What is it about men and guns? Is it some penis extender that makes them feel all manly about being able to blow someone's brains out from say, 50 yards away? Is that manly?
Guns are fine for women who are being stalked and professional enforcers, such as police officers, body guards, military personnel or anyone who needs them for work, but to possess them in alarming numbers, and then talk about how many rounds of ammunition they wasted on targets, bodies or woodland creatures seems so REALLY FUCKING STUPID.
I think the most appalling thing is when I accidentally come across a site that has images dedicated to their "favorite" guns. A large pixelation of their weapon of choice. IT SCREAMS CLOSET GAY to me.
"OOOH, look at my gun, see it's all hard and steely, and can make mince meat of your internal organs."
Which in other words might mean:
"OOOH, look at my penis, see it's all hard and steely, and can make mince meat of your internal organs."
For a group of men attempting to assert their manly status, using a gun is MOST unmanly.
It's not that I want to ban guns, or take them away from any law abiding person who wants one. But glorification of weapons is pointless at best, and harmful at worst. If you want to own a weapon for protection of your home and person, by all means own one. But what purpose does it serve to glorify said tools of protection?
I like to garden and work in the yard. Should I post pictures of my rake and trowel and fawn all over them like they were my children? Should I discuss in detail the very minutia of their steely goodness and how well they rip dirt from the unrelenting ground and give me calluses because I JUST CAN'T TAKE MY HANDS OFF MY EVERLOVING SHOVEL. Unless of course you pry it from my cold, dead, dirt-covered, lifeless fingers.
Just because a man isn't into guns, does NOT mean he is "unmanly" or "queer" it just means that he thinks that pounding someone's face in the dirt and forcing mulch in their mouth is a more satisfying way of saying "FUCK YOU ASSHOLE."
Plus, I don't know anyone who's going to jail for 10 to 20 for a little mulchmashing.
Really, all of you gun-toting, munitions-loving, critter-shooting, penis-extending, impotence-covering manly men need to take a long, hard look at yourself and ask "what is my gun obsession covering up about my person?" Maybe it's your small and shriveled penis, maybe it's not.
Article comments
1 - Jim Carruthers
Wow, you've come dangerously close to endorsing "Bowling for Columbine".
It reminds me of the army chant, however:
"This is my rifle, this is my gun / one is for killing, the other's for fun"
2 - Craig Lyndall
"take a long, hard look"
Maybe a short, soft glance. hehe
Sorry for the Beavis and Butthead moment, but this can also be extended past guns and include cars. Especially the big huge gas-guzzling variety like the Escalade, and the appropriately named Hummer.
3 - Dawn
There really is a difference between being an afficianado and being a psycho. I just wish the gun nuts could figure out the difference.
Cars are reasonable things to fawn over. They provide transportation and help you in moving objects from one place to the other.
Now, unless that man is evading the police, raping you, or otherwise denying you of your personal rights in your own home - guns are merely a tool for protection - and a dangerous one that need not be glorified, but rather respected and kept safe from morons.
Lynyrd Skynyrd says it best:
"Hand guns are made for killin'
Ain't no good for nothin' else
And if you like your whiskey
You might even shoot yourself
So why don't we dump 'em people
To the bottom of the sea
Before some fool come around here
Wanna shoot either you or me"
4 - Craig Lyndall
Pearl Jam have a nice take on it as well.
"Got a gun, fact I got two
That's OK man, cause I love God
Glorified version of a pellet gun
Feel so manly, when armed"
5 - Dawn
Pearl Jam has a way of making even gun affection seem all artsy and weird.
6 - Craig Lyndall
The rumor about this song is that the lyrics were written after a conversation with their soon-to-be-fired drummer Dave Abruzzese. So imagine having a song written about your lack of enlightenment, then playing it on tour for a year and then getting your ass kicked out of the band.
7 - Jim Carruthers
Reminds me of Spin Magazine's prediction that Eddy Vedder would climb into the scaffolding at Lollapaloza and disappear.
But what do I know, I'm just a half-assed monkey boy.
8 - Eric Olsen
I agree that the fetishization of guns is very grim, unhealthy and symptomatic of some deeper issues
9 - mike
"The rumor about this song is that the lyrics were written after a conversation with their soon-to-be-fired drummer Dave Abruzzese. So imagine having a song written about your lack of enlightenment, then playing it on tour for a year and then getting your ass kicked out of the band."
And then watch the band's sales go in the tank because it was your drumming that transformed the band from good to great, and because you were the only one who was nice to fans and spent hours autographing CDs and talking with them instead of staring at your navel all day and abusing your followers and refusing to tour.
10 - JR
Ironically, I suspect that these gun fetishists are actually more responsible gun owners than the average person who buys a gun for self-defense.
My problem with the marketing and proliferation of guns is that I think many people aren't getting the result they expect. A lot of people seem to think they can just buy a gun and they'll automatically be able to defend themselves against attackers. It doesn't seem to occur to people that an attacker may know a lot more about how to use the gun then the owner does.
Likewise with SUVs. I always hear people say, "I have an SUV, so I can drive in the snow." Yet in a month or so, we're going to get our first snow and I'm going to see a bunch of SUVs in ditches along the road on my way to work. Never fails.
11 - greenvortex
Hey Mike, you are dead on about Dave A. being the key to Pearl Jam's success and then failure. Those poseurs thought Dave was so uncool for being happy that the band became successful. Well, they got their wish: they quickly faded into oblivion, starting the moment Dave was kicked out of the band.
12 - gunowner88
hey dawn, guns are also a reasonable thing to fawn over, as one day they may very well save your life AND they can feed you family by hunting. course you wouldnt no anything bout this and you get all your food from wal- mart where you think that the animal lived a happy life and died a peaceful death
13 - Glenn Contrarian
The above comment was brought to you by a low-information voter with a deep-seated need to compensate.
14 - Christopher Rose
I wonder why it took gunowner88 over seven years to comment on this article?
Going on their writing and reasoning abilities, it might be the case that they took that long to read the article...
15 - roger nowosielski
". . . course you wouldnt no anything bout this and you get all your food from wal- mart where you think that the animal lived a happy life and died a peaceful death."
I think that's kinda cute.
16 - Cindy
It seems to me, normative masculine socialization is to some degree about proving one's manhood. It seems a part of every man. In some it looks particularly ugly. In many it is quite restrained. The existence of the 'must subscribe to being a man' socialized group-think is what I have been considering, lately to be the single most important human problem to examine. That men must conform to a standard where other men would judge their manliness is the problem I am describing. It appears to be what is responsible for war, rape, etc.
Not sure if this is particularly clear. Will have to work on it.
17 - Imastupidredneck
I think your a classic anti-gun peace not war faggot that would be utterly fucked in a WROL situation. Ever thought maybe people are just preparing for the worst. But hey what do i know im just a dumb redneck and "gay" because i own firearms and enjoy shooting them.
18 - U.S.. Veteran
I like guns, I also am interested in the mechanics of them. I do not talk about them with people who are not comfortable with them. I also carried two, an m16 and a forty caliber pistol for four years everyday when I was involved in tactical operations for th u.s. military. They kept myself and my team as well as our countrymen safe. I know how to use one well, and I place great importance on the safety measures required to responsibly carry and store them. Part of that is that 9 out of 10 people have no idea that I have one the second part is that everyone around me is that much safer from harm because I carry one.. A weapon in capable and responsible hands is a benefit to the community it resides in..period....
19 - U.S.. Veteran
I also love pearl jam, regardless of vedders sometimes off base politics,