I really should cut the Facebook habit. But there have been times in the last couple of years when Facebook was my link to sanity, my link to people who thought more like me, and my connection to people who cared for me beyond what was expedient. I guess I have an emotional tie to Facebook. That said, there are still times that it drives me nuts. Mostly, it gives me a little too much of an unedited look at people’s beliefs.
It is kind of like when my wife first found out that a lot of her friends in Louisiana carried handguns in their glove boxes. Before living in Louisiana, I grew up in California and lived in New York City. So, I guess I just have a different way of thinking. The thought of these soccer moms at my wife’s Bible study having guns in their glove boxes really threw me for a loop. It wasn’t like we lived in the Ninth Ward in New Orleans. These friends all lived in safe suburban/ rural communities. I really don’t understand the fear and the need for guns.
I felt kind of the same way when I saw this picture posted on Facebook. First, let me say that I support the second amendment. While I don’t own any guns (other than my BB gun from when I was a kid), I think people should have a right to own guns. I wouldn’t mind a little more control in terms of wait periods and such, but I think people have the right to hunt and shoot for sport, or to collect guns, etc. What I don’t understand, though, is the fear and aggression that seems to come through in the image here. The person who posted this also lives in a safe neighborhood in a small community. Why do people like this think they will need a gun to protect themselves?
Further, I’m not convinced that owning these guns actually makes them safer. My grandfather and my grandmother’s second husband both died from gun accidents. These were both hill folks in Appalachia who had hunted all their lives. They knew how to handle guns but just made mistakes. My pastor in Louisiana had a close friend in Mississippi who got up in the night with his gun because he thought he heard a burglar. He thought his wife had stayed in bed, but she followed him. He ended up thinking she was a home invader, shooting and killing his own wife. These are both anecdotal, and I don’t know the statistics. But I question how much safer a gun in the home actually makes people. In fact, one of the main reasons I don’t own a gun is because the idea makes me feel less safe.
What concerns me, especially with messages like what is seen in this image, is the apparent eagerness to use guns on other persons. Bad ones, for sure. But, persons nonetheless. I can’t imagine the feelings I would have if I ever shot and killed someone. I’m certainly not eager to do so. I love liberty. But some rhetoric really concerns me.
This essay is from our Anastasis Series, where we resurrect articles from the past that are either still relevant today or can be easily updated. This piece was first published on September 12, 2012, and has been lightly edited and updated.
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That’s pretty horrible what happened with your grandparents. Guns are dangerous dangerous dangerous.
When I was a kid one of my favorite activities was playing “war” with my friends. My mother hated it. She never let me have toy guns. She hated guns with no exception. So I always had to borrow them from friends and keep them hidden away from her. Fast forward nearly 30 years, and I get a call from her where she randomly blurts out that her and dad got their concealed weapons permits WTF?!!! It really threw me for a loop knowing her feelings on the subject. They got their permits, and three revolvers. They even started a gun ministry at their church! It was called Crossfire har har har. I later found out that the reason my mom made a 180 on her opinion is because a guy that she had to fire at work a few years back started stalking my parents. Apparently he was ex military and had a nice collection of firearms, not to mention military training and a bad attitude. Luckily he went away, eventually. So it’s kinda weird for me to be living in a house now with three guns. I like guns. They’re fun to shoot! But I do have some conflicting feelings. On one hand, there’s a lot of weapons available out there that I just don’t see any reason for. Why do people need such power? They don’t just want to stop an intruder. That’s no enough. They want him torn to shreds by a hail storm of high powered armor piercing exploding bullets. A lot of it seems excessive to me. On the other hand, I don’t like the idea of citizens not being able to defend themselves from the government. I know I know, I sound like one of those paranoid Idaho malitia dudes when I say that, but I’m completely NOT that kind of person haha. I mean, look at the recent uprisings in the middle east. Especially Syria. The people want change, the government cracks down with superior weapons, and the people just don’t have the fire power to fight back or defend themselves and they’re getting slaughtered.
I think you get at the heart of my post. Mainly, that it is complicated. But, some rhetoric does not really seem to be about freedom. There is an underlying fear and antagonism in some people that concerns me.
Mostly the antagonism. You hit the nail on the head!