What is the controversial gun culture in Alaska and Russia?

[Rothiemurchus]

If the russians hadn't sold alaska to the usa, would the world be a different place today?

 

[Astronuc]

Of course.

Also, consider that Russians occupied the west coast of what is now the US, down through the Sacramento Valley.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_colonization_of_the_Americas

Also -

In 1841, Sutter bought the Russian settlements of Ross and Bodega for $32,000, secured by mortgage on New Helvetia. Sutter also established Hock Farm on the west bank of the Feather River, a few miles south of what would become Yuba City. This farm supplied food for the settlement at Sutter's Fort on the Sacramento River.

http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/activity/suttersfort/pages/sutter.html

 

[turbo]

Also, the Russians had relations with the Inuit, Tlingit, Aleuts, and a whole lot of other tribes of native americans living on the west coast of the US. The Russians hunted whales and fished here, and also engaged in trade with the natives in the very lucrative fur market.

 

[Manchot]

If you can believe it, we'd probably be even more dependent on foreign oil if not for Alaska.

 

[denverdoc]

Well it just proves "folly" as in Seward's is a matter of perspective.

 

[drankin]

It was one of the most brilliant acquisitions this country has ever made.

I've lived there 10yrs of my life. My children are Alaska Natives.

There are a folks up there that would like to secede from the US. Alaska would certainly be capable of being its own prosporous country. One of the only places in the country where there is no sales tax, state income tax, and they even pay each resident oil royalties for every year that you live there. Every man woman and child.

It's the light/dark seasonal cycles I did not care for after a few years.

 

[denverdoc]

It was one of the most brilliant acquisitions this country has ever made.

I've lived there 10yrs of my life. My children are Alaska Natives.

There are a folks up there that would like to secede from the US. Alaska would certainly be capable of being its own prosporous country. One of the only places in the country where there is no sales tax, state income tax, and they even pay each resident oil royalties for every year that you live there. Every man woman and child.

It's the light/dark seasonal cycles I did not care for after a few years.

I would have a big barreled pistol self-pointed at the right angle after a single year there I suspect. The seasonal stuff i couldn't handle. I trained with a gal from Anchorage, of partly Inuit descent, who was a treasure. Went straight back there from Colorado. We miss her. But she was devoted to her native land, and I suspect couldn't handle the sunshine beaming down 300/365 days a year. Myself I agree that the natural resources are the property of all. Likely it works in Akaska where there is a super-abundance relative to the population, is an argument to consider. But also being a newcomer and unfettered by old money is something to reflect on.

 

[Pythagorean]

It was one of the most brilliant acquisitions this country has ever made.

I've lived there 10yrs of my life. My children are Alaska Natives.

There are a folks up there that would like to secede from the US. Alaska would certainly be capable of being its own prosporous country. One of the only places in the country where there is no sales tax, state income tax, and they even pay each resident oil royalties for every year that you live there. Every man woman and child.

It's the light/dark seasonal cycles I did not care for after a few years.

Secession is out of the question. There's only two way we could get it: a) diplomatic b) violence

diplomacy will never work because our roots are as a free trade zone for the US. The US relies on us in so many ways (military position, strategy, and intelligence; fisheries, oil, research and development, the list is endless, some politicians might see us as an inexhaustible resource) that it will never give us up.

violence won't work because we're over-policed, a lot of military personnel are transferred frequently (so they don't have a sense of belonging to Alaska, they're dedication is to the US) and we have multiple military bases controlled by DC up here.

The US machine has properly invested in "homeland security" in Alaska. We are it's *****.

 

[Danger]

I probably shouldn't get involved in this, since I've had a couple of Keith's, but let's keep in mind that what is now Alaska was Canadian property until the idiot Brit government (who unfortunately controlled us) decided to give it to Russia instead.

 

[drankin]

Secession is out of the question. There's only two way we could get it: a) diplomatic b) violence

diplomacy will never work because our roots are as a free trade zone for the US. The US relies on us in so many ways (military position, strategy, and intelligence; fisheries, oil, research and development, the list is endless, some politicians might see us as an inexhaustible resource) that it will never give us up.

violence won't work because we're over-policed, a lot of military personnel are transferred frequently (so they don't have a sense of belonging to Alaska, they're dedication is to the US) and we have multiple military bases controlled by DC up here.

The US machine has properly invested in "homeland security" in Alaska. We are it's *****.

I just mentioned it because it was a peculiar idea, living up there, it seemed almost like a possiblitiy. Which it is not, of course.

It's one of the few states, if not the only, that you can walk into a Wal-Mart and in a matter of minutes purchase a nice large caliber handgun with nothing more than proof that you are an adult, put it in your pocket, buy a case of ammo, walk out, and the it's completely legal. That's what they call "the last frontier", my friends.

 

[Cyrus]

I would assume the crime in Alaska is almost non-existant.

 

[drankin]

I would assume the crime in Alaska is almost non-existant.

Why would you assume that?

 

[Cyrus]

Just seems like better people would be in Alaska. Its not like the streets of DC.

 

[denverdoc]

Not to butt in. and i haven't seen a single stat--crime rate fluctuates with season, is largely a function of alcohol/drug abuse, and is overall more violence vs purely property crimes?

 

[drankin]

Actually, here are some stats: http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/akcrime.htm

Crime is better in some respects and worse in others per 1000 people compared to other states. The demographic is not typical though. The gender ratio is one of the most significant in the nation. More men than women. There is a saying up there, "You don't lose your woman, you just lose your turn". And in my experience, it holds true

 

[drankin]

Just seems like better people would be in Alaska. Its not like the streets of DC.

I think there is something to be said about distance from other people. Too many people around can make one irratable :). There is a lot of empty land. Though, Anchorage has a pretty dense population. Mainly because it's right up between some mountains and the ocean. Everywhere else can be very spread out. They are still homesteading up there!

The thing about Alaska is that the people are from everywhere. Most people are from outside of Alaska and ended up there by circumstance or military stationing. I was an Air Force brat.

 

[drankin]

Not to butt in. and i haven't seen a single stat--crime rate fluctuates with season, is largely a function of alcohol/drug abuse, and is overall more violence vs purely property crimes?

Alcoholism is significant up there. Particularly among the Natives. Some villages are alchol-free for that reason. (Some are actaully "white-man" free, they won't let you out of the Cessna you might have dropped in with). They don't have the same tolerance as those that have had it in their ancestry for thousands of years. As far as being a problem, depends on who you talk to. Long winters don't help.

But the country is incredible.

Man, keep me talking and I'll end up going back!

 

[BobG]

If the russians hadn't sold alaska to the usa, would the world be a different place today?

I don't think there would be a huge difference. Russia may have interacted with a lot of the Alaskan natives, but they only occupied a small area in the Alaskan Gulf. They weren't very likely to settle the rest of Alaska and not very likely to hold on to what they did occupy because of the British. If the US hadn't 'bought' Alaska from Russia, it would probably be part of Canada.

As it is, the US paid Russia $7.2 million, but a court later declared that deal invalid since Russia didn't own or occupy most of Alaska. The US had to repurchase Alaska from its indigenous residents for $962 million in 1971. A lot of people think that deal was still a rip-off of the native Alaskans.

 

[drankin]

I don't think there would be a huge difference. Russia may have interacted with a lot of the Alaskan natives, but they only occupied a small area in the Alaskan Gulf. They weren't very likely to settle the rest of Alaska and not very likely to hold on to what they did occupy because of the British. If the US hadn't 'bought' Alaska from Russia, it would probably be part of Canada.

As it is, the US paid Russia $7.2 million, but a court later declared that deal invalid since Russia didn't own or occupy most of Alaska. The US had to repurchase Alaska from its indigenous residents for $962 million in 1971. A lot of people think that deal was still a rip-off of the native Alaskans.

One thing is for sure, they got a much better deal than any Native Americans ever did.

 

[denverdoc]

Alcoholism is significant up there. Particularly among the Natives. Some villages are alchol-free for that reason. (Some are actaully "white-man" free, they won't let you out of the Cessna you might have dropped in with). They don't have the same tolerance as those that have had it in their ancestry for thousands of years. As far as being a problem, depends on who you talk to. Long winters don't help.

But the country is incredible.

Man, keep me talking and I'll end up going back!

Well my guess wasn't too far off--didn't foresee the rape as #1 but in retrospect makes sense, somewhat undermining the notion that rape is not a sexually motivated crime in most instances. Certinly crimes of violence #8 vs property crimes--roughly median values, confirmed my suspicions.

I'd love to go up there in the summer, and am determined to see the A.Borealis before I die, preferably under the influence of the right intoxicants.

 

[drankin]

Well my guess wasn't too far off--didn't foresee the rape as #1 but in retrospect makes sense, somewhat undermining the notion that rape is not a sexually motivated crime in most instances. Certinly crimes of violence #8 vs property crimes--roughly median values, confirmed my suspicions.

I'd love to go up there in the summer, and am determined to see the A.Borealis before I die, preferably under the influence of the right intoxicants.

YES, you must see the Northern Lights. Make it a point to be as north as possible, in the dead of winter - outside of the city lights of Fairbanks is great without being too far from civilization.
:)

 

[denverdoc]

Thanks for the tip, I had supposed I'd be on the ice cap 500 mi from civilization with a propane heater and a prayer. Too bad about the winter aspect but given in summer too much light--and the cross product is best in both. I'm waiting for both a max in sunspot activity and an announcement from Boulder that the mother storm is on her way.

 

[Gokul43201]

I would assume the crime in Alaska is almost non-existant.

Au contraire, Alaska ranks #7 among US states, for violent crime rate and #21 for murder and manslaughter (DC takes the top spot, of course). And it beats DC to the #1 spot for forcible rape.

http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/US_States_Rate_Ranking.html

 

[BobG]

Au contraire, Alaska ranks #7 among US states, for violent crime rate and #21 for murder and manslaughter (DC takes the top spot, of course). And it beats DC to the #1 spot for forcible rape.

http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/US_States_Rate_Ranking.html

To get the real picture, you also need to look at some of their sporting events.

In the spring, they have a contest to see whose snow mobile will fly the furthest out into a river.

They also have a footrace over a mountain while there's still snow on the mountain. Running uphill through snow is one thing. Mostly sliding down the other side and discovering where rocks are buried in the snow by the amount of blood that comes out your legs is another.

They have a bicycle race from Anchorage to Fairbanks in the dead of winter. The year I was there the third place finisher talks about how depressed he was when one of the top three dropped out of the race promoting him to third place. He was just about to drop out when he heard the news and felt he couldn't drop out when he was sitting in a medal spot.

A lot of roads deadend at a river. In the winter, the river's frozen and you can drive across them. They close the road when the first vehicle falls all the way through the ice.

Even the supposedly healthy element of the population is looking for a way to die. They just want a more spectacular death than the criminal element and suicidally depressed element.

The long winters even affect the people that are only up there temporarily. I spent a year at a BMEWS site (BMEWS stands for Bewildered Men Existing Without Sex for those who were wondering). We had some strange competitions in the winter, including a human dog sled race (we didn't have any dogs, so humans had to pull the sleds), blind snow shoe races (every team has at least one person dumb enough to don snowshoes and blindfold and allow his friends to verbally run him into fences and trees), softball games in the dead of winter with orange softballs so you'd know if you dug in the right spot (balls in the gap don't bounce, they just bury themselves in the snow), contests to see who could slide across ice the furthest while wearing shoes. Winters affected people's sanity so badly that there were grown men in the stained glass club, making ornaments out of stained glass!

That place was a blast! Well, once it had finished driving you around the bend so you could appreciate things a little better.

 

[Rothiemurchus]

I watched the tv programme Northern Exposure and I got the impression from this that alaska was a place where people had a lot of freedom.The reality sounds better/worse than the tv programme depending on your point of view about how much freedom people should have.

 

[drankin]

That show was filmed in Washington state. A lot of the "facts" about Alaska in that show were simply wrong. It was a good show as far as shows go. There was a humorous morning radio show in Anchorage that would air all the misinformation that "Northern Exposure" had on it the night before. Things like references to an "interstate highway" ...Hollywoods version of Alaska.

The reality sounds better/worse than the tv programme depending on your point of view about how much freedom people should have.

So, how much freedom should people have, in your point of view? I'm not sure what you are referring to.

 

[Rothiemurchus]

I don't think people should be free to buy guns at Wal-Mart in Alaska.But then I live in the UK where most people think you are either a farmer or a criminal if you have a gun.

 

[drankin]

I don't think people should be free to buy guns at Wal-Mart in Alaska.But then I live in the UK where most people think you are either a farmer or a criminal if you have a gun.

Alaska is part of the United States. We can buy guns (rifles) in most Wal-Marts in the US. Actually buying a handgun without a waiting period or a permit is what makes it Alaska unusual compared to most other states. Wal-mart has good prices for guns and ammo.