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Originally posted by CepheidVariable
OK, I'll go ahead & be the pariah of this thread... OK I'm a city kid who simply does not understand this cultural imperative & reverence of gun-ownership. Now, I'm not interested in taking away anyone's rights to own guns (AT ALL) but I just don't understand the fixation.. it seems like an adolescent hold-over that some people never grow out of. I guess most people (not all) who are REALLY INTO THEIR GUNS are living in a local culture that as a whole, never grows out of it either, so it's easier to maintain the collective fixation?
Personally I see guns as nothing more than a tool.. essentially a tool that makes killing things a lot easier.. or the threat of killing easier & so therefor a good defensive/intimidation tool (I'm discounting hunting weapons, as that seems to be a minority of the type of guns most people love to own).. but frankly those who need it to truly defend themselves tend to live in a city & most city dwellers don't really care about guns.
The whole idea that having guns is somehow going to scare the government from 'coming to get you' is a cultural vestige & frankly seems silly.. the days of David Koresch-style take downs is SO last century.. if they want to take you down (like seriously NWO style take-down) they will just point a red laser-dot on your roof & you go bye-bye.. people don't need to be involved anymore, other than the people who remotely control the unmanned drones..
I know this will seem elitist esp. to this crowd, but again, it just comes across to me that this is an adolescent fixation with things that go 'POP!' & gives the illusion of power to those who wield said 'power'.. & on a more archetypal, subconscious level, it seems like something that is meant to make other people think you have a bigger penis.. there, I said it. (I'm SORRY!) Same as the what makes the jerk on the road blow past another driver even though he is not in any real hurry, & innumerable other similar acts & 'trophies' of juiced-up manhood.
Basically, again, I just don't get it.
I should say, I live in St Louis, very high on the dangerous-crime list nationally.. & I love to party downtown until the late hours & luckily NEVER been mugged or even intimidated. But again, most city-dwellers (not all) aren't really 'into' guns. Seems like more a rural phenomenon, where hold-ups & muggings don't tend to be that common.
That being said, I have NO PROBLEM with you having your guns, & talking about your guns, & showing off your guns, & posing with your guns, et al.
To me it's just an alien culture that holds no appeal to me.. though I'm totally interested in hearing a real explanation as to why gun ownership is so important. Again, considering that your gun collection will most likely not even slightly intimidate a truly military force that may, for whatever reason, want to 'take you down'.
Frankly I just find it fascinating, similar to the fascination I feel for other cultures that baffle me. Except this one is in my own backyard!