Guns knives and bombs

[undeterred]

I work with a man who loves to talk about guns knives and bombs. He works two jobs - 12 hours a day so that he has extra money to spend on guns and knives, and he goes to gun and knife shows every weekend. He talks about them at work all the time and jumped on my computer the other day to google a knifemaker and show me a bunch of knives. I was not only unimpressed, I was borderline offended although I tried not to show it. I finally told him (at lunch) that I am an anti war activist and that weapons do not interest me. He insisted that they are not weapons, they're tools. Tools for what? Killing.

Living in Wisconsin, I've accepted that there are a lot of people who grow up learning to use guns and knives for hunting. But I utterly fail to comprehend the fascination with them outside of a focused activity, and I really reject this attempt to neutralize them by calling them "tools". Maybe its because I was once threatened at knifepoint. Maybe its because I lived in Chicago for almost 20 years. I fail to comprehend guns and knives as a "hobby". And to me the glorification of weapons is not apolitical.

I used to be friendly with some business owners in my neighborhood - who are Republicans - but it seemed like every time I went in there the menfolk would be talking about the latest military thing- bunker busters or other kinds of bombs - and the tone of the conversation was total admiration. It evoked images of civilians bleeding to death so I stopped going in there.

I never talk about my political views at the office- except briefly in a social situation like eating lunch together. I guess I am mostly a pacifist - although I work at a company which sells to the DOD and that doesn't bother me. I see weapons as a necessary evil, necessary in extreme situations just as war is necessary in extreme situations.

As a culture we are supposed to be comfortable with the use of deadly force. A police officer pulls someone over for a speeding ticket and walks towards the car with his hand on his holster. Is this really necessary? Aren't there countries where police do their jobs without arms and the threat of deadly force?

I'm working in a conservative environment, I know I have to be careful. But to me hobbies are things like photography and gardening and cooking. I just don't get how weapons are so fascinating, to me they are "tools" of death and agression.

[ziggy_luv]

1. we have to have them

where I live in detroit, if you are weak you need a gun, 2 out of 10 times my husband is messed with in the evening when he goes to the store. just 3 weeks ago i felt like having some cocktails saturday nite, so he went to the store. the parking lot was full so he parked on the street next to it. when he came out and stepped around the corner and punched him, well he dropped the ice and punched the guy in the nose, and the guys buddy came toward him and hubby blew out his knee, the guy will probably be handicapped after that. we send our 10 year old daughter to wing chun do kung fu, so he has picked up lots if techniques, he is 43. he has always been tough. but what if he was weak, and the next guy probably is or old . you realy need to pack or know how to kick a$$ where we live.

[undeterred]

2. I lived on the south side of Chicago for almost 20 years

so I know what you are talking about. I'm not comfortable having a gun- I think it would create a lot of anxiety for me- but I certainly understand why people in urban environments sometimes choose to have one for protection. But to me thats an evil necessity, not glorification of a gun for its own sake.

I hope you can get out of that neighborhood. I live in WI now where it is much safer and it feels good not to have to worry about safety all the time.

[1620rock]

3. Uh-huh, they are....but Amerikkka is a dangerous place...

these days, and so I now understand why some people feel compelled to keep arms in their homes.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

4. There's nothing wrong with a weapon if you know how to use it.

I believe in tougher gun control, but I believe people have the right to own guns. I've been through gun safety and shot guns (target shooting) before. I do not own one, nor do I want one.

I don't believe in carrying a concealed gun in most cases. Mostly because most people are idiots. I'm fine with carrying a knife. I have a pretty large knife & martial arts weapons collection myself. I'm also trained in various martial arts, including Filipino stick & knife fighting (Eschrima). I don't normally carry a knife, but if I'm going to be traveling alone at night be it NYC (where I generally feel supersafe) or backwoods NJ/PA (where I generally don't feel safe) I do like the comfort of the thumb-opening (I'm switchblade fast with it) tucked into my belt. I've never used it, but I like knowing it's there.

I'm somebody that statistically looks like a target. I'm only 5'1" and about 105-110lbs. I'm young & pretty cute, but in rural areas the whole pierced, tattooed lesbian thing can make me stand out (and I've been harassed before). A probable attacker wouldn't know that I also occaisionally teach women's self-defense seminars, have studied a self-defense based karate for 13 years, along with studying eschrima, akido, judo & kickboxing on and off. Not to mention, my father (former street-fighter/bouncer) started teaching me to fight when I was five. We lived in a bad neighborhood and he knew that girls had to know how to defend themselves. The result is I can be a street-wise little motherfucker, but I love photography, all animals (vegetarian & I'm currently even hand-feeding a newborn mouse rescue), hiking and the arts.

Honestly, I think the martial arts gave me an outlet. In an odd way, I know that I would be a lot more violent, if I hadn't studied the martial arts. It taught me how to fight and defend myself, but also to only use it in self-defense. I've only been in one non-sanctioned fight as an adult and I pretty much just stepped back and let her make an ass out of herself. In the ring though, I don't hold back.

[Jack_DeLeon]

6. Self Defense

Honestly, I think the martial arts gave me an outlet. In an odd way, I know that I would be a lot more violent, if I hadn't studied the martial arts. It taught me how to fight and defend myself, but also to only use it in self-defense.

In a similar situation here.

In addtion to learning how to protect myself I've also taught myself quite a bit about the legal and philisophical aspects of using force and deadly force, along with the rest of my rights in general.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

7. Yeah, unfortunately my karate instructor is a chickenhawk neo-con.

He supports killing all brown people, homophobic (doesn't give me any crap though, it's gay men that freak him out), has a Bush quote airbrushed onto the back of his truck, and refers to the first wave of hell that we put potential black belts through "Shock & Awe." We have issues with each other now obviously, but I was like his personal "karate kid."

I got to train privately for free with his instructor and he got me corporate sponsors so I got to travel around competing (obviously it helped that I consistently won). It almost makes up for getting told, "God gave you two arms, use the other one!" when I dislocated a shoulder sparring or "That's because you have your earrings in" when a huge lower-ranking brown belt guy kicked me in the head full force at my black belt testing. I didn't have any earrings in and it was because my neck was fucked up from my body leaving the ground, spinning around and landing several feet away. The brown belt liked to hurt female students (generally using illegal shots) but was a pussy when it came to fighting male students. He got it a year later though. Some of the black belts remembered what he did to me and destroyed him at his black belt testing. I accidentally slipped and hit him below the obi. Afterwards, they said it was for what he did to me. He wasn't so cocky after that and started treating the women at the school with respect. It apparently worked.

The super-cool liberal black belt (the one that taught me aikido) left the school to go work for Apple in CA, so I only see him a couple times a year when he comes back for black belt testings and major seminars.

[Jack_DeLeon]

5. Yes we should be comfortable with using deadly force...

As a culture we are supposed to be comfortable with the use of deadly force. A police officer pulls someone over for a speeding ticket and walks towards the car with his hand on his holster. Is this really necessary? Aren't there countries where police do their jobs without arms and the threat of deadly force?

We are animals, and we all have the right to defend ourselves with force up to and including deadly force. I'm not a violent person, although I do like shooting and practicing martial arts both armed and unarmed, but if it were ever necessary I would most definately kill to protect myself and my loved ones.

As for your police officer in your scenerio I dont quite have a problem with them patting thier holster, however the dangerous ones are the kind that draw and aim thier weapon when there is no threat. Those kinds of officers should not be in law enforcment, the only thing they care about is going home safe at night, and they should find another line of work before they neglegently hurt or kill someone.

A firearm should never be aimed at someone unless you fear for your life and intend to kill that person.

[benEzra]

8. Depends on how they are used...

I'm working in a conservative environment, I know I have to be careful. But to me hobbies are things like photography and gardening and cooking. I just don't get how weapons are so fascinating, to me they are "tools" of death and agression.

Depends on how they are used, IMHO--my wife and I are both gunnies, and shoot fairly regularly. Like most gun owners, we aren't hunters, and I really don't think I'd have the heart to kill a deer.

Shooting is very much like the other martial arts--a lot more than most people realize. If you don't approach shooting in a very Zen-like way, you will be a crappy shot. It's all about focus and breath control.

Guns aren't tools of death and aggression if you aren't aggressive; fists and feet can be if you are aggressive. I have never threatened anyone with a gun and I expect that I never will. If someone were to break into our house and we were in legitimate fear of our lives, however, then rest assured we can use them competently.

[Endangered Specie]

9. I guess you'll just have to accept that other people have other hobbies...

I fail to see why someone who is relatively pacifist cannot have an interest in guns. (me)

Personally, I think they are fun, target shooting is far more a mental challenge than physical one. Don't bash it until you have tried it.

Also combine the fact that I am a hands-on person with a slightly higher than amateur interest in history. Wars tend to shape alot history, and for me its one thing to read about history, its another thing to touch (and use) pieces of history. There aren't that many things out there with symbols of long fallen regimes on them that you can own and not break the bank.

In the end though, guns are THINGS, you can call them tools, or instruments of war, or whatever, but they are still THINGS.