General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: A sincere wish for our DU gun owners: visit Norway! [View all]Scootaloo
(25,699 posts)Did I say anything about gun owners, criminal or otherwise? Did I say anything about licensing? Did I say anything about firing ranges? Nope.
I was talking about the gun as an object and its portrayal and perceptions in the US culture, which is markedly different from how these tools are portrayed in any other industrialized nation.
There's no argument that the automobile created a definitive "car culture," an American subculture that dissolved into the mainstream and led to everything from benefits such as the US Interstate system and vastly superior food distribution systems... to the obvious downsides of oil dependence and urban blight and suburban sprawl.
There can be no argument that firearms also play an iconic role in American culture, complete with their own distinct and not-totally-dissolved subculture. I think it's perfectly fair to have a look at what impact this reality has on our overall culture and the way we use, perceive, and treat these particular objects.
That so many, including you with this post, wish to engage in a bunch of hand-waving and obfuscation in order to batter the very idea of such an examination down, tells me that perhaps things aren't as on the up-and-up as I'm being assured by you.