Gun Control & RKBA
In reply to the discussion: I'm sick and tired of being stereotyped as a bad guy just because I own a firearm! [View all]Prophet 451
(9,796 posts)I'm sure you're a responsible gun owner. If I lived in the States and was mentally well, I probably would be too (I'm British and mentally ill). I don't want guns to be banned and I don't think it would do much good if they were (handguns were entirely banned here in 1997 but our murder rate is still roughly the same). But I also resent being branded a "gun grabber" simply for advocating a few sensible reforms (none of which are unique to me so I won't waste your time with them).
Here's the thing though. This is a liberal/progressive site. Liberals/progressives tend (as a very broad generalisation) to be for stricter gun control. This is also the internet, where the loudest and most emotive voice tends to carry the day. And the US has recently suffered several tragedies where firearms were involved. So yeah, people on the internet paint with too broad a brush, happens all the time. Maybe, as liberals, we should be a bit more thoughtful with what we say. Probably we should and if we were chatting about this in, say, a pub, I'm sure we would be. But this is the internet. And the illusion of anonymity, an audience and no repercussions means that people often act like pricks (see Penny Arcade's "GIFT" .
And finally, a lot of your fellow gun owners are against even the most logical regulation of firearms. Is it fair to stereotype you based on that? Of course not. But people do stereotype. Everyone does to some extent, all the time. We pretty much have to stereotype to some extent just to get through the day and it's an automatic part of our psychological make-up (see Social Identity Theory but note this is a subconscious process that can be overridden by conscious thought). Again, should we, as liberals, be better than that? Absolutely. But the fact is, we're often not (you should see some of the stereotypes I get over something as inconsequential as being a wrestling fan). Fair? No, but we do it anyway.
You don't like being considered a bad guy, don't be a bad guy and rest secure in the knowledge that they're either not referring to you or not being accurate if they do.