Is it weird to like guns?

[schwank05]

I see couple of reasons why anyone would like guns.

First, you do not fully understand it can kill someone.
Or you do, but you are not mature enough to understand it.
Or you do and you have some really grim intentions.

Second, if you like guns for "entertaining" purposes, then question rises how do you feel when you use a gun?
Do you feel powerful? Do you feel secure?
Because if you feel plain entertained, you are obviously not mature enough.

If you feel powerful or secure OR strong then that can only mean that you have to use some external material in order to compensate the feelings of feeling weak,
insecure and basically everything you lack internally since you obviously need an external to compensate it.

If that is the case, then you display your self as a very insecure person who carries a gun. That sounds legit?

Third, why would anyone like something that has a potential danger? I see some people mix it for entertainment as if you can play say Counter Strike and have the same end results as you can with the real gun.

There is that saying that is not just there for no reason and joking on memes and it goes:

It's all fun and games until someone looses an eye.

I understand that there are people who just plain like the mechanics of a gun and they jerk of on the power and accuracy it can produce, but my experience with people (also reading this forum) is - fuck me if anyone behaves stable enough for me to trust that person being near when they carry a gun.

So yes, to me, it's weird to like guns.

Basically anything in life that is truly exciting is also Dangerous. High performance automotive, Racing, White Water Rafting, Base Jumping, Sky Diving, Fishing, Running, Working Out... Basically anything you do is dangerous, so this is a very untrue line of thinking. I like Guns for the fact that they serve the purpose that they were designed for Hunting.

[Dudenoso]

[1]Would you say the same about people who carry a knife, or Mace, or Pepper Spray or takes any type of self defense class? [2]Would you say the same about people who lock their doors or avoids dark alleys or unlit parking lots?

Not OP, but:
[1] Having to be armed or ready to take people out is so third world shithole. I say that as someone who spent the first two and a half decades of my life in one.

[2] That's just asking for trouble, I don't think the same reasoning applies.

[petej0]

I see couple of reasons why anyone would like guns.

First, you do not fully understand it can kill someone.
Or you do, but you are not mature enough to understand it.
Or you do and you have some really grim intentions.

Second, if you like guns for "entertaining" purposes, then question rises how do you feel when you use a gun?
Do you feel powerful? Do you feel secure?
Because if you feel plain entertained, you are obviously not mature enough.

If you feel powerful or secure OR strong then that can only mean that you have to use some external material in order to compensate the feelings of feeling weak,
insecure and basically everything you lack internally since you obviously need an external to compensate it.

If that is the case, then you display your self as a very insecure person who carries a gun. That sounds legit?

Third, why would anyone like something that has a potential danger? I see some people mix it for entertainment as if you can play say Counter Strike and have the same end results as you can with the real gun.

There is that saying that is not just there for no reason and joking on memes and it goes:

It's all fun and games until someone looses an eye.

I understand that there are people who just plain like the mechanics of a gun and they jerk of on the power and accuracy it can produce, but my experience with people (also reading this forum) is - fuck me if anyone behaves stable enough for me to trust that person being near when they carry a gun.

So yes, to me, it's weird to like guns.

Its sad that people judge and lump others based on some weird misconception. You can make this same argument for anything. Why do people own powerful muscle cars, fast sports cars, large utility vehicles. Is it for the same need to external compensate for lacking something? Why do people own large homes, why do people own expensive paintings, Why do people collect knives or swords or shoes? Why do people own any of the things they have? Because we are all different and we all are attracted to different interests and hobbies.

- - - Updated - - -

Not OP, but:
[1] Having to be armed or ready to take people out is so third world shithole. I say that as someone who spent the first two and a half decades of my life in one.

So someone who carries mace or a knife for self defense should be looked upon the same as someone who carries a firearm?

[2] That's just asking for trouble, I don't think the same reasoning applies.

Doesnt it though? We lock our doors or avoid potentially dangerous areas because of the danger they could present. If danger wasnt likkely to be present there would be no need to lock our doors, right? So on some level danger exists, so why do we accept people locking their doors or avoiding dark places but we shit on people who choose to arm themselves from the same dangers? I am just asking.

[js3915]

Isn't it just normal to find guns cool?

I find guns intriguing. I have a ton. My fave is my 50 cal barrett that will put some hair on your ass when you fire it.

[pahbi]

Liking guns, could more generically be called, 'liking ranged attacks'.

Even our knuckle dragging cavemen ancestors knew that if they could kill something from a distance, they would avoid potential injury, and in those days, injury and infection was certain death.

Given that, I'm not surprised folks are instinctively drawn to any device that kills from a distance.

- P

[Shakadam]

Sending a picture to your friends of a nice gun you just bought is normal.

Sending a picture to your friends or on social media where you're posing with said gun is weird.



A gun is a tool and usually an expensive one at that. It's perfectly fine wanting to show your new tool to others. Posing and showing off with your gun is fucking weird though, nobody posts pictures of themselves posing with a screwdriver like they're the coolest guy in town.

[LiiLoSNK]

Yes it's weird to like guns.

Some overweight basement-bound anime fetishist told me so.

[Frogguh]

This isnt rocket science, though judging by one side of the debate here (and not my side), thinking is pretty hard.

There are lots of reasons to enjoy guns. Shooting them is fun. Target practice is fun. Many enjoy hunting (I don't, since I'm not comfortable killing things I don't have to). Simply taking them apart and cleaning them is enjoyable. You may not understand, and that's fine. I can't understand how anyone enjoys watching sports.

Another aspect is, even discounting the Second Amendment, a gun is the most effective tool for immediate self defense in dangerous situations. If you have a family and live in anything even resembling a high-risk area, and you don't have a gun to protect them, you are pathetic.

And if you live in a country that bans them, count yourself lucky if you don't have to worry about crime. (Banning guns in the US at this point would just disarm the good guys and not affect criminals.) And if you live in a dangerous area that bans guns, enjoy being a sheep. Hope the police can track down your attacker.

[Seylene]

Guns are neat, some are incredibly gorgeous as well and I like them fine. I just don't own any. Possibly respect of just not trusting others id just rather not have one in my house.

[melkesjokolade]

Yes.


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[Pterodactylus]

I dont own any firearms, but its telling that you decided to attack me instead of answering a basic question.

No, I called bullshit on your equivalence of avoiding a dark alley and feeling the need to carry a firearm everywhere you go. The former is commonsense, the latter is paranoia and cowardice.

[petej0]

No, I called bullshit on your equivalence of avoiding a dark alley and feeling the need to carry a firearm everywhere you go. The former is commonsense, the latter is paranoia and cowardice.

It isnt a bullshit equivalence though. Why do people avoid walking down a dark alley? Fear. Fear of what? Fear of something happening to them. Why do people lock their doors? Fear. Fear of what? Fear of someone coming into their home or car. Are they paranoid or taking proper precautions?

Is a person who carries a knife or mace. or learns self defense just as paranoid and cowardice as someone who carries a firearm?



Let me share with you an experience my wife and I had a few years back. We were in DC visiting the various museums. We are not strangers to DC, it was an annual trip we made for some time, we have gone to the reason rally and other various events held there. Well this one time there was no event so it was pretty quiet. We stayed in National Mall area later than we usually did. We took the subway back to our hotel. On our way back to our hotel, we had to transfer trains. The transfer station was empty except for one single guy. Normally this would not have raised interest, however as soon as we stepped off the train and sat down to wait for the next train this guy came over and sat down next to my wife. He tried to start a conversation and we were polite, but he was starting to become creepy. I stood up so I could have a better vantage if he tried to do something. He just sat there creepily staring at my wife the whole time. I flat out expected him to snatch her purse and bolt. He was 6 foot 3 and 250. I am 5-7 and 160, he wasnt going to out run me, but he was much bigger so if I was to tackle him I felt there would be no way I could out wrestle him. Long story short, nothing happened, however had something gone down, or had my wife had been alone who knows how it would have turned out.

I can understand someone who works late and takes mass transit worried about encounters like these. I dont sit on my throne and call them paranoid though. I applaud people for taking the steps they deem necessary to not become a statistic.

[ellieg]

No, I called bullshit on your equivalence of avoiding a dark alley and feeling the need to carry a firearm everywhere you go. The former is commonsense, the latter is paranoia and cowardice.

Now imagine instead of a young male carrying the firearm, imagine its your mother or sister or wife. Gonna call them cowards too?

[Witchblade77]

on gun is a tool comparison (which i do think it is - a tool that is) its pretty common for people to be obsessed with tools they like. if you look at any craftsman... there is a good chance, they will admit that they have a tool problem. you know as in buying extras, seeeriously enjoying trying out new tools, etc etc. traditional artists that are even semi serious about art - I guarandamntee you - have collection of brushes... or sculpting tools or whatever other materials and tools they use that goes far beyond the scope of what any one person actualy needs and might be able to use to fullest extent in their lifetime. we humans have this urge to collect what we enjoy. and whenever we enjoy something, we often REALLLY enjoy it.

so no. I don't think its weird to like guns, or want to show them off. what IS weird is equating it with masculinity, or personal status which is what its been edging into for some time now.

P.S. some of the tools I work with (not guns - power tools, very hot flame and various chemicals like etching solutions, glazes and the like) can be pretty fucking dangerous and very deadly and not just to me either, improper storage of brazing equipment can literally set ablaze the entire neighbourhood, for example. just because the tool is can be dangerous to yourself or others - does not make it automatically terrible.

[schwank05]

Sending a picture to your friends of a nice gun you just bought is normal.

Sending a picture to your friends or on social media where you're posing with said gun is weird.



A gun is a tool and usually an expensive one at that. It's perfectly fine wanting to show your new tool to others. Posing and showing off with your gun is fucking weird though, nobody posts pictures of themselves posing with a screwdriver like they're the coolest guy in town.

We go Prairie Dog hunting each year in the early summer and on the way stop at a smoke shop and get huge Cigars and sit out in the Pasture or field we are hunting in and all light up and take pics because there is nothing more fun than Hunting and a nice Cigar.

[Pterodactylus]

It isnt a bullshit equivalence though. Why do people avoid walking down a dark alley? Fear. Fear of what? Fear of something happening to them. Why do people lock their doors? Fear. Fear of what? Fear of someone coming into their home or car. Are they paranoid or taking proper precautions?

Is a person who carries a knife or mace. or learns self defense just as paranoid and cowardice as someone who carries a firearm?

Packing heat at the grocery store - out of fear? Is the same of avoiding a dark alley - out of fear?

I am a geologist and I carry a gun when I do field work in Alaska - because it's reasonable to suspect I'll encounter some hostile wildlife. I don't feel so afraid that I need to carry my gun when I go to the grocery store - just in case! Like I said, those folks who carry a gun EVERYWHERE they go - out of fear, are cowards. Scared of life? Here is some reading for you.

[Witchblade77]

Packing heat at the grocery store - out of fear? Is the same of avoiding a dark alley - out of fear?

I am a geologist and I carry a gun when I do field work in Alaska - because it's reasonable to suspect I'll encounter some hostile wildlife. I don't feel so afraid that I need to carry my gun when I go to the grocery store - just in case! Like I said, those folks who carry a gun EVERYWHERE they go - out of fear, are cowards. Scared of life? Here is some reading for you.

for perspective. even when going to a grocery store, I tend to have my multitool, phone battery bank and a rudimentary first aid kit with me, basically couple of bandaids, wipes, individual use packets of neosporin. chances of me needing to use them on a grocery store trip are pretty low, and these things certainly won't help with every possible emergency. far from it. but I carry them anyways, because there was a rare occasion where i DID get to use them and at the time, they were very helpful, so I keep carrying those things just in case. I certainly don't carry these thing with me out of constant fear of running out of battery charge on my phone, or that I'll get papercuts on every trip. its just in case

its kinda like that with people who conceal carry everywhere they go. chances are they will not need to use it and these people KNOW that. they don't carry becasue of constant fear and paranoia. they carry "just in case"

[Dudenoso]

[1] So someone who carries mace or a knife for self defense should be looked upon the same as someone who carries a firearm?

[2] Doesnt it though? We lock our doors or avoid potentially dangerous areas because of the danger they could present. If danger wasnt likkely to be present there would be no need to lock our doors, right? So on some level danger exists, so why do we accept people locking their doors or avoiding dark places but we shit on people who choose to arm themselves from the same dangers? I am just asking.

I couldn't follow your reasoning on [1]. What made you want to ask that? Regardless, I think they should be looked more or less the same as someone who carries a firearm. As in one needs a permit to walk around with it and the process to acquire a permit is effective at filtering trigger-happy (slash-happy?) people.

Now if we are talking about third world shitholes where you have to be constantly afraid of being stabbed or shot, I have no opinion on that one. My anecdata is that carrying a fake wallet with ten bucks and not showing off expensive clothes and accessories seems to have served me better than weapons would have.

Plus, there was never a risk of killing someone with that solution.

On [2]: because locking your door does not involve people bleeding, obviously. Despite what Americans po pos are famous for, there are measures to deal with danger in-between doing nothing and filling the danger with lead.


Slightly off-topic, but I think some people (no, not you silly) just want to shoot some bad guys and get high on the power being armed provides.

[Eldar45]

I obviously did not count shooting into dummy targets and plastic bottles. That's just waste of money and stupid.

It's no different than playing video games. Its a hobby.

[Pony Soldier]

Well I think there's three types of gun lovers. There's the group of gun enthusiasts who love guns because they're genuinely interested in the mechanics of firearms, the history of them, and enjoy shooting targets with them. Then the group of people mostly teenagers and young adults who love to pose with guns and think they're badass holding an AK47 because their favorite rapper was seen with them in a rap video. Then there are the mentally disturbed group of people who like guns because of the violence they can cause.

There's nothing wrong with having an interest in guns as long as it's not hurting anyone else. Would it be weird for someone to like swords? Knives? Axes? Everyone has their different interests and hobbies and some probably have weirder hobbies than guns.

Bottom line is everyone is weird in their own way. So do what makes you happy and all that. Just don't hurt anyone.