3 ms·

Somewhat relevant (based on European views on American gun control I guess): In Norwegian, "Texas" is an expression for something crazy. https://www.texasmonth

Somewhat relevant (based on European views on American gun control I guess): In Norwegian, "Texas" is an expression for something crazy. https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-daily-post/yall-norwegians-use-the-word-texas-as-slang-to-mean-crazy/ https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-daily-post/yall-norwegians-...

larsiusprime 5y ago
I'm a Norwegian citizen and a Texan and I can tell you that at least in my own personal contact with this phrase I feel it was way more influenced by the popular "cowboys and indians" western imagery than it does with contemporary modern Texas politics itself.
- matsemann 5y ago
  That's correct. But the etymology is kinda "people riding around on horses and shooting wildly in the air", and allowing easier access to guns kinda reminded me about that.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - larsiusprime 5y ago
    Indeed. And I have certainly on occasion myself heard Norwegians use the phrase in this sort of way. My main point is that although the linked article describes the phrase more or less accurately, I can't tell you how many times I've come across articles (typically written by Americans, not uncommonly writers based in Austin) that assume that the phrase's entire origin is contemporary political commentary on modern Texas (despite the phrase predating e.g. George W. Bush's administration -- the first time I saw a wave of these articles -- by decades). In truth the average Norwegian (unless they're in the oil business and have made frequent trips to Houston) doesn't know a whole lot about Texas, just as the average American doesn't know a whole lot about Norway. RE: Gun control laws themselves, Norway is an interesting place. The laws themselves are strict compared to the USA, and in particular Texas, but there's also a LOT of what we would call "Gun Nuts" (such as my cousin, who is a speed-shooter). I would say Norway -- at least among my more rural relatives -- has a pretty big "Gun Culture", but it manifests pretty differently from how it plays out in the USA. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firearms_regulation_in_Norway https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firearms_regulation_in_Norway
ChuckNorris89 5y ago
I love how in some American cartoons/comedy movies there's always a salesman selling some extremely powerful/dangerous widget saying something along the lines of "This here bad boy is illegal in 49 states ... except Texas" :D
trutannus 5y ago
There's several concealed carry shall-issue and non-prohibitive may-issue nations in the EU including: Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the Czech Republic. All of which have low per-capita firearm deaths relative the the United States. I think this is more related to the old school "wild west" image of Texas than anything else. Useful map of regulations in Europe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overview_of_gun_laws_by_nation#/media/File:Concealed_carry_in_Europe.svg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overview_of_gun_laws_by_nation...
- ceejayoz 5y ago
  > There's several concealed carry shall-issue nations in the EU, including Poland, Estonia, and the Czech Republic. This is misleading. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overview_of_gun_laws_by_nation#Poland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overview_of_gun_laws_by_nation... "Gun ownership in Poland is regulated and requires a permit to own or possess firearms. Permits are granted for specific purposes, such as self-defense, sports, hunting, collecting etc. and shall issue except the ones for self-defense, which may issue." Very, very different than Texas.
  - trutannus 5y ago
    I've never mentioned that these nations would let you carry unlicensed. There's several on that list which will, after being licensed, let you carry. Estonia comes to mind. The objective here is not to mislead, however as neither a lawyer, nor a member of any of those nations, I will get it wrong in some spots.

larsiusprime 5y ago

I'm a Norwegian citizen and a Texan and I can tell you that at least in my own personal contact with this phrase I feel it was way more influenced by the popular "cowboys and indians" western imagery than it does with contemporary modern Texas politics itself.

matsemann 5y ago
That's correct. But the etymology is kinda "people riding around on horses and shooting wildly in the air", and allowing easier access to guns kinda reminded me about that.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- larsiusprime 5y ago
  Indeed. And I have certainly on occasion myself heard Norwegians use the phrase in this sort of way. My main point is that although the linked article describes the phrase more or less accurately, I can't tell you how many times I've come across articles (typically written by Americans, not uncommonly writers based in Austin) that assume that the phrase's entire origin is contemporary political commentary on modern Texas (despite the phrase predating e.g. George W. Bush's administration -- the first time I saw a wave of these articles -- by decades). In truth the average Norwegian (unless they're in the oil business and have made frequent trips to Houston) doesn't know a whole lot about Texas, just as the average American doesn't know a whole lot about Norway. RE: Gun control laws themselves, Norway is an interesting place. The laws themselves are strict compared to the USA, and in particular Texas, but there's also a LOT of what we would call "Gun Nuts" (such as my cousin, who is a speed-shooter). I would say Norway -- at least among my more rural relatives -- has a pretty big "Gun Culture", but it manifests pretty differently from how it plays out in the USA. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firearms_regulation_in_Norway https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firearms_regulation_in_Norway

ChuckNorris89 5y ago

I love how in some American cartoons/comedy movies there's always a salesman selling some extremely powerful/dangerous widget saying something along the lines of "This here bad boy is illegal in 49 states ... except Texas" :D

trutannus 5y ago

There's several concealed carry shall-issue and non-prohibitive may-issue nations in the EU including: Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the Czech Republic. All of which have low per-capita firearm deaths relative the the United States. I think this is more related to the old school "wild west" image of Texas than anything else. Useful map of regulations in Europe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overview_of_gun_laws_by_nation#/media/File:Concealed_carry_in_Europe.svg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overview_of_gun_laws_by_nation...

ceejayoz 5y ago
> There's several concealed carry shall-issue nations in the EU, including Poland, Estonia, and the Czech Republic. This is misleading. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overview_of_gun_laws_by_nation#Poland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overview_of_gun_laws_by_nation... "Gun ownership in Poland is regulated and requires a permit to own or possess firearms. Permits are granted for specific purposes, such as self-defense, sports, hunting, collecting etc. and shall issue except the ones for self-defense, which may issue." Very, very different than Texas.
- trutannus 5y ago
  I've never mentioned that these nations would let you carry unlicensed. There's several on that list which will, after being licensed, let you carry. Estonia comes to mind. The objective here is not to mislead, however as neither a lawyer, nor a member of any of those nations, I will get it wrong in some spots.