My intention was to look at the gun culture situation in the US in a general way and try to figure out why it is the way it is, and, to suggest the idea that a society like the US, with a strong culture of gun ownership is, in a general sense, not a good thing.
Gun culture started with the first immigrants to the US. The myths around guns aka "The Pioneer Spirit" in particular can set me off into a snit. Lies, all of it. This country was not founded by pioneers. It was founded by a bunch of greedy, murdering, land thieves. That's never ended, it's simply shifted around and been given a patriotic gloss. The romantic notion that having guns leads to freedom was something that was used by the wealthy landowners to drum up recruits to protect their land rights in the Revolution. Its always been about that, no matter what pretty bunting's been put on it. Its drummed into people from grade school onward: The right to bear arms is what makes this country(USA) 'great'. Supposedly, that means we can defend ourselves from the government. I know many people who are totally convinced that as long as they have guns, the government can't hurt them, as if they were fending off a vampire with a crucifix.
The reality is quite different. How bad 'gun culture' is depends in a large part on where you live, and what, historically, the state has allowed. Gun laws, permits, concealed carry...all those things can be different state to state. I couldn't even tell you what they are for mine, other than the most restrictions are on handguns, not rifles. When Hubby picked up a 'varmint gun', he had to register it on purchase, and get a permit to shoot 'pests'. That was it. Hand guns are totally different, and there are some states in which you can't own certain kinds of guns, like assault rifles.
Learning to shoot guns is also something that is passed down through families. It depends on how important firearm safety is, or how central to the family guns happen to be. In our family guns were used for hunting only. Sport shooting was consider a waste of money better spent elsewhere. I knew other families where becoming a marksman was considered a rite of passage for the boys, just as learning to sew clothes and can food was for the girls. In my family it was a matter of self reliance and independence: we all learned to shoot, sew, can, and cook. As a woman my father didn't demand I learn the ins and outs of keeping a gun. My brother was forced to learn whether he liked it or not.
So we have the propaganda about guns being central to maintaining freedom, and the added baggage of what the family traditions are that will set the course for how a person deals with the subject, plus what the media is going to bombard the public with at any given time. Right now in the US? We've been at war for the last eleven years, but no one talks about it. I hear 'support our troops', and when they come home and can't speak or walk, no one cares, or even wants to see them. Everyone wants to talk about how ready they are to fight a zombie apocalypse, and how good they are at head shots, and how the government better not think about taking away their "God given right to bear arms." To be frank, its disassociated madness. I don't have any way to even begin a conversation on this subject with anyone but a select few: my husband, and Guardian. I've learned to avoid it, along with a host of other subjects. Otherwise I just get too angry at all the myths that are taken as truth.
I also couldn't help but notice that that several members who have commented on this topic seem pretty identified with their own choice to own a gun to the point that they cannot separate their own personal choice (and reasons for that choice) from the question of whether or not the gun culture in the US (or anywhere else) is a positive thing, and why and why such a gun culture has developed in the US and not other 'developed' nations.
The world still has areas in which human beings are on the menu: China, Africa, Russia etc. All of those countries have wild areas where having a gun is necessary to keep something else from eating you. In the US, Alaska is the one state that I can think of where gun ownership makes sense: its huge, wild, and they still have a decent population of bears. Living near one of the large parks where bears are is another reason to have a gun handy. The main danger from bears is over kills, stumbling across a sow with cubs, or from an old bear that isn't able to hunt well and goes for people.
To me, that's about it. Being able to hunt for food with firearms isn't about 'freedom'. I didn't learn the difference between the sound of a hand gun and a rifle until I lived in a city. When I could tell the difference between a Nine Mil, a 45, and a shotgun, we moved to the country to get away from gunfire at night. Out here in the country its rare to hear anything but a .22.
What I find more disturbing is the militarization of the police, seeing how its become 'normal' to see troops everywhere, and how eager people are for an excuse to hurt other people. That's getting worse all the time.
