Quote:
Originally posted by sycamore
I disagree...it's a celebration of the 2nd amendment.
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But so much more. Guns make loud noises and fling bits of metal long distances at high speed. The metal bits make holes in shit.
what's not to love?
Seriously, though, to respond to farfromhomes sort-of question:
The admiration of weaponry, specifically guns, stems from many sources. Firstly, there's an aesthetic quality to them. Some people find them dark and scary, but we think they're...I dunno, neat. Many of them are beautiful, in fact (although we haven't really touched on those yet).
Guns have played a vital role in the formation of our country, so there's lots of historical significance and a hazy kind of patriotic, star-spangled-banner thing going on, as well.
As to the "culture of fear," it's not a conscious keep-you-up-at-night fear. It's an awareness. Mentally sweeping potential threats under the rug doesn't make them go away. You don't hope your significant other gets to cash your life insurance policy, but you buy one all the same.
Call it a culture of readiness. The tac guys call it "living in condition yellow," a phrase coined by (I think) Massad Ayoob, who's a long-time cop and self-defense trainer. It goes way beyond the gun issue. What it means is this: The best way to keep yourself and those around you safe is to live with a constant awareness of your surroundings. You don't wait for things to jump out of bushes at you, but you mentally catalog the existence and location of the bush.
Part of this readiness (which sounds tiring, but really becomes second nature) does involve a willingness to take action against imminent danger, but it also requires the discretion to just quietly walk away before action is required. Even if you never pick up a gun in your life, you should develop that awareness.
Did you know that thieves check obituaries? It's so they know when everyone's going to be at the funeral so they can knock over the house. They might steal the guns and everything else out of the house, but they better hope I don't get home while they're doing it.
Edit: significant portions snipped because slang worded them better ^^