General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I'm starting to believe that much of the gun debate is about something else than guns. [View all]no_hypocrisy
(46,072 posts)I'm talking about a certain mindset where nobody (esp. the government) tells an American citizen:
1) if s/he can own and/or possess a weapon,
2) how many weapons s/he can own and/or possess,
3) what s/he can eat (even if it kills them),
4) how to raise his/her/their child(ren),
5) what to drive with respect to gas consumption,
6) how to treat people who are "different" from him/her/them
7) to accept diversity, tolerance, and acceptance of people they wish would just go away (see #6).
In short, I'm trying to describe a certain demographic that has a fixed idea of how American was and should be without exception. It could be the mythological American from the Fifties, the Civil War (particularly the Southern States), or maybe bringing Texan attitude to all fifty states.
In short, it isn't the guns so much as trying to preserve one's personal identity.