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| Author |
Message |
mcpoz
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Men and guns
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Apr 23 18:17 UTC 1995 |
Why are men so preoccupied with guns? Do women have such concerns?
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| 53 responses total. |
brighn
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response 1 of 53:
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Apr 23 18:26 UTC 1995 |
I think NIN explained it best in "Big Man with a Gun" -- the gun is
the most obvious phallus around. Shoot shoot shoot shoot Shoot shoot
shoot shoot.
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mcpoz
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response 2 of 53:
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Apr 23 19:04 UTC 1995 |
Do you think certain types of men are attracted to guns? Also, I never knew
any women attracted to guns (although I am sure there are some). I wonder
what the Male:Female membership ratio is for the NRA.
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brighn
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response 3 of 53:
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Apr 24 03:02 UTC 1995 |
I dunno, my wife seems to like guns more than I do. I think it's because it
was was something that her father let her share with him... He's a shmuck for
the most part, but he liked thaking her target shooting.
The Freudian would say that men who like guns are compensating for a
perceived lack of masculine... ahem... anatomy, but I think that's probly
bull. Interesting to know what does interest certain men in guns,
though.
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simcha
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response 4 of 53:
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May 12 14:42 UTC 1995 |
A need to control, perhaps?
I know several gun enthusiasts, and they, like most other
loosely linked "groups" of people are very different from each other:
Once likes guns for their artistic and functional beauty: he is
a collector first and foremost.
Another sees guns as a necessary self-protection device.
A couple of others see guns as a necessary appendage, like a belt.
They were raised in areas where you have a belt, a gun, and a hat. Just
like wearing shoes, shirts, and pants.
I see some of these last group as very insecure people who alos in
other"ways try to overcompensate for perceived inadequacies, so I don't
know if the gun ties into that.
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remmers
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response 5 of 53:
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May 12 22:14 UTC 1995 |
Where are these areas where people wear a belt, a gun, and a hat
instead of shoes, shirts, and pants? "Perceived inadequacies" are
probably the least of their problems.
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simcha
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response 6 of 53:
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May 15 15:56 UTC 1995 |
(I never said instead of; I said "just like"--of equal
importance).
<simcha envisions the lone ranger wearing a belt,a gun, and a hat,
but no pants...as he tries to cover himself by holding his hat like a fig
leaf!>
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ewhisam
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response 7 of 53:
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Aug 30 20:21 UTC 1995 |
Men traditionally have evolved from a society in which they were the
sole providers of food for the family as well as the group protectors.
Wether we like our built-in functions or not it is a fact that men
perceive motion better than women and women have more color receptors
than men. These traits have evolved from natural selection where
men stalked game and women were foragers-gatherers. This is the way
we are and only nature and time can change us. Guns represent many
things to many men however they represent a tie to those lifes
activities where male bonding and commaraderie are most often felt.
Men like to be made to feel empowered and strong, especially by
their women.
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brighn
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response 8 of 53:
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Aug 30 20:40 UTC 1995 |
You contradict yourself. You say "[men] where the sole providers of
food" and "women were foragers-gatherers". In fact, in most cultures,
meat was a delicacy and a rarity, and most of the food consisted of
plants, produced or gathered by females.
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chelsea
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response 9 of 53:
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Aug 31 02:35 UTC 1995 |
If they were really "empowered and strong" they wouldn't need
a woman to make them feel that way. All this macho stuff is
smoke and mirrors. Authentic men don't need it.
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md
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response 10 of 53:
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Aug 31 12:44 UTC 1995 |
In an early National Lampoon somewhere in my collection, there's
a Henry Beard parody featuring Germaine Spillane, "the feminist
private eye." Some of the titles of the books about Ms. Spillane
were _My Gun is Cute_, _Knit One, Kill Two_, _Gunnilingus_, and
_Add Lead and Serve_. I have no idea why this item made me think
of that.
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mcpoz
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response 11 of 53:
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Sep 1 21:24 UTC 1995 |
Lemme see if I got this one straight . . . . Men like guns because of
evolution and natural selection! Do I get an "A"?
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brighn
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response 12 of 53:
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Sep 2 01:26 UTC 1995 |
I believe that's the thesis on the table, Marc.
Did you have a more specific criticism, or were you just feeling
generically sarcastic? :)
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mcpoz
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response 13 of 53:
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Sep 2 11:11 UTC 1995 |
I guess it was generally sarcastic for which I owe an apology. I would have
accepted more readily that we have some sort of society-driven need to
dominate, plus the obvious connection with guns and feelings of sexual
inadequacy.
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mcpoz
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response 14 of 53:
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Sep 2 12:24 UTC 1995 |
To ewhisam - please accept my apologies - the only thing I can use as an
excuse is sleep deprivation. This subject interests me because a friend of
mine is so involved in guns and hunting, that he told me he likes guns better
than his family. He was serious! I think he envisions himself as a western
gunslinger. Anyway, I thought this was a male-exclusive problem and
appreciate and encourage your insight to the subject.
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brighn
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response 15 of 53:
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Sep 2 16:23 UTC 1995 |
"Happiness is a warm gun (bang bang shoot shoot)" -- The Beatles
"And I swear that I don't have a gun" -- Nirvana
"If you want what's under the sun, you should get your fingers 'round
a gun" -- Infectious Grooves
"Got a big gold gun, got a big gold gun, got a big gold bullet,
And I guess you could say, and I guess you could say, I'm real full of it"
-- Bush
"I am a big man, yes I am, and I got a big gun" -- NIN
The last two ("Testosterone" and "Big Man with a Gun") are clear examples
of gun = sexual inadequacy (from the latter, "I'm gonna come all over you
-- shoot! shoot! shoot! shoot!"). The other three are more or less
criticisms of the gun = power view (or in the case of The Beatles, evidence
of what happens when you record music while stoned).
But then it's no small wonder this double view exists, since rape is often
the result of a feeling of powerlessness in society channeled into a
specific form of regaining power -- through proving sexual adequacy.
"Why are their guns bigger than ours?"
"I dunno, it's a phallic thing."
-- I'm Gonna Get You, Sucka
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bubu
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response 16 of 53:
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Oct 28 14:52 UTC 1995 |
I wonder if there isnt something geneological about men and guns...
I personally have no love affair with fire arms, I do hunt with a shot gun,
but here is my point. My wife and I have always made a point not to allow
either of our children access to play guns, real guns, or even overly
violent movies or television. We did nothing different with either child in
this respect and yet my son has had this taking to guns. (We ahve a
daughter"7" and a son"3") He has no toy guns but he seems to invent them out
of other toys that may even resemble a gun. Sure he has seen some use of a
firearm on tv. I think that would almost be impossible today "not to see a
gun on tv" What is this drive within us to have and use guns.
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aruba
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response 17 of 53:
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Oct 29 14:32 UTC 1995 |
I did that, too, when I was little. My mother wouldn't let me have toy guns
of any kind, but I used sticks, and I had a puzzle/map of the US where every
state was one jigsaw piece, and I used the state of Florida as a gun. I think
it was mostly because I saw them on TV - no one in my family used guns.
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bubu
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response 18 of 53:
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Oct 29 17:41 UTC 1995 |
So do you think it is something that is inherently present in boys, and men?
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aruba
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response 19 of 53:
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Nov 3 00:55 UTC 1995 |
No, I don't think using guns is "inherent". I do think proclivity toward
aggression IS something some (maybe all?) people are born with; it's a good
trait to have, evolutionarily. Since guns are the most powerful instruments
of aggression the average man can get his hands on, they have become symbols as
well as tools of violence.
Though it's not about liking violence, not really. Someone once asked
Clint Eastwood if he thought people went to see his movies for the
violence in them. He said "It's not the violence, it's the *vengeance*."
Anyone who thinks all gun use is a result of people wanting to "blow something
up real good" hasn't thought hard enough.
More likely, aggression in society is a measure of unhappiness. If everyone
were content with his lot in life, we wouldn't need to kill each other all the
time.
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bubu
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response 20 of 53:
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Mar 24 18:55 UTC 1996 |
Ok here is this repeal of the ban on assault weapons...I just wanted to get
your views on this matter. I personally believe it is unwarranted. I know
also that the President has said that he will veto the decision when it
crosses his desk. Are Assault weapons really neccesary? One Congressman
argued that His wife lived in New York and that while he was away She needed
to protect herself. Now yes She has a right to protect herself, but does she
need and oozie to do so? Not unless she is being attacked by a group of
mercenaries. I think a simple hand gun and/or shot gun would surfice.
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headdoc
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response 21 of 53:
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Mar 24 19:06 UTC 1996 |
The proponents for the repeal insist that any erosion of the right to bear
(any type) of arms is a bite out of their constitutional rights. I read that
they did not expect to have the repeal become come law, but were attempting
to fufill election promises made to NRA constituents. Are assault weapons
necessary? Only if you are planning an ASSAULT.
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bubu
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response 22 of 53:
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Mar 24 19:15 UTC 1996 |
Good point Audrey! We are also promised the right to life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness. Should a freak with an assault weapon be allowed to
take that away from anyone?
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mcpoz
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response 23 of 53:
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Mar 25 00:11 UTC 1996 |
I can't think of one reason to have an assault weapon. Has anyone heard any
of the "Pro" arguements?
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bubu
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response 24 of 53:
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Mar 25 21:55 UTC 1996 |
All I heard Marc, was a Congressman, a Republican, saying that his wife who
lives alone in New York while he is in Washington has a right to defend
herself. I think this argument is a crock....come on now is he fooling
anywone here?
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