National Guns Have Divided America. Here’s What Happens When 245 People Try to Meet in the Middle

[Andy54Hawken]

As many here have already said....Guns haven't divided America.
People's perceptions of firearms , firearm owners and just what the 2nd Amendment means , both in 1791 and for today , has caused the divide.
We are also manipulated by those who can profit by this divide.

Be careful in what you say and do , when you are out and about with your guns or at a gun show etc....
What you say and do , can be seen as how all gun owners think , feel and act.
You may be "reaching" more people , than you realize with your actions.
We are our own best and worst ambassadors.

We as gun owners are judged by many , who see all gun owners alike , for example :
Whenever someone misuses a gun , we as gun owners are held often accountable or seen in the same light , as the one who misused the gun.
The perception here is , that all gun owners are the same or near enough....

Perception can matter more than "truth" at times.
It can also be misleading , simply because what one perceives as "truth" , can in reality be , just another perception.
( Or in the words of The big Lebowski..."Yeah , well that's just your opinion man"... )
Perception is easier to "sell" or send as a message , than the truth of any given matter...This in turn can be used or manipulated to ones advantage.
Andy

 

[WasrNwarpaint]

As many here have already said....Guns haven't divided America.
Peoples perceptions of firearms , firearm owners and just what the 2nd Amendment means , both in 1791 and for today , has caused the divide.
We are also manipulated by those who can profit by this divide.

Be careful in what you say and do , when you are out and about with your guns or at a gun show etc....
What you say and do , can be seen as how all gun owners think , feel and act.
You may be "reaching" more people , than you realize with your actions.
We are our own best and worst ambassadors.

We as gun owners are judged by many , who see all gun owners alike , for example :
Whenever someone misuses a gun , we as gun owners are held often accountable or seen in the same light , as the one who misused the gun.
The perception here is , that all gun owners are the same or near enough....

Perception can matter more than "truth" at times.
It can also be misleading , simply because what one perceives as "truth" , can in reality be , just another perception.
( Or in the words of The big Lebowski..."Yeah , well that's just your opinion man"... )
Perception is easier to "sell" or send as a message , than the truth of any given matter...This in turn can be used or manipulated to ones advantage.
Andy

agreed and more evidence the leftist are racists even with inanimate objects

 

[revjen45]

1) If they really DO support 2A why don't they support Strict Scrutiny?
2) If they really DO support 2A why does every one of their proposals want to limit its free exercise?
3) If they really DO support 2A why does "compromise" always involve me giving up something and them giving up nothing?
4) "Common sense gun safety measures" = 3 Pinocchios. "Reasonable, commonsense gun safety measures" = 4 Pinocchios
5) "Loophole" = Something they haven't succeeded in banning yet. Today's "concession" by them is tomorrow's "loophole" to shriek over, ref. the Brady Bill and UBC.

 

[titsonritz]

Guns haven't divided us. The new socialists have.

Middle ground is, if you don't want a gun, don't buy one.

Perfect.

 

[PDXbiker]

"...community leaders say much of the gun culture is tied to a lack of access to education, jobs and opportunity".

Community leaders apparently have confused gun culture with thug culture. Access to education? Last time I checked everyone has an opportunity to get at least a high school diploma. Don't go to school, that's on you. Lack of jobs? September unemployment rate is 3.7%, lowest in nearly 49 years. Opportunity? Opportunity is where one goes to find it plus the work to make it happen. What some "community leaders" are saying is BS and not tied to the "gun culture" I know. Gang banging is thug culture. Don't even link it to responsible firearm owning gun culture. I just got that Time magazine issue. Interesting read.

 

[Jonnyuma]

Community leaders apparently have confused gun culture with thug culture.

Anti-gun owner groups have been attempting to make the phrase "gun-culture" a perjorative for years. Apparently they're doing a better job than I am with my strategy of embracing it and (at least trying to) remove the unwarranted stigma attatched to it.

They say: The United States has a "gun-culture" that no other civilized nation has.

I say: That's half true. The USA has a vibrant gun-culture that's rich in tradition and sportsmanship. We have active hunters who keep conservation efforts alive and keep entire communities afloat with their dollars every year. How many herd of elk or deer... bears, cougars, mountain sheep, etc have been saved by PETA this year... or ever?
We have a vital and active sport-shooting community who provide jobs and dollars to the suppliers and sponsers of shooting events.
Shoot-for-fun, casual plinkers, long-range, short-range, hit the range once a month, preppers, SD/HD enthusiasts...
We are a diverse group w diverse interests and we put millions, if not billions of dollars into the economy every... single... year. And we do it lawfully and peaceably.


Other countries have a "gun-culture" too, let's not kid ourselves. Where firearms have been made illegal and/or only available to the well-connected and wealthy, it thrives in the criminal underground. Murderers, gangsters, and thugs make up that "gun-culture". O yeah, they have it, but it's a whole lot different than ours.

Pick one.

 

[bbbass]

Guns haven't divided America, a section of the population decided to go full R and separate themselves from the rational world of adults.

A good illustration of the mechanism of division. Keep up the good work!!

 

[slimmer13]

A good illustration of the mechanism of division. Keep up the good work!!

Too harsh? Well, when a section of the population actually wants to take away mine and my childrens rights protected in the BOR, it's a little more serious than just saying "we're divided".

 

[Jonnyuma]

Guns haven't divided America, a section of the population decided to go full R and separate themselves from the rational world of adults.

^^^ THIS ^^^

I was gonna say it, but now I'm glad I didn't... you guys saw the same glaring mischaracterization that I did.

My guns haven't divided anyone. They were perfectly happy to live their peaceful lives secure in the knowledge that that they would never be used for evil. If they could have pulled it together enough to throw me a freaking birthday party every year I'm sure they would.

Similarly, I personally have no ambivalence towards my guns, or yours either. I'm about 100% sure that most, if not all of us here, are not the problem or the cause of the "divide"... we'd be happily going about our lives and voting, activating, and complaining about other things if it weren't for one thing... the divisive and irrational numbnuts that have placed their sights on us.

Make no mistake... the "Antis" aren't just against guns. They're not only "anti gun", they're anti gun OWNER. The more militant among them advocate "SWATting" you and would enjoy (and advocate for) seeing you killed by police. They're not above lying anymore because they do it daily in their social media sphere... and they get a little endorphin rush when similarly-minded social eunichs give them the "Likes" they need.

"We" didn't start this fire, "They" did.

 

[DuneHopper]

There is middle ground,

Iits 3 feet down, rather then six for those that want to by force, remove our rights.

 

[revjen45]

"Community leaders apparently have confused gun culture with thug culture."

False conflations are stock in trade for them.

 

[BAC19]

Sorry, but the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is just that, a Right, guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. It comes right behind the freedom to speak ones mind... Pretty important stuff, written down and prioritized by folks much wiser than we have today...

There is no common sense anything needed here. It's a Right that's not up for negotiations... Period...

And both rights are at risk or already compromised. I cannot share my beliefs or views at work for fear of being accused of being intolerant or prejudiced because I don't agree with someone else and in the end lose my job. A gal at work tried discussing politics with me one day; I respectfully told her I did not share her viewpoint and she blew up in my face (the illegal immigrant debate - what else?). I calmly told her I have the right to my opinion but we would no longer discuss the matter nor any other when it comes to politics. So now she seeks out others to loudly share her opinions on current events to which I put on my headphones to aid in keeping my mouth shut and maintaining the peace.
That's the bigger of the two problems as I see it - we're not even allowed discourse in many cases. We can't even agree to disagree. We're censored from the start. We need to fight equally as hard to maintain our Freedom of Speech, because without one we don't have the other.
I'm just biding my time until I can leave liberal Portland behind, and believe me I won't look back. Which is sad, because there are a lot of good people here but more than anything I don't like being censored.

 

[nammac]

And both rights are at risk or already compromised. I cannot share my beliefs or views at work for fear of being accused of being intolerant or prejudiced because I don't agree with someone else and in the end lose my job. A gal at work tried discussing politics with me one day; I respectfully told her I did not share her viewpoint and she blew up in my face (the illegal immigrant debate - what else?). I calmly told her I have the right to my opinion but we would no longer discuss the matter nor any other when it comes to politics. So now she seeks out others to loudly share her opinions on current events to which I put on my headphones to aid in keeping my mouth shut and maintaining the peace.
That's the bigger of the two problems as I see it - we're not even allowed discourse in many cases. We can't even agree to disagree. We're censored from the start. We need to fight equally as hard to maintain our Freedom of Speech, because without one we don't have the other.
I'm just biding my time until I can leave liberal Portland behind, and believe me I won't look back. Which is sad, because there are a lot of good people here but more than anything I don't like being censored.

Couldn't agree more! Only one side gets to speak out, gets to rally or protest, or gets the opportunity to be heard. This is a huge issue, because the conservative voice is being silenced, essentially losing its First Admendment rights. But much like the 2016 Presidential Election upset, the right will rear its head when it's tolerance level has been reached...

Perhaps, we're beginning to see that with these extremists starting to lash out, with the events over recent days. I don't condone violence in any way, but some see no other option.

Both sides need to halt the rhetoric and stop forcing their ideas onto others. We must somehow get back to a more rational center, where we can negotiate solutions. Continuing on the path we are on will only end in disaster for this country...

Having said that, Civil Rights as outlined in the Bill of Rights are certainly not up for negations or restrictions. Period...

 

[Boboclown]

Guns haven't divided us. The new socialists have.

Middle ground is, if you don't want a gun, don't buy one.

My favorite middleground is that if you don't like the country then Canada and Mexico are just one border away.

 

[BAC19]

My favorite middleground is that if you don't like the country then Canada and Mexico are just one border away.

Isn't it interesting Whoopie and contingent who threatened to leave the country if Trump was elected are still here? The funny thing is, Canada doesn't want Americans settling in their country.

 

[Boboclown]

Isn't it interesting Whoopie and contingent who threatened to leave the country if Trump was elected are still here? The funny thing is, Canada doesn't want Americans settling in their country.

Easier to move into the U.S than other countries. Funny thing is, when mentioned the left still says its impossible to move into the U.S.

 

[11Charlie]

I know that I can't be the only one that is tired of this stupid stuff?!!

 

[ma96782]

Guns haven't divided America, a section of the population decided to go full R and separate themselves from the rational world of adults.

Aloha, Mark

 

[nammac]

View attachment 512980

Aloha, Mark

The meme that represents the major plank in the Dimocrats Platform...

 

[bbbass]

I cannot share my beliefs or views at work for fear of being accused of being intolerant or prejudiced because I don't agree with someone else and in the end lose my job

When I started my first full-time job at AT&T just out of high school, we discussed any topic we wanted at lunch break. There were lot's of disagreements and some belittling or ridicule, hey it was a bunch of guys and I was the newbie. However, later in life I learned that you cannot give opinions at work unless you are in homogenous company.

I was forced out of a job I loved as a Rep for a medical air transport company... Even tho political talk was against company policy, I listened for two years to liberal rants, as well as talk about NE Oregonians "tooth to tattoo ratio" without piping up at all. One day several flight crew were in the midst of a whopping bunch of south bashing and George W bashing when I simply said "You know, not everybody thinks the way that you do". I was reported for political speech and my next reviews included a bunch of garbage that put my rating in the toilet. Suddenly, there were whispers whenever I visited the main office. There was a lot of attitude expressed towards me from co-workers. And I lost the support of my supervisor and those co-workers. It got so bad that I could no longer be successful in my work. I tried to report this to HR, but lacked the ability to prove harrassment. In today's workplace we have the concept of "office bullying" or even "hostile working environment", but my boss's boss (edited for spelling) told me that if they wanted me out, they would find a way to get me out since there was an "at will" clause in my contract. I quickly found other work.

Moral of the story: Ideology divides America!