Get this! Semi-lengthy but a very worthy read!

April, 2002 The Anti-Gun Male by Julia Gorin LET'S be honest. He's scared of the thing. That's understandable--so am I. But as a girl I have the luxury of being able to admit it. I don't have to masquerade squeamishness as grand principle - in the interest of mankind, no less. A man does. He has to say things like "One Taniqua Hall is one too many," as a New York radio talk show host did in referring to the 9-year old New York girl who was accidentally shot last year by her 12 year old cousin playing with his uncle's gun. But the truth is he desperately needs Taniqua Hall, just like he needs as many Columbines and Santees as can be mustered, until they spell an end to the Second Amendment. And not for the benefit of the masses, but for the benefit of his self esteem. He often accuses men with guns of "compensating for something." The truth is quite the reverse. After all, how is he supposed to feel knowing there are men out there who aren't intimidated by the big bad inanimate villain? How is he to feel in the face of adolescent boys who have used the family gun effectively in defending the family from an armed intruder? So if he can't touch a gun, he doesn't want other men to be able to either. And to achieve his ends, he'll use the only weapon he knows how to manipulate: the law. Of course, sexual and psychological insecurities don't account for ALL men against guns. Certainly there must be some whose motives are pure, who perhaps do care so much as to tirelessly look for policy solutions to teenage void and aggressiveness, and to parent and teacher negligence. But for a potentially large underlying contributor, psycho-sexual inadequacy has gone unexplored and unacknowledged. It's one thing to not be comfortable with a firearm and therefore opt to not keep or bear one. But it's another to impose the same handicap onto others. People are suspicious of what they do not know - and not only does this man not know how to use a gun, he doesn't know the men who do, or the number of people who have successfully used one to defend themselves from injury or death. But he is better left in the dark; his life is hard enough knowing there are men out there who don't sit cross-legged. That they're able to handle a firearm instead of being handled by it would be too much to bear. Such a man is also best kept huddled in urban centers, where he feels safer than he might if thrown out on his own into a rural setting, in an isolated house on a quiet street where he would feel naked and helpless. Lacking the confidence that would permit him to be sequestered in sparseness, and lacking a gun, he finds comfort in the cloister of crowds. The very ownership of a gun for defense of home and family implies some assertiveness and a certain self reliance. But if our man kept a gun in the house, and an intruder broke in and started attacking his wife in front of him, he wouldn't be able to later say, "He had a knife--there was nothing I could do!" Passively watching in horror while already trying to make peace with the violent act, scheduling a therapy session and forgiving the perpetrator before the attack is even finished wouldn't be the option it otherwise is. No. Better to emasculate all men. Because let's face it: He's a lover, not a fighter. And he doesn't want to get shot in case he has an affair with your wife. Of course, it wouldn't be completely honest not to admit that owning a firearm carries with it some risk to unintended targets. That's the tradeoff with a gun: The right to defend one's life and way of life isn't without peril to oneself. And the last thing this man wants to do is risk his life - if even to save it. For he is guided by a dread fear for his life, and has more confidence in almost anyone else's ability to protect him than his own, preferring to place himself at the mercy of the villain or in the sporadically competent hands of authorities (his line of defense consisting of locks, alarm systems, reasoning with the attacker, calling the police or, should fighting back occur to him, thrashing a heavy vase). In short, he is a man begging for subjugation. He longs for its promise of equality in helplessness. Because only when that strange, independent alpha breed of male is helpless along with him will he feel adequate. Indeed, his freedom lies in this other man's containment. Julia Gorin is a 29 year old writer, commentator and stand-up comedienne who lives with her husband and pit bull in New York City. Born in the former Soviet Union, Julia emigrated to the United States as a toddler. She grew up in Baltimore, Maryland and moved to New York ten years ago with dreams of fame, fortune and stardom. Educated at the City University of New York's Hunter College, Julia has written opinion pieces for the Washington Times, LA Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Christian Science Monitor. While not a dyed in the wool firearms aficionado, Julia is a firm believer in the Constitution of the United States - and that includes the Second Amendment

(caught it over at Fark.com)

Interesting read.

Good little article.

Seen it before, but not for a while. I work with somebody like that. He's utterly terrified by guns, even though he's never seen one or handled one. Intellectually he agrees that he needs to confront his phobia, but emotionally he's a mess, and just aghast at the idea of handling a gun. Grew up in NYC/NJ area. Just the way he was raised, I guess...

That guy must be gay

it always seems that people who immigrate here from around the world, who carry with them the understanding of other [less free] systems of government, who jump through beaurocratic hoop after hoop, who take tests and study and eventuall become US citizens; those people always "get" things like the 2nd.

whereas many of our homegrowns just don't have a fucking clue anymore. maybe we should start deporting liberals to places like bosnia, serbia, iraq, etc. and require them to go through the whole immigration and naturalization process before they can come back. i bet they'd "get it" by they time they got back to the states.

Quoted: That guy must be gay

The Pink Pistols would take exception to that  

You know, in all honesty, I could probably make a case for STRAIGHT males being more likely to be anti-gun than I could gay males.

Many straight males feel the need to impress the ladies. "I don't need no gun to be Billy Badass"...

Well, I could paraphrase more of this Julia Gorin's article but she put it way better than I could have.

Julia Gorin: Another person who's hand I would like to shake.  

Neat, she's got a website!

www.juliagorin.com/

Quoted: Quoted: That guy must be gay The Pink Pistols would take exception to that   You know, in all honesty, I could probably make a case for STRAIGHT males being more likely to be anti-gun than I could gay males. Many straight males feel the need to impress the ladies. "I don't need no gun to be Billy Badass"... Well, I could paraphrase more of this Julia Gorin's article but she put it way better than I could have. Julia Gorin: Another person who's hand I would like to shake.

Is this your way of coming out ?

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

There is a similar sort of guy, who often seems to be a newspaper columnist. This guy is proud of the fact that he is totally unable to fix anything,and does not own any tools at all-and he is proud of the fact! My (ex) brother-in-law was like this-I remember him saying "I work with my head,not with my hands" after I had graciously fixed some problem with his car. He was a newspaper writer,too.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: That guy must be gay The Pink Pistols would take exception to that   You know, in all honesty, I could probably make a case for STRAIGHT males being more likely to be anti-gun than I could gay males. Many straight males feel the need to impress the ladies. "I don't need no gun to be Billy Badass"... Well, I could paraphrase more of this Julia Gorin's article but she put it way better than I could have. Julia Gorin: Another person who's hand I would like to shake.   Is this your way of coming out ? Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Nope, I'm a straight dude. Go hawk your wares somewhere else.  

I need this for when I get home tonight.

(that means tag)

Quoted: Seen it before, but not for a while. I work with somebody like that. He's utterly terrified by guns, even though he's never seen one or handled one. Intellectually he agrees that he needs to confront his phobia, but emotionally he's a mess, and just aghast at the idea of handling a gun. Grew up in NYC/NJ area. Just the way he was raised, I guess...

I've got a friend who has a phobia of knives and similar sharp objects. He doesn't like people using them around him because he's afraid they'll slip, drop it, whatever and he'll get hurt on accident. Took him hunting for the first time about a month ago and he got himself a pig on his first time in the blind. He was really into the gutting process but kept himself away from it when we pulled out these huge (to him) knives to use.  Since he didn't know what to do at first, we had him hold things for us while we worked ("pull back that flap of skin, hold it still, rotate it," etc.) but he kept squirming when a blade got near him. Finally I said, "Fine, if my having a knife this close to you makes you uncomfortable, you do it", handed him the knife, and put him to work. That really helped him get over it because once he had the knife he knew he was in control and it wouldn't get him.

Quoted: There is a similar sort of guy, who often seems to be a newspaper columnist. This guy is proud of the fact that he is totally unable to fix anything,and does not own any tools at all-and he is proud of the fact! My (ex) brother-in-law was like this-I remember him saying "I work with my head,not with my hands" after I had graciously fixed some problem with his car. He was a newspaper writer,too.

"I work with my head" means "I get other people to do it for me because I'm a lazy parasite" when dealing with that sort of person.

Quoted: it always seems that people who immigrate here from around the world, who carry with them the understanding of other [less free] systems of government, who jump through beaurocratic hoop after hoop, who take tests and study and eventuall become US citizens; those people always "get" things like the 2nd. whereas many of our homegrowns just don't have a fucking clue anymore. maybe we should start deporting liberals to places like bosnia, serbia, iraq, etc. and require them to go through the whole immigration and naturalization process before they can come back. i bet they'd "get it" by they time they got back to the states.

The people who wrote the second understood the same from having lived it.  That's the main problem with libs and most other issues here today.  We've forgotten our past and are now repeating it.  Except there is no land left for us to go.  Leaving us only one other option that our forefathers chose not to exercise.

Good article, anyone post it at DU yet?

Absolutely on the mark!  My brother fits the mold to a "T".

When I joined up and went to Vietnam, he prepared to flee to Canada.

When he was working in a gas station about 1970, a BG held a gun to his head in a robbery.  Since he was unarmed, he had no recourse.

When he was present and witnessed a woman being attacked by a large dog, he did absolutely nothing, fearing for his safety.  The woman was badly chewed up.  When I bugged him about it, his answer was that he wasn't getting chewed up for anybody else.

When I posed the ultimate gun argument to him, "Well, would you use a firearm if your wife was being raped and murdered in front of you?", his answer was a resounding NO.

When he saw the baby on the bed one day playing next to my holstered and hammer-secured .45LC revolver, he about had a cow!  When I 'splained how even though the gun was loaded (Aren't they ALL?), he nearly had a coronary.  There were other adults in the room, and I was merely waiting to secure the holster rig.

When faced with a confrontation as a kid, he would run away...even though I as his older bro was in the thick of the fight defending his ass!

And oh...he HATES guns...and FEARS gun.   He wants them all GONE even if it means that the JBTs have to go door to door to confiscate; even if the Constitution has to be amended or overturned to rid the country of guns, even if we have to spend 1/2 the national treasury to prevent "illegal" guns from coming across the border in the backs of big rigs like dope...once the good laws are in place; even if we have to sanction with whatever it takes to prevent foreign guns from entering the US.  In other words ALL guns, ALL ammo, ALL extra "stuff" must be banned forthwith in his mind.  

Crazy isn't it?  

Oh...he finally got his wish:  He's retiring in a couple of years and moving to Vancouver.  Good...he always liked being a socialist weenie anyway.  

Sounds like a job for Striker

Quoted: Absolutely on the mark!  My brother fits the mold to a "T". When I joined up and went to Vietnam, he prepared to flee to Canada. When he was working in a gas station about 1970, a BG held a gun to his head in a robbery.  Since he was unarmed, he had no recourse. When he was present and witnessed a woman being attacked by a large dog, he did absolutely nothing, fearing for his safety.  The woman was badly chewed up.  When I bugged him about it, his answer was that he wasn't getting chewed up for anybody else. When I posed the ultimate gun argument to him, "Well, would you use a firearm if your wife was being raped and murdered in front of you?", his answer was a resounding NO. When he saw the baby on the bed one day playing next to my holstered and hammer-secured .45LC revolver, he about had a cow!  When I 'splained how even though the gun was loaded (Aren't they ALL?), he nearly had a coronary.  There were other adults in the room, and I was merely waiting to secure the holster rig. When faced with a confrontation as a kid, he would run away...even though I as his older bro was in the thick of the fight defending his ass! And oh...he HATES guns...and FEARS gun.   He wants them all GONE even if it means that the JBTs have to go door to door to confiscate; even if the Constitution has to be amended or overturned to rid the country of guns, even if we have to spend 1/2 the national treasury to prevent "illegal" guns from coming across the border in the backs of big rigs like dope...once the good laws are in place; even if we have to sanction with whatever it takes to prevent foreign guns from entering the US.  In other words ALL guns, ALL ammo, ALL extra "stuff" must be banned forthwith in his mind.   Crazy isn't it?   Oh...he finally got his wish:  He's retiring in a couple of years and moving to Vancouver.  Good...he always liked being a socialist weenie anyway.

Disown him.

tag

Quoted: Quoted: Absolutely on the mark!  My brother fits the mold to a "T". When I joined up and went to Vietnam, he prepared to flee to Canada. When he was working in a gas station about 1970, a BG held a gun to his head in a robbery.  Since he was unarmed, he had no recourse. When he was present and witnessed a woman being attacked by a large dog, he did absolutely nothing, fearing for his safety.  The woman was badly chewed up.  When I bugged him about it, his answer was that he wasn't getting chewed up for anybody else. When I posed the ultimate gun argument to him, "Well, would you use a firearm if your wife was being raped and murdered in front of you?", his answer was a resounding NO. When he saw the baby on the bed one day playing next to my holstered and hammer-secured .45LC revolver, he about had a cow!  When I 'splained how even though the gun was loaded (Aren't they ALL?), he nearly had a coronary.  There were other adults in the room, and I was merely waiting to secure the holster rig. When faced with a confrontation as a kid, he would run away...even though I as his older bro was in the thick of the fight defending his ass! And oh...he HATES guns...and FEARS gun.   He wants them all GONE even if it means that the JBTs have to go door to door to confiscate; even if the Constitution has to be amended or overturned to rid the country of guns, even if we have to spend 1/2 the national treasury to prevent "illegal" guns from coming across the border in the backs of big rigs like dope...once the good laws are in place; even if we have to sanction with whatever it takes to prevent foreign guns from entering the US.  In other words ALL guns, ALL ammo, ALL extra "stuff" must be banned forthwith in his mind.   Crazy isn't it?   Oh...he finally got his wish:  He's retiring in a couple of years and moving to Vancouver.  Good...he always liked being a socialist weenie anyway.   Disown him.

We had a huge falling out when I returned from 'Nam in 1969.  He was about to flee to Canada because of the impending draft lottery.  He got lucky and drew a high number.  We've not been close at all since then.  He epitomizes the typical DU'er socialist liberal ass hat.  I epitomize the Ayn Rand conservative.

One day, he REALLY got under my skin at Christmas one year at their place in Kali (before we moved out) by stating that I, a Navy Mustang (Former enlisted) must remember that the rungs on the ladder of my "success" were populated by the people who had worked for ME!  I nearly went nuts.  I started out as an E-1 and through a mix of hard work, dumb luck and minimal intellect, was able to make E-7 then get a commission.  I WAS that "rung" on his socialist ladder.  I was SO pissed.

I think we've traded maybe ten words in the last five years.  Since he is a socialist, he considers me to be a trog...despite the fact that I'm the one who ended up on a university faculty.  I mean...how can ANY conservative do that???  

Of course I'm "compensating for something." ........if I could kill things from 25 yrds away with my dick I wouldn't need a gun.



I know this is a old line but I like it

Quoted: Of course I'm "compensating for something." ........if I could kill things from 25 yrds away with my dick I wouldn't need a gun. I know this is a old line but I like it

LOL

Quoted: There is a similar sort of guy, who often seems to be a newspaper columnist. This guy is proud of the fact that he is totally unable to fix anything,and does not own any tools at all-and he is proud of the fact! My (ex) brother-in-law was like this-I remember him saying "I work with my head,not with my hands" after I had graciously fixed some problem with his car. He was a newspaper writer,too.

Not confined to news guys.

It's a misguided form of self esteem.  "My time is so valuable, or I make so much money that I can;t be troubled to know how to do that."

It's funny, because the one example I am thinking of probably makes about what I do.  I value my time, I don't wash my car, for example, because I can do other things while I pay a nominal amount to have someone else wash it.

But one time, he bragged that he didn't know anything about plumbing, and revealed that he was paralyzed by ignorance after a hose bib broke off and flooded out the planters in front of his house. He paid a guy $50 to turn off the frigging water.  Not to fix the problem, but to simply turn off the main.

I don't take on huge home projects, but I can reset a fuse, do basic emergency plumbing, I once sweated in a tankless water heater.

But I'm with you, there's something confusing to me about guys who brag they can;t change a light buld.

Heinlen or somebody had a list of things every person should be able to do.    

Quoted: Of course I'm "compensating for something." ........if I could kill things from 25 yrds away with my dick I wouldn't need a gun. I know this is a old line but I like it

That's sigline material!

Quoted: Quoted: There is a similar sort of guy, who often seems to be a newspaper columnist. This guy is proud of the fact that he is totally unable to fix anything,and does not own any tools at all-and he is proud of the fact! My (ex) brother-in-law was like this-I remember him saying "I work with my head,not with my hands" after I had graciously fixed some problem with his car. He was a newspaper writer,too. Not confined to news guys. It's a misguided form of self esteem.  "My time is so valuable, or I make so much money that I can;t be troubled to know how to do that."

Depends on who's saying it.
A buddy of mine at work and I were discussing this, and decided in some cases it was better to have a pro do it, that to take it on ourselves simply because it gets done faster.
'course, we travel and work weekends, so that does factor in.

Quoted: That guy must be gay

+1

ghey
Max

Quoted: Heinlen or somebody had a list of things every person should be able to do.

Here ya go,

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. Robert Anson Heinlein

for some reason every time it mentions something about equality or feelings I get mad. Strange...