Disturbed. But not by guns or pencils.

[byslantedlight]

Feeling the need to talk about something, and since there is no one else around, it turns out that my lj may have to be used for such cathartic purposes. Apologies in advance. And I'm kind of rambling (for a change), and it's all just impressions. My impressions. I may be overreacting. We'll see.

Erm. I may be on the verge of doing something unforgivable. I, um, may be on the verge of agreeing with something that the NRA said.

Okay, so if you're still with me, you'd better hear this out. Or at least read the second-last sentence. See, the only thing I suspect I now agree with is that guns don't kill people, people do. And that's it. Now, that in itself is disturbing enough, but the whole reason this has come up is that - being terribly responsible - I went to a handgun education class tonight.

See, as part of my work I go out in the field over the summer, and up here that means exposing yourself to grizz and black and even polar bear, and moose (which some people are far more afraid of than bear) and wolves and other lovely critters like that. Now me, that doesn't bother me, I'm a big proponent of not putting yourself in a bad situation in the first place. Make noise, don't sleep beside your food stash, that sort of thing. And if yer number comes up, then it does (easy to say, I know...) But the vast majority of people I work with up here? They bring guns. I'm not condemning them for it I guess, it's a tricky situation. But the fact is, they bring guns and I'm gonna be surrounded by them. So I figure the clever thing is to find out how the bloody things work, so as to minimise... the not knowing. So I went to the class.

The guns didn't bother me. We handled a number of revolvers and semi-automatics, got the feel of the various parts. We were shown a vid, and were told the basic safety guidelines. Like never point one at a person. Gee, really? Was a bit annoyed that they passed the different guns around while the instructor was describing other guns and showing where the various components were and how they worked. How can you pay attention to two complex things at once? Hopefully that'll sort out over the rest of the course. But there is no denying that, especially to someone who's never handled them before, guns are tricky things. There are more components than you might think to get to grips with, apart from the (also disturbing) natural tendency to hold them with your finger actually on the trigger - which is another one of the basic safety things you're not supposed to do. And they're heavy, and big, and my hands don't stretch far enough to flick catches comfortably.

But none of that really bothered me, that's all a familiarity and practice thing. What bothered me was the approach of everyone bar one person in that class. We were shown a standard introductory video. This showed a woman hearing noises outside when she was alone at night, gathering her child to her, phoning a friend to say she was scared and then getting out the box in which her husband kept the gun she didn't know how to use. Her friend comes around with a torch, stands at the door telling her that she should learn to use the gun, and then wanders casually off saying that it was probably a dog, and to call if she has any more bother. The next day she trots obediently off to learn how to shoot because that is the best way to protect herself. What the huh? Now, I know that was a video, and it was made by the NRA (surprise) but the thing is that almost everyone in that class totally agreed with the idea that a gun was necessary to protect yourself, and that a concealed handgun was a good idea for personal protection. And I know, they were in the class in the first place so what did I expect? But there was such a level of...acceptance, that this was the way the world should be and there was no other possible response.

And I know that I knew about this attitude before I went in, but knowing, and having it hit you in the guts are two completely different things. And it was so concentrated as well - there was only one girl who said outloud that she didn't like guns and was only there because her boyfriend had them around their house and so she wanted to know about them. Everyone else was desperate to choose what they were gonna buy, and whether a semi-automatic had any advantages over a revolver, and wondering about how often the one they kept loaded by the bed should be cleaned... There was a mother-daughter couple there because the mum was buying dear daughter a gun for christmas. Dear daughter swung her long blonde hair and gabbled excitedly about this between giggles. She was not mature enough to own a gun - what was her mother thinking?

A couple of women talked about bear, but mostly these guns were going to be used for "personal protection". The whole atmosphere was fear so deeply entrenched that it was now almost casually accepted, the expectation that one day they would have to use a handgun to protect themselves. These were women who I wouldn't have looked at twice, with responsible jobs and partners and families, that I would have assumed had rational, responsible beliefs in the dangers posed by guns, and that while a rifle out in the bush might be necessary, concealed handguns in town were a bad thing. I was wrong.

Although you know what? The whole thing left me feeling very proud of Britain's refusal to encourage private ownership of guns. Or even police ownership. Well done, you Britain, you.

So, my original point about agreeing with the NRA? It's the people that I'm alot more scared of now....

There are three more classes to go...