FutureTheLeftWant wrote on Jun 10
th, 2022 at 11:46am:
Lisa Jones wrote on Jun 10
th, 2022 at 11:44am:
Aussie wrote on Jun 9
th, 2022 at 10:07pm:
Well, let's see what comes from this hand grenade I have tossed at a Yank Forum.
Link.My bet is that it will be moved to a lesser read part of that Forum or at worst deleted entirely.
All the gun nut Rambos will bite I am sure.
Still, I am not trolling, but it seems no matter what anyone says on that Forum, the gun nuts will never ever ever change their position. I am not gonna give up there.
I've been thinking long and hard about the gun debate ( Greggary and Baronvonrort are IMO 2 principal posters who should probably start a proper online debate about it).
When it comes to guns and the US...you will find that we (ie Aussies) are trying to understand another country using our Australian mentality/perspective. We've grown up in a different environment, with different experiences and indeed our country has a completely different history.
The commonalities btwn the US and Australia is as follows:
The English turned up and took over both the US and Australia.
Over time these English changed as they adapted to their respective environments.
The process of change is where things veer into different directions.
And I truly believe it has a lot to do with getting rid of the Indians AND the War of Independence. Also the English who settled in the US were not criminals or convicts...they were religious zealots or extremists. Still English though.
Anyway with the much needed assistance of guns they were able to survive the brutal conditions of the US (they had to shoot animals to eat and shoot wild bears etc coming to attack them) and shooting also included the Indians and the English.
Eventually gun ownership and gun use evolved to become the US MO...the new normal. (Think American Civil War and the Sth not being able to accept the abolition of slavery as it underpinned their entire way of life).
And so here we are today.
Americans are trained from birth to believe thier guns equal their freedoms
Are you gonna pretend to be normal and behave today? If so I'll respond. Otherwise I'll make fun of you and/or post over you. Ok?
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Americans are brought up in a particular type of environment - one that's resulted on account of hundreds of years of experiences we've NOT had in Australia.
For starters ... we (ie not me but the original English who came to Australia) did not at any stage pick up guns to start shooting the English in the name of Independence. We never had a War of Independence.
And to think ... the English that turned up here in Australia were convicts ie convicted criminals whilst the English that turned up in the US were religious zealots. I get that's only a part of the narrative but you can't help but notice little things here and there as you struggle to understand how/why the US and Australia evolved into 2 very distinct societies (even well before WW1).
A few other observations come to mind.
1. The US had natives (ie native Americans).
2. They also imported (and grew yes grew) Negro slaves. They were not considered humans.
1. We had natives too (Aborigines). They tended to be docile and not war like. We never considered them to be human either. They were in fact regarded as Flora and Fauna.
2. We didn't import Negro slaves.
The native Americans and the Negroes then became the enemy after the English of course. That meant more gun ownership and gun use.
Notice something here? What is continually feeding the need for gun ownership and gun use? A new perceived enemy.
Am I over analysing this issue?
I don't know. I'm merely an outsider ... an Aussie. Even then I'm only a 1st Generation Aussie. I'm 100% European blooded in fact. Forget the US perspective...do I really understand the Aussie perspective?
Then there is the issue of time. Am I able to grasp the core standards, ethics and values of people who ceased to exist hundreds of years ago? Or is this a futile exercise in itself?
I might just have to conclude that I'm limited in "getting the full picture" when it comes to gun ownership and gun use in the USA.
I'm glad I live in Australia. Why? It's a far SAFER country. And for me ... SAFETY is important in this complex analysis because once again ... I'm thinking of children. 🥺😩