Is collecting knives and other items greedy? How would you answer this person?

[ChrisinHove]

I suppose there is an argument where consumption can be excessive, and I think we all must have a point where we would say to ourselves “Stop this - you’re getting a bit carried away!”

We may also have good-enough friends who can say this to us, or us to them, for the benefit of our well-being.

However, my response to anyone else would be short, and in Anglo-Saxon.

There is also the point that we live in an industrial, consumer society, and working people rely upon us to buy products from the companies they work for, so they can house and feed their families. If we bought less, society would earn less and pay less tax overall, and there would be both more domestic hardship and less money for foreign trade, aid and development. Is that what they want?

[MichaelScott]

I suppose there is an argument where consumption can be excessive, and I think we all must have a point where we would say to ourselves “Stop this - you’re getting a bit carried away!”

We may also have good-enough friends who can say this to us, or us to them, for the benefit of our well-being.

However, my response to anyone else would be short, and in Anglo-Saxon.

There is also the point that we live in an industrial, consumer society, and working people rely upon us to buy products from the companies they work for, so they can house and feed their families. If we bought less, society would earn less and pay less tax overall, and there would be both more domestic hardship and less money for foreign trade, aid and development. Is that what they want?

They don’t think things through, especially if it might question their ideology.

[ChrisinHove]

I suppose there is an argument where consumption can be excessive, and I think we all must have a point where we would say to ourselves “Stop this - you’re getting a bit carried away!”

We may also have good-enough friends who can say this to us, or us to them, for the benefit of our well-being.

However, my response to anyone else would be short, and in Anglo-Saxon.

There is also the point that we live in an industrial, consumer society, and working people rely upon us to buy products from the companies they work for, so they can house and feed their families. If we bought less, society would earn less and pay less tax overall, and there would be both more domestic hardship and less money for foreign trade, aid and development. Is that what they want?

They don’t think things through, especially if it might question their ideology.

The most pernicious ideology - and we are facing the possibility of it for real in the U.K. - is where they actually seek economic meltdown so they can rebuild society as they want it. We won’t be collecting knives, then, we’ll be collecting acorns....

[guywithopinion]

The same person (And I am not putting down those who choose to eat vegan/vegetarian foods by this) is a self-professed "vegan and enviromentalist" and claims those of us (myself included) who eat meat and animal products on a regular basis, are "destroying mother earth" because, according to him, it takes more energy and resources to produce meat than it does to produce vegetables and grains, and so anyone who has chosen not to eat a meat/dairy-free diet, is responsible in some way for destroying the earth and enviroment.

Why would you talk to this person a second time?

[The Mastiff]

The most pernicious ideology - and we are facing the possibility of it for real in the U.K. - is where they actually seek economic meltdown so they can rebuild society as they want it. We won’t be collecting knives, then, we’ll be collecting acorns....

That is a scary thought. I believe we have some like that as well unfortunately.

Joe

[Crux]

Is the spork outlawed in the U.K.?

[JD Spydo]

I'd ask them to show you the monastery they live in and how they've dedicated their life to sacrifice. Ask them how many pairs of shoes they own, how many TV's are in their house, how many cars they own, how often they eat out or get Starbucks, etc. That's a BS answer by someone who just doesn't understand our hobby but probably does more wasteful things with their money.

What you and MicaelScott both have said I'll give a high five to immediately :cool: To have some toys or other things that intrigue you is truly a part of the "American Dream". Hey I've done a lot of volunteer work to help homeless people and street people working with a minister friend of mine and guess who helps us the most? It is a lot of very successful local business people and mostly people who have most of their own needs and their family's needs more than taken care of.

The Liberal-Socialists that use that "Selfish" excuse many times live in very lavish living conditions in gated communities. Talk about the pinnacle of hypocrisy. I make no apology for my hobbies and knife collecting and using is just one of about 4 main hobbies I have. And I've used my hobbies at times to help other people in need. I'm willing to bet that most of your mainline politicians have never done that.

Since when is poverty equated with holiness anyway :confused: ? I know about a half a dozen really well to do people that do far more to help down and out people than anybody pointing fingers ever did.

[embry386]

I think it's selfish buying knives you have no need for.

How is it selfish? It's not like there's a knife shortage -- Spyderco just makes more of them. Especially when their sales are doing well.

I'd ask them to show you the monastery they live in and how they've dedicated their life to sacrifice. Ask them how many pairs of shoes they own, how many TV's are in their house, how many cars they own, how often they eat out or get Starbucks, etc. That's a BS answer by someone who just doesn't understand our hobby but probably does more wasteful things with their money.

What you and MicaelScott both have said I'll give a high five to immediately :cool: To have some toys or other things that intrigue you is truly a part of the "American Dream". Hey I've done a lot of volunteer work to help homeless people and street people working with a minister friend of mine and guess who helps us the most? It is a lot of very successful local business people and mostly people who have most of their own needs and their family's needs more than taken care of.

The Liberal-Socialists that use that "Selfish" excuse many times live in very lavish living conditions in gated communities. Talk about the pinnacle of hypocrisy. I make no apology for my hobbies and knife collecting and using is just one of about 4 main hobbies I have. And I've used my hobbies at times to help other people in need. I'm willing to bet that most of your mainline politicians have never done that.

Since when is poverty equated with holiness anyway :confused: ? I know about a half a dozen really well to do people that do far more to help down and out people than anybody pointing fingers ever did.

Technically, I could feed a lot of people who are hungry right now, if I sold everything I owned and donated it all. I could save lots of people from a slow torturing death if I shot myself and had my organs donated too. But y'know what? Screw them. I don't owe anyone else my life, my body, or my things. I still give to charity and medical research and stuff, because having starvation and disease existing in the world is a foul wrong and I am going to help stop it. But I matter too, and I care about myself a lot more than I care about other people, and I am going to get nice things for myself when I can. Also if I tried to live like a monk then I'd get so burned out and exhausted from focusing on doing that and never having anything nice, that I wouldn't be as effective at doing any of my charity stuff.

And I kinda feel like a world in which everyone lived like monks, while preferable to a world full of starvation and diseases, isn't really an ideal world. In an ideal one, everyone would have all the food and electricity they want, and also all the knives and toys and frivolous stuff too. And that's the one I want to try to make happen.

[tvenuto]

Roll your eyes, shake your head, and walk away?

Laugh in their face?

Tell them that overpopulation is the main cause of global warming, so letting some starve is good for the planet?

Unfortunately one can't walk away from the voices in their head...

Why would you talk to this person a second time?

See above

[crazywednesday]

I’d say he is a sanctimonious busy-body that should stick with his socialist pals and leave free people alone.

+1

[Crux]

I'm buying out Spyderco Corporation one knife at a time.

[curlyhairedboy]

In my experience, any large life change emerges from within after a degree of introspection. Rarely do people change just because you ask them to.

I think any definition of greed requires contextualization - if someone says "you have more than you need" that's meaningless without the accompanying and usually unspoken "while these people have not enough". I have more air than I need on land! (that's largely the case for everyone on the surface of the planet, hopefully) BUT if I was SCUBA diving and insisted on hoarding extra tanks while my colleagues were running low, that's certainly what I'd classify as greed.

If the people I work with, friends, family and others had "not enough" knives, and Spydercos were rare and hard to get, I'm sure I'd only hold onto one or two. They're tools and they're designed for people who need to cut things. I only have 2 hands and I can't use more than 2 knives at a time anyway. Better that the best tools for the job are accessible to those who require them without me grabbing them all up.

Fortunately, knives are plentiful, and Spydercos are relatively easy to access, so I don't feel like my collection represents greed.

[Crux]

It might be if you have a Para 3 I'm hunting for. :)

[Tucson Tom]

My son tried dating a Vegan. It didn't go well. It seems to be part of the "thing" to try to influence others and look down your nose at those who don't buy into the message. On the other hand there are vegans that adopt that diet for health reasons and are completely reasonable. I avoid the ones that are pushy about their lifestyle.

I clearly have more knives than I need and I sometimes do wonder about it. I feel sort of decadent owning a small collection of really nice knives. I never thought about applying the term "greed" to what I am doing. I enjoy the knives and feel grateful that I can afford them. I suppose the real question is whether your life is out of balance. Whatever you are collecting, is it screwing up other areas of your life? In fact I think the way to go with all of this is to think about what positive things you can do. If you want to help people, do it. If you find yourself wanting to do it more, by all means. But to focus on a bunch of negatives, "you gotta give up this, stop doing that, ...." Nature abhors a vacuum. Collect knives and do nice things for people.

[xceptnl]

I'd ask them to show you the monastery they live in and how they've dedicated their life to sacrifice. Ask them how many pairs of shoes they own, how many TV's are in their house, how many cars they own, how often they eat out or get Starbucks, etc. That's a BS answer by someone who just doesn't understand our hobby but probably does more wasteful things with their money.

This was the first thought to pop into my mind almost verbatim.

[benben]

Besides being an avid gun owner/shooter/collector, we'll leave guns off of my collectible list of things I'm heavily interested in. My two other things are of course Spyderco knives, and rare, odd, very hard to find Rawlings baseball gloves, in either rare patterns, impossible to find model numbers, or brick hard Horween leather. Is everything I collect overkill? No not really! Do I need them? Again, no not really.

I think Evil D summed summed it up best, I'm 53 years old, just paid off my mortgage, I have no car payments and always KEEP a zero CC balance! I tithe EVERY week to my church and I give to charity, I've worked my butt off and I'll buy what I want to buy as long as if doesn't affect my wife or both of my children. And everything I buy, I can move easily if I have to!

So my answer to the OP, you don't owe this person a response at all.

[Crux]

I give knives away all the time. Everyone I know has a knife I've given them. Maybe that counteracts some of my knife greed. When I die my wife will give away ALL my knives, but I don't let anyone know that for self preservation. :)