tactical weapon.

However, with that said. Jedi weren't trained to kill people. They were peace keepers. Jedi are also like samurai with a code of honor. Samurai resisted the age of guns because of the lesser need for skill and art form. Samurai were skilled in archery though so ranged weapons is always a consideration in actual battle. But I would say, for the sake of bushido, a true master prefers close quarters combat. A gun shoot out can involve a ton of skills too. Don't get me wrong. But it takes very little effort to kill with a gun than most other weapons. Yes, a sniper has to be really good and adjust for wind but compare this to an archer at the same distance.

So me personally, I own 2 swords and no guns. However, I have been to a couple of gun ranges before and know how to shoot. It's not my preference. I'd rather live in a world without guns; where someone can't spray a hail of bullets and hit everyone in the bullet's path. I'd rather live in a world where bombs can't be dropped from out of sight, ordered by commanders thousands of miles away. We've become to adept at killing each other using technology that is extremely imprecise and undiscriminating. I don't like it because I think it devalues life on this planet overall.

So could a real Jedi use a gun? Absolutely. Should a Jedi prefer it. That's a more personal question I think.

Yes. I use guns. Not for the reasons many might think though. I use them to kill predators who kill my livestock. I use them to overpower thieves and murderers who would take my property or life. Eventually I will use them to save lives or stop tyrants. Something g like that

Master Kenobi on Lightsabers -
“This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or random as a blaster; an elegant weapon for a more civilized age.”

I think a Jedi in our world would view firearms with the utmost distaste, however would use them, but only if absolutely necessary.


(note: as a Midwesterner, I LOVE guns, however, they present a point of conflict for me, because while guns are awesome, they are too easy to use, too easy for any angry person to take it out on others in the worst of ways)

ZealotX wrote: Jedi are also like samurai with a code of honor. Samurai resisted the age of guns because of the lesser need for skill and art form.

This is why I have disdain for modern warfare/combat.
Sure, it's technically more humane than hacking someone up with a sharp piece of metal.
But what happened to the good ol' mythical days of glorious battle and a warrior's honor?
I would love to meet my end in the midst of an honorable and just battle, and ascend to Valhalla o'er a field of glory and ruin!
Although, I come from Celtic and Viking heritage, so my blood may run more hot than most.

ZealotX wrote: So me personally, I own 2 swords and no guns. However, I have been to a couple of gun ranges before and know how to shoot. It's not my preference. I'd rather live in a world without guns; where someone can't spray a hail of bullets and hit everyone in the bullet's path. I'd rather live in a world where bombs can't be dropped from out of sight, ordered by commanders thousands of miles away. We've become to adept at killing each other using technology that is extremely imprecise and undiscriminating. I don't like it because I think it devalues life on this planet overall.

Exactly.

ZealotX wrote: So could a real Jedi use a gun? Absolutely. Should a Jedi prefer it. That's a more personal question I think.

Agreed.

CaesarEJW wrote: But what happened to the good ol' mythical days of glorious battle and a warrior's honor?

"Wars not make one great."

Romanticising combat perpetuates it needlessly.

A gun is a tool.

If I were to get out of my car with a machete in my hand, everyone in my city would panic. But if I lived in the country, where machetes are common tools to work in the field, it would completely normal.

So, as Alethea said, you have to assess the situation in which you are using your tool, to determine the best tool for the situation.

Jedi were definately not just "peacekeepers" zealot. They were warriors. Police are peacekeepers, jedi were the elite combat arm of the government. Like navy seals with super powers. They fought in the clone wars and were the officers/leaders of the stormtroopers. Very definately warriors and if they had not had special skill with a light saber to return fire they would have carried the biggest guns of all the troops!

Bigger guns aren't by definition better guns. I think the Jedi tried for the smallest footprint possibly, which meant penetration and manouver. Which is why blowing up a small Moon was meant to indicate the exinguishibg of a deeply pervading existential threat.

Romanticising combat perpetuates it needlessly.

combat is romanticised by rich people to convince poor people that dying for someone else's benefit is a good idea....

Best gun for right job! Light saber if you can direct laser bolts would not work on metal so here on earth jedi would carry guns at all times. So assassin guns for assassins, either teeny guns that bounce, no joy, or big fat barrett, take the head off! Big badda boom!. Bigger gun=better gun!

If, say, you're up to mischief in a vehicle, then perhaps an AM rifle is the right tool for the job.

If we're hanging out in central park and I'm feeling like I need to be a little richer at your expense, then perhaps 9mm will be sufficient.

Of course, if my goal is to be enriched at your expense, perhaps photos of that thing that happened at that place that one time would be even more suitable than a bullet?

right tool for the job....

In the 100 years war between the English & the French the use of the Longbow vs the Crossbow has been cited as the winning factor. The longbow took years of practice to hone a skill that proved much deadlier than the brute power of the Crossbow. My point is that I would think that we, as Jedi would prefer to master a skill that empowers us to use force when necessary. The time and discipline taken to master a martial art would be instrumental in teaching us the judgement to only use the force necessary to diffuse the situation and give us the control to do so. I would consider Aikido and Judo to be forms that would be appropriate for Jedi, since they use an opponent's aggression against them.

Guns make lethal force too easy. Anyone can pick one up and kill with it. Countless articles are in the news where a very young child has found their parent's gun and killed either themselves or someone else around them. Not taking anything away from those who have honed their marksmanship skills in the military or law enforcement, but simply put guns make death effortless. Point & shoot. The statement: "god made all men, but Samuel Colt made men equal" sums up my assertion. Evolution may have favored the bigger man, and one may have put in the time & effort to develop strength & skill in hand to hand fighting, but all that counts for little when firearms are in use. The Power of life & death shouldn't come easily, it should take time & effort and come with a responsible code of respect for that power.

I'm not saying Jedi shouldn't use them, just that we should have the judgement to avoid the necessity and only do so as an extreme last resort.
I fixed firearms during my stint in the Army (45B, small arms repairer), and I've owned and practiced with them on a regular basis. I've never had need to use one in my 54 years here so far, and looking back there has never been a time when having a gun would have improved a bad situation I've been in. There were several where one would certainly have made it worse.

Eleven wrote: A Jedi should never use a weapon to intently kill rather if needs be disarmament of the other. “What if killing the individual is unavoidable?” I cannot imagine most of us here are in those situations on a regular basis unless your a soldier in wartime. I think a gun or weapon when wield is an extension of the human ego.

That is Hollywood tactics you are talking about. How will you disarm? Hit a limb? Do you mean the brachial or femoral artery? Which will kill you just as dead as a shot between the eyes. Hit the weapon? Do you have any idea how hard it is to hit a moving HUMAN sized target under stress never mind a one-inch target on the move and potentially shooting back? ( Here is a hint police hit rate is 30 to 50 percent under stress )
Do you know what every miss means? The potential that your stray round hurts the innocent. So what you just described not only will just as likely kill the offender but puts the innocent at greater risk. That is why you shoot center mass. If you want to go home breathing or to keep the people around you from harm you shoot until the threat stops being a threat. If that means they live great. If they die well that is sad but they chose the course that put them on that path.

I have been in the situation to pull my weapon not once but twice in my life. Both times I can tell you for a fact there was no ego involved. It was survival. Pure I do not want to die and I dont want those in my care to die. Thank the Force I was not pushed to the point of pulling the trigger either time. But it was always a possibility.

Now to answer the op. I carry a gun every day that I am able from the time I get up to the time I go to bed. I also at a minimum carry a knife, flashlight, pepper spray, and first aid kit whenever I am able. Why? Because I want to have the tools at hand to render aid if I need to. The variety that I carry allows me to pick the right tool for the job. Just like a Jedi carried a set of tools on their belt regularly.
Do I ever want to pull the trigger? No. But I know if need be I will. Because evil does not respect person, time, or place and you choose the best tool to give you the best odds of survival that you legally can while still maintaining the ability to blend with those around you. Only in Hollywood do you get into a knife fight and not get cut and the reality is that you may be the only defender in the room and thus cannot fail or people other then you may die. You do not train for the regular. You train for the worst day of your life and hope it never comes.