Why are firearms feared?

[whiskeybill]

A few years ago I saw a news feed video from England about a young couple who had dug up some old ammunition (handgun and rifle) from WWII or thereabouts. The police came in with a bomb disposal team and was excavating the entire yard while the "man" and his wife sat by in abject terror. Seriously. These people were absolutely in terror of this old ammunition, and the police, with their complete overreaction / overkill, did nothing but reinforce the false beliefs these people already had about ANYTHING relating to firearms or ammunition. These people had been conditioned (or educated) to believe that firearms and anything remotely related to same is something to be feared and avoided. The same thing is happening here in the good ol' USA. That has to be turned around. Period.

 

[clearconscience]

Guns are feared by those who wish to induce tyrany over others. Then they pass their propaganda along to the sheeple to get them to fear guns as well.

Only people who don't fear guns are the people who want them, who need them to secure their rights in the world. The right to be free and who will die before being oppressed.

 

[Nick Burkhardt]

My wife is afraid of kitchen knives. She has seen too many movies where the large knife or cleaver was the "murder weapon or opportunity". We received a butcher block with a really nice set of knives for a wedding present 23 years ago. She has them locked up in the pantry. I only use them once or twice a year.

 

[Doc In UPlace]

knives... were not designed to kill.

Yes they were. Stuck on the end of a pole, probably the biggest step in acquiring food-on-the-hoof since the rock. Then the smaller stick with a bow. Most definitely killing machines. What weapons did the Romans use to create the empire?

Now, the reverse is true. Some of the sheeple actually believe that a knife can't do serious harm. "Why'd they shoot him? All he had was a knife!"

Those in the know will confirm that a determined, fit, attacker with a knife, within about 20 feet, is about unstoppable without sustaining injuries to the defender, in the best of scenarios.

 

[Nick Burkhardt]

"Clue" anyone?

 

[P7M13]

I had to put a light in my safe cause they scare the begebies out of me. When I open it up I get way back so one wont jump out and get me.

That's because, when you open your safe, you see a serious investment in time and money...
The ones jumping out are screaming, "I need an Eotech! I need a Nightforce! I need accurizing!"

 

[Doc In UPlace]

The first actual murder weapon I saw was a Portland Police Bureau evidence photo of a claw hammer with blood and the victim's hair adhering to the hammer face. Will never forget it.

 

[IronMonster]

Honestly people are scared of firearms because they are told to be.

Some of us know better, there are lots of people in the world who only know what they are told. The media and the government tells them daily that guns are a terrifying problem. That guns just kill people. That they are evil. That only crazy people would flirt with these death machines.

I grew up in rural Idaho and very, very few people there were scared of guns. People had a healthy respect for them and there was surly folks who did not like them.

In Seattle its another story. I run into people all the time that think just being in the same room with a firearm somehow puts you at risk of sudden death.
They have been conditioned, brainwashed and instructed on what to think.

They have no reason to think for themselves, They seem quite happy to take the word of the media and government who after all only wants to keep them safe.

 

[Capn Jack]

They have no reason to think for themselves, They seem quite happy to take the word of the media and government who after all only wants to keep them safe.

Kind of sums it up doesn't it...

 

[erudne]

Statists fear free men who are not easily oppressed by the state thugs who are always armed and travel in gangs Firearms level the playing field and paid mercenaries hate the idea they may face equal odds hence the indoctrination of hoplophobia

 

[Doc In UPlace]

And then there's this: The Seattle media are reporting three shootings from last night (Friday 4/22 into Saturday). One, on Capitol Hill left behind about 40 shell casings in the street, but only one slightly-grazed person who didn't go to the hospital.
The other two had more serious consequences.

That's from one night.

The country has a compulsive-obsessive love/hate relationship with guns. Look at the movies and TV shows that routinely, I mean every day, every night, have people aiming guns at each other. It's so epidemic, it's become blandly routine, and that's sick.

Try this: for today only, notice the promos for tonight's upcoming shows.

They make it so delicious, people can't look away. Murder as entertainment!

Parents leave their kids in care of an electronic baby-sitter: the TV. So the kids become numb to the pretend violence; and when they get old enough go out armed, thinking that shooting people is normal, maybe exciting, maybe fun, they give it a try. They don't realize until it's too late that it's not fun, and it's permanent. Real dead people don't spring back to life after the commercial break. A 25-to-life prison sentence doesn't end at the top of the hour.

For most people who don't live a life that places them in real situations, (home, car, office, car, home) the retina of their mind's eye is the TV screen. The brain perceives what it sees on TV as raw experience. Therefore television IS reality, and reality- is less than television.

It can't be overstated the damage that TV and movies are causing, from their sociopathic programming to their reality-distorting so-called news coverage.

When I look back on it, how lucky people my age were, to be kids when there was no TV at all; or if there was a TV in the house it had one channel which went off the air at 10 and stayed off until 8am.

My 2 pennies' worth.

 

[Member 5605]

My dad....

Ugghhh

Last night he and I were discussing his trip to Alaska and how he was wanting to take a rifle into Canada on the trip. I advised against it. I told him it's a complete cluster of laws and it's probably NOT a good idea.

I linked two things after I got home:

https://www.ezbordercrossing.com/th.../bringing-a-firearm-into-canada/#.VxsJN8hHanM

And

For reference Al is a local officer who had had attitude problems (I'm better than you) forever...

What does he (my dad) see so scary about guns? I don't know, but you can see there is some sort of irrational justification.



We discussed how firearm deaths are not out of control and that if you remove suicides, gangbanger activity and justified killings by police and citizens our death per 100,000 population is extremely low.

He votes democrat. I'm almost positive.

 

[whiskeybill]

My wife is afraid of kitchen knives. She has seen too many movies where the large knife or cleaver was the "murder weapon or opportunity". We received a butcher block with a really nice set of knives for a wedding present 23 years ago. She has them locked up in the pantry. I only use them once or twice a year.

The upside is they don't dull as often. My wife abuses all her cutlery and I'm busier than a millwright keeping things sharpened.

 

[Joe13]

And then there's this: The Seattle media are reporting three shootings from last night (Friday 4/22 into Saturday). One, on Capitol Hill left behind about 40 shell casings in the street, but only one slightly-grazed person who didn't go to the hospital.
The other two had more serious consequences.

That's from one night.

The country has a compulsive-obsessive love/hate relationship with guns. Look at the movies and TV shows that routinely, I mean every day, every night, have people aiming guns at each other. It's so epidemic, it's become blandly routine, and that's sick.

Try this: for today only, notice the promos for tonight's upcoming shows.

They make it so delicious, people can't look away. Murder as entertainment!

Parents leave their kids in care of an electronic baby-sitter: the TV. So the kids become numb to the pretend violence; and when they get old enough go out armed, thinking that shooting people is normal, maybe exciting, maybe fun, they give it a try. They don't realize until it's too late that it's not fun, and it's permanent. Real dead people don't spring back to life after the commercial break. A 25-to-life prison sentence doesn't end at the top of the hour.

For most people who don't live a life that places them in real situations, (home, car, office, car, home) the retina of their mind's eye is the TV screen. The brain perceives what it sees on TV as raw experience. Therefore television IS reality, and reality- is less than television.

It can't be overstated the damage that TV and movies are causing, from their sociopathic programming to their reality-distorting so-called news coverage.

When I look back on it, how lucky people my age were, to be kids when there was no TV at all; or if there was a TV in the house it had one channel which went off the air at 10 and stayed off until 8am.

My 2 pennies' worth.

Not sure that's the case but I have no proof.

My daughter grew up with me and then around 6-8 she joined me in playing First person shooter games (it was networked so it was just she and I against AI Bots to keep the freaks out).

Got out of it when she hit high school and has little to no interest in guns.

Even movies and TV shows I watched growing up had guns shooting people and then add 30 years of gaming with very violent games on top of it and I have no intention nor would I ever decide it is "ok" because it's normal cuz I see it on TV all the time.

Nor did the grand theft auto series turn a bunch of kids into a bunch of gun crazy car jacker's.

I agree with your assessment of the current situation just not how we got to it.

IMO, it's piss poor parenting that is perpetuating irresponsible brats everywhere.

 

[mjbskwim]

Well people do fear gas,knives, axes and other things that can,in the blink of an eye,injure or kill.
A firearm is one of the few things that if not taken care with and in the wrong hands can kill or maim instantly.
And most that fear them haven't been around guns and don't know how they work. No need to refer to it as ignorance. Just some never had an interest and may have been given misinformation about guns.
Just because people don't hold the same interest or knowledge lo f your hobbies doesn't make them ignorant. No need to be demeaning

 

[clearconscience]

The other thing fueling the cause is the liberal punishment the courts and jail put towards criminals. Our system caters to criminals, and make them repeat criminals and allows the mindset that deters fear from being caught.
So criminals become more violent, and less afraid.

So violence gets worse and more common over time.

 

[Joe13]

Well people do fear gas,knives, axes and other things that can,in the blink of an eye,injure or kill.
A firearm is one of the few things that if not taken care with and in the wrong hands can kill or maim instantly.
And most that fear them haven't been around guns and don't know how they work. No need to refer to it as ignorance. Just some never had an interest and may have been given misinformation about guns.
Just because people don't hold the same interest or knowledge lo f your hobbies doesn't make them ignorant. No need to be demeaning

Not sure if I was one of the ones that this shoe fit but a demeaning word would be just plain stupid.

Ignorance is a lack of knowledge.

If you don't take steps to fix your ignorance on any given subject you have an opinion on then I would consider that stupid.


I have never used ignorant as a demeaning term but I have used stupid in a demeaning way.

 

[The Heretic]

There are a number of reasons.

First, I think people are indoctrinated by those who recognize that firearms are a threat to their power; i.e., by politicians and others in power. An armed public is a threat to their addiction to political power. An unarmed public is much less able to resist tyranny and easier to control. An armed public is not near as easily controlled and those in power must "go with the flow" and use much more subtle methods to maintain their power, including letting go of their temporary power when they are found out. You may notice that in less free countries, that tyrants hang onto power a lot longer.

Second, as already mentioned, there is ignorance. Firearms are associated with the explicit ability to harm or kill others (animals or humans), and those who are ignorant of them recognize that. Instead of learning to treat firearms with respect for that power, they overreact and treat firearms with fear instead, and not a unique reaction (people sometimes treat other objects or animals or people that they are ignorant of, with fear, instead of respect).

Then there are those who mix the two reactions. They may fear the firearm, but they also fear anything that they see as an expression of non-conformance and/or freedom and those who practice it. E.G., sometimes such people react to those who ride motorcycles without helmets, or do other things outside their perceived norm for society. They feel that they themselves must behave within those "norms" so they perceive those who don't as a threat, and also as someone who is non-conforming so they are envious (in a way) of those who don't conform, as having more freedom than they do, so they must force others to conform.

In short, it is simple human nature.

 

[Ura-Ki]

Many good thoughts here and I would tend to agree with most of them. What I see is the availability of information and its saturation of our lives. Many of us grew up with out the flicka box as a part of our lives and we had to find ways to entertain our selves in more creative ways. When I was a kid, you didn't hear about events out side your community very often. And the outlets for that news were from your community, from people you knew and trusted! Very rarely did you hear of these events as they were not from the local area and thus, didn't really matter to our daily lives. The People have become Sheeple because the spread of information ( Or miss information) is so easily accessible and these people lack the wisdom to understand that all this information is clouding there focus on what really matters to them in there homes and there communities. I agree that people have actually become smarter then the generations before, but that smarts is actually much more dangerous as its only "book smarts" and not based on any tangible life experience! Add to this the social context that people are now so reliant on there techno gizmos that they have not learned ( or unlearned) how to communicate face to face in there daily lives. Many of us smarter people are guilty of this ( I surely am) we text instead of talk, we e mail instead of meet face to face, and we have become numb to personal interaction. Add all these things together and we have a population of people who do not understand what is and what is not fact and truth. The Mass information we have at our finger tips has dehumanized us and has effectively shown that we have a Insatiable lust for blood but we are now disconnected from it. Look at all the video games, the T.V. shows, the movies! All the same, all designed to numb us to violence and death and suffering, in a way, we experience these "feelings" with out the connection and responsibility for our actions, we didn't actually commit any of these acts, but were right there in the middle of them, cheering the hero as these actions reached there predetermined end! Why do we see so many T.V. shows and movies about the "END" and post society madness? We have become our own creators of destruction, and are making fantasy into reality!

 

[L84Cabo]

Because people are by and large idiots. They're sheep that believe whatever the media tells them and have no interest in educating themselves to the contrary.