• You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community, you will have access to additional post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), view blogs, respond to polls, upload content, and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free, so please join our community today! Just click here to register. You should turn your Ad Blocker off for this site or certain features may not work properly. If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us by clicking here.

Psychology of Gun Lovers

Coriolis

Si vis pacem, para bellum
Staff member
Joined
Apr 18, 2010
Messages
27,230
MBTI Type
INTJ
Enneagram
5w6
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
We have had several threads, usually in the Politics/Current Events area, on gun policy, gun violence, etc. but none focused on the psychology of guns. What is the attraction for those who enjoy them? How about sporting use vs. self-defense? Why is the climate for gun use and interest so different in different areas, e.g. the U.S. vs other nations?

Whether you use guns yourself, refuse to use them on moral principle, or (like me) just never had the opportunity or need to get into it, please share your perspectives here.
 

Redbone

Orisha
Joined
Apr 27, 2010
Messages
2,882
MBTI Type
ENFP
Enneagram
9w8
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
My dad was a big believer in guns. He collected guns, went to gun ranges, was an NRA member, and hunted a lot. He had all kinds of weapons. He was a suspicious, unhappy, angry, paranoid, and cold man (if I had to type him, I'd say he was an ISTJ 6w5 and very unhealthy). I never thought much about them when I was growing up because I was used to them. Nobody messed with him or us for the most part because they knew about Mr. ____ and his guns.

I never gave it much thought until my mother tried to separate from my dad and he shot her, then he shot himself.

I cannot know his mind but I can speculate. I think to him, having a gun gave him a way to protect himself and what he considered his (yes--his people) in world that he perceived as hostile, threatening, and unsafe. Trying to make the odds even so to speak. He didn't trust anything or anyone. He put faith in knowledge (he was very scholarly) and his guns. He was never without a gun. No matter how "good" things were, I don't think he would have ever felt safe enough to be without one. He had to be ready for the attack that he was very sure in his head was going to come one day.

I admit that I would have never, ever thought he'd do what he did. Never.
 

Snoopy22

New member
Joined
Dec 29, 2008
Messages
355
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
9w1
Instinctual Variant
so/sp
They’re tools, weapons, individual and mechanical craftsmanship of the people involved with their production, complicated and simplistic in their designs.
They are a form of art, in the same why artistry can be crafted in a well-made knife.
Other then that, they are nothing other then an extension of the person in control of them, I see people who have a problem with guns as people who have an intrinsic distrust of their own species (thus having a belief they need to be controlled).
 

The Ü™

Permabanned
Joined
May 26, 2007
Messages
11,910
MBTI Type
INTJ
Enneagram
5w6
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
It isn't really that complicated. I think I have a right to protect myself and the property that I worked hard for.
 
G

garbage

Guest
Shooting things is fun. Loud noises are fun. :shrug:

Ever played paintball? That is some good stuff.

But hunting animals seems downright psychopathic to me. Let's kill things!! For fun!!
 

JustAMind

New member
Joined
Feb 13, 2014
Messages
87
MBTI Type
?
Enneagram
?
My dad was a big believer in guns. He collected guns, went to gun ranges, was an NRA member, and hunted a lot. He had all kinds of weapons. He was a suspicious, unhappy, angry, paranoid, and cold man (if I had to type him, I'd say he was an ISTJ 6w5 and very unhealthy). I never thought much about them when I was growing up because I was used to them. Nobody messed with him or us for the most part because they knew about Mr. ____ and his guns.

I never gave it much thought until my mother tried to separate from my dad and he shot her, then he shot himself.

I cannot know his mind but I can speculate. I think to him, having a gun gave him a way to protect himself and what he considered his (yes--his people) in world that he perceived as hostile, threatening, and unsafe. Trying to make the odds even so to speak. He didn't trust anything or anyone. He put faith in knowledge (he was very scholarly) and his guns. He was never without a gun. No matter how "good" things were, I don't think he would have ever felt safe enough to be without one. He had to be ready for the attack that he was very sure in his head was going to come one day.

I admit that I would have never, ever thought he'd do what he did. Never.

wow that is sad to hear man, I am sorry for you loss
 

_eric_

New member
Joined
Oct 8, 2012
Messages
285
MBTI Type
INFJ
Enneagram
9w1
Instinctual Variant
sp/so
But hunting animals seems downright psychopathic to me. Let's kill things!! For fun!!
As long as the animals are actually used for something, like food, then I don't have a problem with it. Just killing them to have a good time and put a trophy on your wall, though...I find that very unappealing, wasteful, and disrespectful.
 

Qlip

Post Human Post
Joined
Jul 30, 2010
Messages
8,464
MBTI Type
ENFP
Enneagram
4w5
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
My own opinion on the subject is pretty mixed. I'm not a gun owner myself, although I have shot plenty of them. I've known plenty of gun owners.

There's a very strong gun culture in the U.S. Midwest where I used to live. They're for recreation, they're tools. I've known a lot of farmers, and a gun is a necessity out on the farm. There are animals to be put down, maybe because of disease or slaughter. There are also animals that threaten farmer's livelyhood, like raccoons, coyotes, rabid dogs, etc. There is definitely a self-protection aspect as people who live in the country will not get a fast response in case of intruders. They have the same preparedness when it comes to any other emergencies, they keep canned food, medical supplies, etc.

Guns are a part of their lives, their dad took them out when they were kids and taught them how to shoot and how to be safe. They shot soda cans off of fence posts with 22's when they were 13 without parental guidance with their cousins on summer days. They kept their grandpa's gun on the mantlepiece, God rest his soul.

There are many out in the country who do have guns because they fill in a need for some sort of power, especially against the government. These dudes have some serious arsenals, and there is some serious wacko shit happening out there sometimes.
 

SD45T-2

Senior Jr.
Joined
Feb 18, 2012
Messages
4,229
MBTI Type
ESTJ
Enneagram
1w2
Instinctual Variant
so/sp
But hunting animals seems downright psychopathic to me. Let's kill things!! For fun!!
One of my dad's friends is an avid hunter. Several years ago he got an elk. He said it was a big ordeal and he didn't think it tasted very good either. He concluded that it would have been more rewarding to shoot a cow. :D
 

Redbone

Orisha
Joined
Apr 27, 2010
Messages
2,882
MBTI Type
ENFP
Enneagram
9w8
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
wow that is sad to hear man, I am sorry for you loss

Oh she survived it but had permanent injuries--physical and psychological...the latter finally ending her life. My dad survived, too, but he was paralyzed from the waist down, had to be on dialysis, and had a feeding tube. It was crazy because with all of that going on, he was in very bad shape. He finally decided not to be treated anymore, so died from that. It was kind of a dragged-out suicide for both of them.
 

Mole

Permabanned
Joined
Mar 20, 2008
Messages
20,284
It's pretty simple: civilian guns are the antithesis of liberal democracy.

Civilian guns are uncivil.

Why is this?

Liberal democracy is based on the discovery that power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. And the very raison d'etre of liberal democracy is the limitation of power.

But when we hold a gun in our hands we have the power of life and death over the person in front of us. In other words, a gun gives us absolute power over another person, and so a gun is absolutely corrupting.

And so to have a liberal democracy we limit power by taking guns out of civilian hands.
 

Coriolis

Si vis pacem, para bellum
Staff member
Joined
Apr 18, 2010
Messages
27,230
MBTI Type
INTJ
Enneagram
5w6
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
Civilian guns were instrumental in the establishment of democracy in America, starting with the Battle of Lexington and Concord, which opened our Revolutionary War.

400px-Minuteman_statue_3_-_Old_North_Bridge.jpg
 
G

Ginkgo

Guest
Ya'll should watch Season One's episode: Gun Fever. Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
 

kquirk

amateur cartographer
Joined
Jul 28, 2013
Messages
221
MBTI Type
INTJ
Enneagram
593
Instinctual Variant
sp/so
I've shot guns a few times. It was fun as hell. Scary too.
 

Magic Poriferan

^He pronks, too!
Joined
Nov 4, 2007
Messages
14,081
MBTI Type
Yin
Enneagram
One
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
Other then that, they are nothing other then an extension of the person in control of them, I see people who have a problem with guns as people who have an intrinsic distrust of their own species (thus having a belief they need to be controlled).

I posit that to be true of anyone who believes in law.
 

_eric_

New member
Joined
Oct 8, 2012
Messages
285
MBTI Type
INFJ
Enneagram
9w1
Instinctual Variant
sp/so
It's pretty simple: civilian guns are the antithesis of liberal democracy.

Civilian guns are uncivil.

Why is this?

Liberal democracy is based on the discovery that power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. And the very raison d'etre of liberal democracy is the limitation of power.

But when we hold a gun in our hands we have the power of life and death over the person in front of us. In other words, a gun gives us absolute power over another person, and so a gun is absolutely corrupting.

And so to have a liberal democracy we limit power by taking guns out of civilian hands.
This post is so dripping with clueless irony it's hilarious. Thanks for the laugh, bro. Keep up the good work!
 

Mole

Permabanned
Joined
Mar 20, 2008
Messages
20,284
The State, the Gun, and God

The totalitarian impulse is the desire for absolute power.

But we have discovered that power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

We are all familar with the expression of the totalitarian impulse in totalitarian States. But we are less familiar with the expression of the totalitarian impulse in the individual.

But when we point a gun at another person we hold the power of life and death over them. This is absolute power. And is the individual expression of the totalitarian impulse.

And the totalitarian impulse is so powerful we project our desire for absolute power onto the one Person who has the power of life and death over each one of us. And the same Person who has absolute power over us created the whole universe.

So the totalitarian impulse is so powerful it finds expression in the totalitarian State, in individual gun lovers, and in religion.
 
R

RDF

Guest
I have a couple handguns and a shotgun. I have them just because I can. I was trained on weapons of all types back when I was in the military, fired the M-16 in military competitions, etc. So I'm pretty knowledgeable about guns and comfortable around them.

I've never hunted; I just go target shooting: paper targets and clay pigeons. I'm not one of the "cold dead fingers" crowd; I would turn in my guns if they were made illegal. But as long as I'm allowed to have guns, then I will. I'm used to having them around, I don't think of it as a weird thing to have guns around (in the military they were everywhere, of course), and I like the option of going out target shooting if the mood takes me.

The state where I live (Vermont) has some of the most permissive gun laws in the country. Anyone can carry a loaded gun either openly or concealed on their person, including people from out of state. No need to get a permit or check in with the cops; you just strap on a gun and go. Vermont is mostly wild country (mountains) or rural/agricultural land, and hunting keeps the wildlife from overbreeding and getting out of control. Without hunters, the deer would overbreed and deforest the mountains, black bears would be scavenging through garbage cans in towns, red foxes would be raiding poultry on the farms, etc. So guns are everywhere, and everything closes up during hunting season while the residents of all the small towns head into the hills to hunt. (Those who just hunt for the sport traditionally give the meat to food banks and homeless shelters.)

One other thing: I don't keep a gun loaded in the house or carry one on me. I'm a big ex-Marine, and most bad guys would automatically pass me over and look for an easier target. So I feel pretty safe even without a gun. But if I were a woman, I definitely would want a loaded gun close to hand. I knew a female cop in Washington, D.C. who kept a handgun on her at all times, even at times and in settings where she wasn't allowed to carry one. Guns are called "equalizers," and with her gun she was at least the equal of any male criminal she might meet. Without a gun, she would be at the mercy of even unarmed criminals because of her smaller size. She refused to be less than equal, so she always had her "equalizer" with her. And a couple times over the years she did halt crimes in progress and arrest criminals with her handgun while she was off-duty in civilian clothes.
 
Top