There is a subset of the American right wing I call the Right Wing Gun Culture (RWGC). One thing the RWGC likes to do is talk. They talk about guns, shooting, ammunition and training. As I observed the RWGC, I heard some of the same things over and over.
I want to share what I saw and heard. To do that, I've made three compilations of YouTube videos. Each video is about one minute long, and focuses on the relationship between the RWCG and their guns.
As you watch the videos, ask yourself if there is a common element to all three? I share what I think the common element is in my conclusion. I invite you to share your thoughts in the comments.
Part 1. Get a Grip
I've seen several comments here at Daily Kos about guns as compensation for small dicks. There may or may not be some truth to that, but I don't think it adequately describes the deep emotional attachment that many in the RWGC have for their guns. Take a look.
Part 2. Safeties
If you've read any of the Gun Fail diaries, you know that gun accidents happen everyday in the United States. In light of this fact, you might think that there would be demands from gun owners to make guns safer. You would be wrong. In the RWGC there is a decided opposition to any law regulating firearm safety. If guns were cars, the RWGC would oppose seat belts and air bags.
The reason for their opposition to safer firearms is in their imagination. They imagine circumstances where they will be threatened, and they will not have time to flip off a safety, or a safety will malfunction, or they will be physically unable to engage a grip safety. The video below illustrates this.
Part 3. Bad Guys
I think one aspect of RWGC is an inaccurate, if not perverse, view of the world. I am not one to discount the evil in the world. I have known and do know people who have a legitimate need to carry a gun. They have been told they will be murdered, and the people that told them had the means to carry it out. However, in the RWGC many believe that everybody needs a gun all the time. Get a gun and don't leave home without it they say.
In the RWGC, there is an underlying fear that borders on the ridiculous. It causes many of them to spend an inordinate amount of time and effort preparing to defeat the bad guys.
Below you will see another short video where they demonstrate just how absurd they can be.
Part 4. Comment and Conclusion
I believe the common element to all three videos is this: decisions are made emotionally rather than rationally. That is why there is no compromise possible with the RWGC. We will not be able to win the political dispute over firearms with facts or any appeal to rationality.
To be sure, the RWGC use data to support their positions. They view themselves as rational, and want to present themselves that way. However, they look at what little data there is superficially. Challenge the RWGC and they resort to emotional attacks. An extreme example of this is the Alex Jones interview with Piers Morgan. But, the same attitude is prevalent in gun blogs and gun videos.
To reduce firearm violence we must realize that solutions will only come from us, the liberals of America. The right will not help and mostly doesn't care. To do so effectively, we must not succomb to the same emotionality that drives the right. We cannot allow ourselves the same sloppiness and feel goodness that permeate the RWGC and sometimes shows up, sadly, at Daily Kos. We must be clear in our objectives, well reasoned and "reality based" with our solutions, and exceptionally competent with our implementations. Anything less means America remains number one in the industrialized world in firearm violence.