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> Where do you think this obsession comes from? The following is anecdotal. My grandparents grew up in the rural west with guns because they needed them for le
by irrational 5y ago
> Where do you think this obsession comes from?
The following is anecdotal. My grandparents grew up in the rural west with guns because they needed them for legitimate protection from animals. They were never gun obsessed. Their children grew up naturally learning how to shoot guns, but none of them are gun obsessed except for my father. What is the difference between my father and his siblings? He is a doctor and the military paid for his medical school. His obsession with guns was a direct result of his service in the military. My cousins, whose parents did not serve in the military, are not gun obsessed. Most of my siblings are.
The USA has an obscenely huge military. I think our gun obsession culture is a direct result of so many people and their parents having served in the military. For some reason, the USA military engenders more of a gun obsession/culture than other countries militaries. Maybe it is the combination of the 2nd amendment and military service.
- sorokod 5y agoA counter point, I grew up in a country where military service is compulsory. From my experience, having to carry an assult rifle night and day for months is very effective in curing childish notions about guns .
- 01acheru 5y agoI don't think the point is about how many people actually perform military duty, but about how the US military culture works in practice. Switzerland for example has a heavily compulsory military duty but IMHO a less violent, less patriotic, less indoctrinated and less glorified military culture.
- sorokod 5y agoIt is a culture thing, just not millitary culture.
- 01acheru 5y agoEven if gun obsession is a cultural thing, how that translates to gun violence? And to gun recklessness?
- sorokod 5y agoNot an American but for whatever it's worth: * American society is deeply mistrustful of itself. * Firearms are freely available Everything else follows.
- Nextgrid 5y agoGuns being a political statement means more people will get guns to make that political statement. This translates into more guns being around that could cause accidents (which I believe this one is) or would escalate already violent situations to a deadly level.
- 01acheru 5y agoHow can "firing 30+ rounds on a Sunday morning in a residential area" be an accident? It is like saying that driving a truck on a crowded street on LSD and killing somebody is an accident.
- Nextgrid 5y agoAn accident in the sense that I don't believe their objective was to kill. They were stupid and reckless, but if they actually wanted to kill people there are much better ways than firing rounds towards a forest and hoping to get "lucky" and hit someone.
- withinboredom 5y agoAs someone once in the military, I never cared much about guns. When I got out, I got one just to feel safe from all the idiots with guns. For example, I got in a friends car once and opened the glove box to put something in it. I found a gun pointing right at me. I carefully picked it up and cleared it. It was loaded with the safety off. I chewed him a new asshole and we weren’t friends after that (not my doing, but they didn’t appreciate my verbiage after accidentally threatening my life). Part of the problem is like me, getting one just to protect yourself from everyone else that has one.
- 01acheru 5y agoThanks, even if anecdotal it is a really good point. The US military is something that highly differentiate them from almost if not all other developed countries. That's one of the best answers I got this far from under my comment, you're lead running for my totally worthless medal :)