Since the 1980’s, guns have been a major part of the American public discourse.
The NRA has spent billions promoting what they call “responsible gun ownership” and gun fanatics and others have lobbied hard to get laws passed which allow anyone to carry a gun who can afford the permits and the gun. (these are obviously not poor people in most cases). There are millions of people walking the streets in this country with a gun.
Gun ownership for a lot of people have has become almost a religious cult.
Yes, criminals do carry guns, and if they are outlawed, only criminals will have guns. There is a little truth in that statement, but it is more a play on words than serious philosophy. Hunting and shooting sport is a legitimate use of guns, true, but only certain types of guns are legitimate for those uses. You don’t hunt with high powered automatic rifles and pistols except to dispatch and animal at close range that has already been injured by a long gun at a distance. But truth is, an Uzi or such small automatic weapon is not needed.
The real truth about guns.
As a combat veteran and an avid gun owner, I think I qualify to speak on this subject. I certainly have first had knowledge about guns and their use against human beings.
The vast majority of people walking around with guns today, actually know nothing about the truth of guns. They speak boldly about their rights to carry one and how they would be needed in the event of a criminal act, or to hold and invader at bay. They talk eloquently about how having a gun makes the country safer. But in reality, it’s the same kind talk you would hear from a 8 year old child talking about fighter jets or space ships.
Most of them have target shot, and maybe even killed an animal with a gun. Some have practiced into fairly good marksmen. Some have studied and could quote all the facts and figures and rules of gun ownership. Others have studied guns to where they know every fact about hundreds of weapons and ammunition.. Not as many advocates are people who have been in the situation where they actually needed a gun, like a law enforcement officer. They all know guns can kill or cripple. They may even know about the consequences of gun use on an intellectual level.
But none of that relates to the real truth about guns.
Few gun advocates have ever known first hand the real truths of gun ownership.
Any gun, is powerful destructive force and a lot of them are an incredible destructive tool. Look into the face of a human being shot in the head, if you can recognize the head from the bloody ball of red meat and brains and dangling eye balls….Or the blood covered cinnamon rolls of gut hanging from the belly of a person who has been gut shot.
The effect of a bullet on the human body is not the whole story either. The part few know and most can’t address, is the real truth behind the guns. The truth about their use on the human soul and psyche. In a real situation of self defense the world is lot different than can be imagined in practice. Often times the need to defend arises in a spilt second, and the opportunity to strike is very, very short. The mind can reels from the pumping of adrenaline and the shock. It takes a considerable amount of time for the average person to be able to shift mental gears and grasp the situation, much less think logically and make decisions. This considerable of time my just be a second two a best, but in reality is far longer than that. Training helps cut down the time it takes to evaluate the situation, and make a decision, but no amount of training can have an approachable difference on even a professional who has not used his condition reflexes in a while. When an average gun owner is found in this situation it could be minutes before their mind reacts with all that is necessary to evaluate and decide on a correct response to the threat.. It maybe hard for some to comprehend just how big a problem it is, unless you have been thru it.
And there lies the problem with gun ownership for security, as a whole. Many people have been shot by their own gun in emergency situations, and have even shot people that cared for and loved by accident. Much less, innocent bystanders.
Once you have let the gun go off, you life will change drastically forever. From that second on, it will never be the same. The person you kill will be dead, and the people who cared about them will have their life forever altered by your action.
Once that bullet leaves the gun, it blows tiny dark seeds in your brain and soul. Theses seeds take root and grow an ever entangling swirl of wire like tendons through out your mind & soul forever… Yes they can be subdued, and weakened.. but they never leave entirely. Your whole life will be effected and probably your health. I don’t care how “righteous” you and others think your action was… this still happens to all but the psychotic without a sense of right & wrong.
Your family and your children, your friends will all look at you differently from that point on…..and you will not be able to explain what now is inside you. It will take a trained professional to help you cope.. but it may never alleviate anything. Without the professional help you can end up like millions already have from similar situations, dealing with debilitating depression, substance abuse and / or serious mental illness.
I believe this is how God designed it all, he seriously meant for us not to kill each other.. and a gun makes it very easy, and too often accidental. If you are going to own a gun… take it very seriously and with a lot of forethought .Seek out very serious training from people who have actually had to live through these situations (if you can find one willing) and train and practice constantly.. never let a week go by.
You will find there are very experienced gun owners who do not talk about it.. They are usually combat veterans and carry the dark seeds forever. But they are the few that really understand the gun, and all that comes with it. The person that is constantly talking about it, bragging about it or has it attached to his manhood is usually the wrong person to listen to. If they tell you war stories, they are probably telling lies or have serious mental problems or both, no matter how “sound” and ‘with it” they seem. War and killing permanently damages all.. its not a matter “if” or “how much”.. it’s a matter of those little dark seeds and how they are nourished or trimmed, and how they personally survive it.
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Comments: 89
I am a natural pacifist. I think if I had to actually kill an animal myself for food, I'd probably starve. I cannot even stand to be with my husband when he catches a fish. I'm tired of the almost reverential treatment of these weapons of destruction in the United STates. No other country in the world has such an obsession - and no other country in the world has such a high gun kill/wound rate among its citizenry (except perhaps Mexico, recently, for short periods). And as you point out, people do not even realize the effect shooting these weapons has on our brains. I think that's probably why so many of our soldiers suffer serious mental problems.
I will never understand the fascination with the damn things. If I had my way, all of them would disappear.
Another thing to consider is that a gun is not a great defensive weapon unless you have one in your hand virtually every minute of the day. I once worked in a pizza parlor where the owner kept a .45 in the safe when he was working. Getting in the safe required getting down on your knees and facing the wall. All I could think of was the robber blowing the owner's head off before the owner could get to the gun. There are lots of other scenarios where the concealed weapon is probably a liability.
Dexter S., there is honesty that's beyond mere true words. You, my brother, hold the beating heart of this issue in your hand. With men like you, my country can still be proud of her manhood.
Namaste. (...and I don't use that term as a mere greeting.)
;-)
These fanatics that say they need a gun to carry all the time to protect their home are cowards that fear every shadow crossing their path. What do they do when someone knocks on their door, throw a gun in their face and say get out?
The NRA at one time supported sportsmen and their activities but the loonies got in and now its just a group of nut case fanatics. I have enjoyed many activities through the NRA and bought a lot of military surplus through the organization but now you could not pay me any amount to be part of the lunacy they preach.
In England when the public had a right to have guns the police were not armed and it discouraged violent crime committed with lethal weapons, now that they managed to disarm the public the police have to carry guns, it doesn't make any sense.
All people that have combat experience suffer some form of psychological damage and unless a person is a nut job they do not talk about combat and killing.
The people we see from the media taking guns to organised meetings are just paid loonies and most are cowards that could not defend them self against a fly attack. Like you said Dex violence comes on you very fast and ends very fast and the average citizen has no chance to protect itself against what may happen and carrying a gun just means that if a violent person confronts you they are going to use more severe violence against you.
When Jefferson said "the tree of liberty must be watered with the blood of its patriots" did he say how many pints he donated? I don't remember it ever being mentioned.
That's not true Dexter. I just got concealed handgun license and if there is any thing wrong in your life you cant get the license here in Texas. Maybe you mean the State where you are at. In Texas, if you are not squeaky clean you cant get a handgun license here. It cost 120 dollars to get the filing kit and 120 dollars for the gun course and you have to pass shooting test. plus cost of fingering printing and pictures . It cost 280 all together. If state does not give approval we are out the cost of everything. Rest assured those out there robbing people are not a Texas concealed handgun licensed owners. I saw some stats for concealed handgun licensed owners and out of maybe 10,000 gun crimes the licensed owners made up less than 1 % for a 2 or 3 year period.
You only aim your firearm at a person to do one thing, its not to scare him, its not to wound him, its to kill him. This was instilled in all of us who did what I used to do. my children grew up not knowing what I did even my wife in our early married life did not know, this was because to some certain extent it was alien in Britain to own or use a gun, and that I thought myself some kind of monster. let me tell you it is the hardest and easiest thing in the world to point a gun at someone and to pull the trigger and to kill him, the hardest part is the first kill, then it becomes so much more easy. once that bullet comes out of that firearm you are no longer in charge of the situation. and its when you are alone in your bed that the nightmares begin. Now this is coming from a person that was trained to the highest degree in the Army. Now think what it would be like for someone who has not had firearm training, who just goes out and buys a gun and then has to fire it at someone. I know that the American constitution allows every American to bear arms. But I dont think that it is a good thing for anyone to have a firearm. Great article Dexter food for though for everyone.
I never received any kind of care like people do today either, it was not the done thing to talk about it, very macho and back slapping and quite a few beer's in the training center bar, you are right Dexter it leaves a stain on your soul.
Killing another human is dreadful and permanent, for the killer as well as the killed.
Your Post was NOT a whine
I've known ppl, like you mentioned above, who did tie their guns to their manhood, guess what showing off their guns resulted in? A girl death, her face completely shot off.
I can't stand when ppl irk u! they irk me too
My grandfather was in WWII and the Korean War, and to this day he won't speak of the death that happened from his own hands and a firearm. My cousin, who's about 25 now, came back a few years ago from the War overseas.... he was in 101st Airborne, like our grandfather.... but he displays the trauma from killing much differently than our grandfather. My cousin uses a lot of sarcasm and flippant humor when talking about the few men he's had to kill. It's only when he starts to get long-winded that he drops his guard and you can see the hurt in his eyes about what he's done. Our grandfather has made mention of this, and only made the statement, "What we've seen, what we've done... makes it hard to be a normal person in the real world. He'll figure out eventually that killing somebody is a burden he can't shake, and he'll go from his 'conditioned response' of a coping behavior to a dark place that no one can touch.... except others who have been there. It is truly lonely."
I do not believe that outlawing guns will get rid of the killing, I know this isn't really what your article was focusing on.... because there is no way to get rid of the guns. As long as there is money to be made from a product in demand, guns will not be gotten rid of, much as making drugs illegal has not gotten rid of the drugs and addicts, but rather has created more problems than it should have solved. But money is the issue there, not the killing, which is what you're talking about.
If all the guns WERE gone, people would still kill each other based on exactly what you speak of here.... the ignorance of what taking another person's life can do to the person doing the killing. Granted, choking someone to death is a bit more hands on and personal than using a gun, but in the heat of a moment, without proper mental preparedness for what is about to happen, choking someone will plant the same dark seeds you speak of. Guns just give the illusion of separating ourselves from the act... the guns and bullets kill, not so much us..... the reality that using a gun does not separate us from the act only comes after the fact, when it's too late.
Great article, Dexter.
most crime guns were sold by retailers.
You said: I believe this is how God designed it all, he seriously meant for us not to kill each other..
I'm not a particularly religious man as things go. Much of what you described in your articel is more about post tramatic stress than truth aboug guns. Even the ancient Hebrews were aware of this anad had cleansing rituals soliders returning from battle had to follow. In the Book of Numbers is found this passage:
19 "All of you who have killed anyone or touched anyone who was killed must stay outside the camp seven days. On the third and seventh days you must purify yourselves and your captives. 20 Purify every garment as well as everything made of leather, goat hair or wood."
21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone into battle, "This is the requirement of the law that the LORD gave Moses: 22 Gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, lead 23 and anything else that can withstand fire must be put through the fire, and then it will be clean. But it must also be purified with the water of cleansing. And whatever cannot withstand fire must be put through that water. 24 On the seventh day wash your clothes and you will be clean. Then you may come into the camp."
The link is www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=numbers%2031
Even the ancients knew the effects of violence ont he mind and soul. I've no doubt, have never doubted that the taking of life is a serious matter indeed, and would fully expect it to be a life changing experience. What have I ever said that suggested other than that?
You said: If you are going to own a gun… take it very seriously and with a lot of forethought .Seek out very serious training...
I have never advocated a lighthearted approach to firearms, never will. One only has to put down an animal that they love to understand the reality. It could only be a deeper when a human being is concerned. In respect to training, I only oppose state required training. I find it hippocritical that the same state that wants to regulate my rights also has the power to set the standards required to secure thier permission to use what is already mine, and thinks that I should be sheparded in it's exercise. I've been a legal adult in states where that is not required for over 30 years. Twice, in instances where I could have fired, I didn't. What other evidence of my reluctance to use violence as a first means of resort could I offer?
I know you don't like it when folk refer to their rights, but that is the state of affairs. People have as much right to have a gun as to have a computer and keyboard. Having seen what happend to the Vietnamese after the fall of Siagon, would any of us want to suffer the loss of our dignity, humanity and rights? Not attacking, just a question, don' t even have to answer it to me.... What were you fighting for over there if not that?
Your writing here suggests that people who don't have your particualr experience, do not know what keeping and using a gun is all about. That my friend is hippocritical. Without being sarcastic, where did you get the power to read mens minds and to see the binding on their soul? Has it not occured to you that there are other ways to reach the same understandings about life and death?
You've no idea what acts of violence I've been exposed to, whose bodies I've seen lying on the ground around me, or how they got there. PTSD is not limited to acts of war, nor is it limited to acts of war involving guns. Once again, even the ancients knew that men changed as a result of their acts of violence, otherwise, why make them stay ourside the community for 7 days?
Many of the Vietnam Era vets I have spoken with have talked of the difference between their own experience and that of there fathers and grandfathers. Many agree that one of the single greatest differences was in coming home. From Vietnam, home for many was a 24 hour flight away. It was actually possible to have a two week leave, go home from battle and return to battle. I remember a very dear friend of our family doing just that. And I remember the hours he spent talking with my mother about it.
Home for our fathers and grandfathers was a trip of weeks, even months, often spent with the same unit one fought with. There was a "debriefing" of sorts that occured on a ship surrounded by your buddies that didn't happen by yourself on a plane. There are also many vets of all eras that returned home suffering from various levels of PTSD who kept their guns, went hunting, play shooting (some call it target practice, for most of us it is play), kept guns at their bedside, all the while raising families, holding down jobs and working through (for lack of better words) the shit of war. They didn't loose their minds, didn't run all over town shooting the place up didn't resort to a gun at the first sign of things not going their way.
Surprisingly, there are some 80 milion firearms owners, in the possession of some 250 million firearms that do the exact same thing everyday. And guess what, the overwhelming majority of them are not vets, have no designs of over throwing the government, are quite aware of the responsibilities of firearms ownership, and have proven to be amoung the most lawabiding citizens in the United States.
It is that which raises my ire, the sanctimonious prattle of "if you aint been where I have, then you aren't really qualified to own a gun, you don't realy know what you are getting into..." (I'm paraphrasing you there, not an exaact quote, just what I get from reading your writings) I find that quite self serving, and demeaning of others experiences when you've no true idea what those experiences may be.
I am sure that we will continue to disagree on these pages and on the topic of firearms ownership. I wouldn't be surprised if we were disagreable on the subject either. I too carry some truth about the violence we as humans do one another. It is the weight of that truth which makes me ask the question, "What will I do on the day that it happens to me?" for I don't think I am so special that I am immune to the violence of this world.
A good evening to you Dexter.
well, maybe it was in pakistan when the pakistani troops fought back the taliban. the taliban are evil.
if one attempts, genuinely attempts, to exhaust peaceful measures and that does not show any progress one has a better chance of winning the propaganda war aspect of the entire war.
for example, castro always released his prisoners of war. not only did this increase his popularity among the people but it also compelled the govt troops to give up quicker because they felt they would not be mistreated by castro's rebels.
Also I had a relative with mental illnes who had owned a gun since he belonged to a gun club as a young teenager.The family didn't have a gun but the boy was fascinated with them. His mental illness wasn't evident yet. When he graduated from high school he joined the Air Force and eventually did a tour of duty in Vietnam. He came back and bummed around a while before joining the Marines. He didn't tell them he had already done a tour of duty in service. He got kicked out in boot camp for fighting his DI. When he went home he got his rifle and hiked up and down the whole California coast. Once when he stopped at her apartment he tried to strangle his sister but she got away. He walked out carrying his rifle and was stopped by a cop - for jaywalking! It was legal for him to have the gun. It was not concealed. When he got home his mother saw how dangerous he was right then and convinced him he should get help with his mental illness and by nightfall he was in a mental hospital. It was easy then for a crazy person to carry a gun openly. I doubt things have changed much.
Just wondering.