February 16, 2013
the gun guys
"Gun guys are not like camera buffs; they're not like fly fishermen, not like car buffs. It's deep, it's really deep," he explains. "I was really trying to figure out why these things move us, why they are so important to us." Baum's own love affair with guns began at age 5; at summer camp he discovered he had a natural aptitude for target shooting. He was attracted to the physicality of guns and charmed by the James Bond mythology he associated with them. But in his liberal suburb, the late '60s brought a schism between the weapons and his world. "I was against the [Vietnam] war too, and aspired to the hippie aesthetic as much as any other sixth-grader," he writes. "But that didn't keep me from liking guns. To me, they were separate." This separation between guns and violence is an essential part of Baum's world view. As he details the way guns make him feel, one thing becomes clear: He finds power in carrying but not using a weapon.more from Carolyn Kellogg at the LA Times here.
Posted by Morgan Meis at 10:56 AM | Permalink
Comments
"He finds power in carrying but not using a weapon."
Guns make people who are otherwise enfeebled feel powerful.
But I doubt he, or anyone else, feels powerful carrying an empty gun. Nor are really determined not to use the loaded gun they are carrying.
George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch member who ended up killing an innocent 16 year old walking home from the store, is the poster child for this kind of thinking. They take like the power of having the gun without considering how it will be used. And the result is sometimes tragic when they are faced with the choice of using it. Usually tragic for someone else.
Posted by: Ross Williams | Feb 16, 2013 11:53:10 AM
Guns make people who are otherwise enfeebled feel powerful.
I agree, the emasculated lower class 'Merikan Male has little self worth left, and guns are one of the few symbols of power, no matter how delusional, he has.
Posted by: Dave Ranning | Feb 16, 2013 8:00:15 PM
I think calling gun fanatics enfeebled and emasculated misses the deeper point here. This article got me thinking about the strategic logic of gun ownership. If you're serious about competing in the security game, carrying a gun does seem like a no-brainer, no? Those of us who aren't into guns begin seem like suckers, and we can expect more and more people to arm themselves. It seems we have a bigger problem here in America having to do with contestation of the state's monopoly on violence. The 2nd Amendment (or it's interpretation) may be the problem.
Posted by: Eli | Feb 16, 2013 9:09:54 PM
It seems we have a bigger problem here in America having to do with contestation of the state's monopoly on violence.
I agree, and support a well armed proletariat.
It makes the storm troopers think twice about kicking in all doors.
Posted by: Dave Ranning | Feb 17, 2013 2:58:29 PM
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