The real America
Dec. 20th, 2012 10:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
davidnTomorrow, according to a calendar hacked out of stone thousands of years ago, we enter a new age. Let me close this one by saying something that I need to get out, and then perhaps I can move on.
America had its Dunblane last week. Knowing that Newtown is only a couple of hours away from where I live rather than far away where I've never been makes it seem all the more frightening... the tragedy doesn't bear thinking about. And in its aftermath, this and the shooting in Colorado only a couple of months ago have brought to the surface a very uncomfortable part of American society.
The attitude to guns is one of the most stark contrasts between America and the life I used to know - virtually unheard of in Britain, the right to own them written into the law of the country here. It is unbelievable to me that people are treating the events of last Friday as a necessary evil in society that comes from the right of everyone to own these weapons, rather than something that must be acted upon and ensured is never repeated. The argument against increasing gun control is that when the next massacre happens, some bystander will be able to pull out their own gun and end it instantly - indeed, there are so many voices now actively encouraging people to arm themselves. And when I think about it, I don't know how to argue with this - it appears to be perfectly logical - but the idea of owning one is unthinkable to me, and I've never felt threatened. Perhaps I see it as a gesture of confidence in my own safety without taking part in an arms race.
I can't lie - guns scare me. And I feel that this is the correct attitude, being weapons that can propel metal very fast over a great distance. Indeed, I've known people who keep and handle them responsibly - and I want everything possible done to make sure that they only stay in the hands of people like them. But even saying that is me making a compromise to American society - after Dunblane, restrictions on the ownership of handguns were tightened to the point of making them completely illegal, and I've heard no word on why, while these laws work well enough in Australia, in Britain and in so many other first-world countries, they would instantly dissolve America into a lawless Wild West. What a hideous culture these people must live in, that the only way to ensure your own safety is to trust nobody and to own a bigger gun than those around you.
The other avenue to take from this is to improve the quality and availability of mental health services - another thing that we've seen attempted and actively opposed over the last few years. Can you imagine living in a world where every step towards becoming more like the society you used to live in is treated with such utter revulsion? The greatest problems with America can be summed up in its ignorant pride - it believes that it must by definition be the best at everything. A friend of a friend mentioned he'd stopped reading what I write this year because of its "anti-American content" - to these people, any suggestion that something isn't right is treated as dissent, and it's because of them that America is so much less than what it could be.
The reason that I feel so suffocated by all of this despite living in such a liberal part of the country is that American patriotism has been hijacked by extreme conservatives, making this invulnerable ignorance appear to be the baseline of American values - and it's impossible to shut it out. There is a fad that I saw starting in 2008, strengthening during the effort to improve health care, and that has been making a resurgence over the last few days - that of judging someone on whether they are a "real American", with these opinions and values, settling for what America is and not what it could be, not caring what the rest of the world thinks about it - if you don't share their views, then you're a fake, defective, wrong.
Well, I am not a real American. And according to the criteria of these people, none of my friends who live here would be either, despite having as much right to the term as anyone could possibly have. But if, in this country that is meant to have and accept such diversity, being a "real American" is to be as loud, closed-minded, stubborn and backward as these people are... then not being a real American is the greatest compliment that I could hope for anyone.
America had its Dunblane last week. Knowing that Newtown is only a couple of hours away from where I live rather than far away where I've never been makes it seem all the more frightening... the tragedy doesn't bear thinking about. And in its aftermath, this and the shooting in Colorado only a couple of months ago have brought to the surface a very uncomfortable part of American society.
The attitude to guns is one of the most stark contrasts between America and the life I used to know - virtually unheard of in Britain, the right to own them written into the law of the country here. It is unbelievable to me that people are treating the events of last Friday as a necessary evil in society that comes from the right of everyone to own these weapons, rather than something that must be acted upon and ensured is never repeated. The argument against increasing gun control is that when the next massacre happens, some bystander will be able to pull out their own gun and end it instantly - indeed, there are so many voices now actively encouraging people to arm themselves. And when I think about it, I don't know how to argue with this - it appears to be perfectly logical - but the idea of owning one is unthinkable to me, and I've never felt threatened. Perhaps I see it as a gesture of confidence in my own safety without taking part in an arms race.
I can't lie - guns scare me. And I feel that this is the correct attitude, being weapons that can propel metal very fast over a great distance. Indeed, I've known people who keep and handle them responsibly - and I want everything possible done to make sure that they only stay in the hands of people like them. But even saying that is me making a compromise to American society - after Dunblane, restrictions on the ownership of handguns were tightened to the point of making them completely illegal, and I've heard no word on why, while these laws work well enough in Australia, in Britain and in so many other first-world countries, they would instantly dissolve America into a lawless Wild West. What a hideous culture these people must live in, that the only way to ensure your own safety is to trust nobody and to own a bigger gun than those around you.
The other avenue to take from this is to improve the quality and availability of mental health services - another thing that we've seen attempted and actively opposed over the last few years. Can you imagine living in a world where every step towards becoming more like the society you used to live in is treated with such utter revulsion? The greatest problems with America can be summed up in its ignorant pride - it believes that it must by definition be the best at everything. A friend of a friend mentioned he'd stopped reading what I write this year because of its "anti-American content" - to these people, any suggestion that something isn't right is treated as dissent, and it's because of them that America is so much less than what it could be.
The reason that I feel so suffocated by all of this despite living in such a liberal part of the country is that American patriotism has been hijacked by extreme conservatives, making this invulnerable ignorance appear to be the baseline of American values - and it's impossible to shut it out. There is a fad that I saw starting in 2008, strengthening during the effort to improve health care, and that has been making a resurgence over the last few days - that of judging someone on whether they are a "real American", with these opinions and values, settling for what America is and not what it could be, not caring what the rest of the world thinks about it - if you don't share their views, then you're a fake, defective, wrong.
Well, I am not a real American. And according to the criteria of these people, none of my friends who live here would be either, despite having as much right to the term as anyone could possibly have. But if, in this country that is meant to have and accept such diversity, being a "real American" is to be as loud, closed-minded, stubborn and backward as these people are... then not being a real American is the greatest compliment that I could hope for anyone.
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no subject
Date: 2012-12-20 05:45 pm (UTC)… look—there's reasons I've seriously thought about expatriating to somewhere near where you used to be, and my sometimes-irrational liking for older architecture, the word “rubbish”, degrees Celsius, better chocolate, and a few very good friends who are in that region of the world are not the only ones! Granted there are many other practical, and some cultural, reasons not to as well, but huff.
Then again, living in Texas as I do, I have seriously thought about acquiring basic firearms safety and usage training sometime in the future as well, as this seems like the sort of thing one should know about in such a place. I don't know whether I'd actually want to try to keep a defensive firearm around or not, but I wouldn't rule it out a priori for myself.
So I guess what I'm saying is, I'd rather you not be as oppressed by that faction of the US giant swirly thing alert as you are, and also, I'm preposterous. And admittedly I've long been curious why you migrated here in the first place—not in the rabid “go back where you came from, mongrel” sense, but in the “why would anyone deliberately do that?” sense (though there are a large number of perfectly good answers). I have the feeling I should know the answer already but cannot for the life of me reliably figure out which one(s) it's supposed to be.
no subject
Date: 2012-12-20 08:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-20 07:50 pm (UTC)It's true that Britain hammered gun ownership pretty much into oblivion, and enjoys one of the lowest gun crime rates in the known universe. Conversely, Switzerland went basically the polar opposite route, issuing its citizens firearms and training them how to use them properly upon coming of age.
The Swiss also enjoy a near-nonexistent gun crime rate.
I don't think piling up laws against gun ownership would do any good in this country; if the people who commit the atrocities that spark these desires ignore the law as it is, how is giving them more laws to ignore supposed to do anything? You don't keep gophers out of your yard by building taller fences.
I'm thoroughly convinced that the only thing outlawing guns in this country would do is leave criminals with nobody able to stop them, punishing everybody except for who they're meant to punish. To me, efforts at dealing with this issue should be aimed not at the firearms, but at the bastards pulling the triggers.
That's all I have to say on the subject.
no subject
Date: 2012-12-20 08:32 pm (UTC)Whether it is in gun control, gun education, mental health improvement... something has to change. To think that events like this are inevitable is the worst thing that anyone could take out of it.
no subject
Date: 2012-12-21 01:41 am (UTC)I think that mental healthcare and counseling are definitely very good ideas... But that can be a difficult area too, because you also run the risk of labeling anyone who sees the world differently as "in need of help". I personally have had bad experiences with counselors and I don't exactly trust them in general. I know there are some very good ones out there, but there's also the possibility that it could do damage to someone too...
And honestly, I think that this highlights one of the big reasons that guns are being targeted. They're very visible elements of the equation, and on the surface they're a lot easier to "attack" than the deeper issues of societal turbulence and mental health. So by going after guns, politicians look like they're doing something to stop the problem, when they really aren't. Dealing with the real roots of the issue is much more complicated, and we know that politicians don't like REAL solutions; they like what's quickest, easiest, and gets them the most reelection votes.
As a firearms owner and a supporter of firearms ownership, I believe that the best thing I and those like me can do in this case is to be responsible citizens, set good examples, and in the case of those people who do choose to carry, take our responsibility toward our fellow citizens very seriously. And I think all of us, owners and non-owners, would do best to thoroughly evaluate our own situations as you have, and understand why we choose what we do, not just latch onto a message that the media is spouting, whether it be "NO GUNS!" or "YES GUNS!", and not actually think about WHY we are chanting "yes" or "no".
no subject
Date: 2012-12-22 03:48 am (UTC)The problem in the scenario of discussion, is teenagers and children using guns irresponsibly. Why shouldn't this also be a problem in Switzerland? Yet arguments such as "with enough guns, a rogue gunman will be shot by another citizen," don't assist Switzerland, because the issue of school shooting does not occure there.
. .oh, no one is here anymore? Darn.
no subject
Date: 2012-12-20 10:14 pm (UTC)It exists in that it's happening now. You really do live in America; so does Sarah Palin; so did Martin Luther King Jr.; so did Charles Manson; so does Marilyn Manson; so do a great, great many people. Good people, bad people, left-wingers, right-wingers, intelligent, dumb, lovers and artists and engineers and corporate accountants and murderers and people just trying to muddle along, all together. They're all really Americans. In a country that celebrates freedom as its cornerstone, with so, so many different people living there, it's unavoidable that people are going to end up clashing. (Doesn't mean said clashes have to be ended with bullets, but still.)
The problem is, though, the same argument applies to Britain. Or any country in the world. I share a country with the Queen just as much as I do with the Moors Murderers. That's the thing; when you look at it closely, 'country' is a lie. It's just a bunch of people in the same place. Sometimes they share the same values as a result of being brought up in a similar environment; sometimes they don't. Like the concept of 'family': sometimes people have really close, loving families that get along really well and stay in touch their whole lives; sometimes they have really close families that they'll defend to the death from outsiders but squabble and fight with when alone because they just can't get on with each other on a personal level; and sometimes they're abusive collections of people that should never have been put within fifty feet of each other, let alone fifty percent of a genetic sequence.
With that inherent variation between people in mind, therefore, each person defends their own version of what they think their country should be, and to convince themselves and others further, they proclaim their path as the One True Way, the "real America". "Real America", in that context, is nothing more than the individual's own predilections and prejudices projected outwards, and the vehemence with which it's prosecuted is little more than frustration with being unable to control the universe. Sometimes that can be a positive thing (q.v. the Founding Fathers setting out to make a new country where they don't get dicked around by crazy kings and queens in squabbles over religion), and sometimes it's much less pleasant (q.v. Anders Breivik's interpretation of 'national pride').
It's not about America, or Britain, or country. It's simply the end result of other people existing.
D.F.
no subject
Date: 2012-12-22 02:59 am (UTC)Someone asked me, during a conversation about my distress about the existence of Palin and Huckabee and all of that crowd, that... surely we must have our crazy people in Britain as well? And we do, if you look hard enough. But it's nowhere near on the same scale - only in America are such dangerous people given such a presence and a voice, as if all views are equally valid no matter how ignorant or ill-conceived they are - to the point where they present themselves as the moral standard of the country.
That, in itself, is the lie - this is what causes the stereotype of Americans from the outside, it's not what everyone in the country thinks, not even any of the people anywhere near me. But it's so loud, and inescapable... and very, very distressing.
no subject
Date: 2012-12-22 08:10 pm (UTC)It's one of the reasons I've nearly stopped watching television: being bombarded with other people's opinions is exhausting enough when you have to face it at work; no way I want to put up with it at home as well. I tend to deal with it by making a little bubble of safety inside which the outside world isn't welcome, but as you say, the volume and intensity are turned up a lot more in America.
*hugs gently*
D.F.
no subject
Date: 2012-12-21 05:26 pm (UTC)A debate on mental health is generally needed (http://www.xojane.com/issues/for-the-last-time-stop-conflating-violence-and-mental-illness), as the stigma involved is
crazyterrible. But those who have mental health problems are statistically less violent and less likely to go on this sort of thing than the general population. One of my best friends is an autism expert, who is horrified by the sensationalist stuff being spouted (http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/18/our-sons-are-not-future-killers/) in the media at the moment.(And of course, the US has insane views on guns. Just look at the adverts (http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/188n8az0ru41xjpg/original.jpg)*. And the second amendment is incredibly twisted and, as written, is a long way from being a right to be armed -- it specifically talks about regulation.
The argument that guns would prevent tragedies such as this from happening isn't logical. That argument basically relies on all adults to have guns to hands immediately at all times. This is not more likely to make schools safer. This situation happened because guns were freely available to citizens -- the mother of the killer supposedly took him to gun ranges, and owned the guns used in this situation. Plus, you know anecdata (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akihabara_massacre) suggests (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osaka_school_massacre) that lack of access to guns tends to result in these sorts of things being knife sprees, which are a lot less lethal. Guns are tools for killing, and nothing else.)
*Allegedly advertising the model of gun the killer used.
no subject
Date: 2012-12-22 03:08 am (UTC)There was an event on television a couple of nights ago where they stopped at one point and declared a minute's silence for the victims. The channel faded out and cut to a Best Buy advert. My disgust has never been greater.
no subject
Date: 2012-12-23 10:13 pm (UTC)This (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/dec/21/david-davies-gay-marriage-interview?CMP=twt_gu) is another nice piece expounding in detail the cultural problem. Always a shame solutions are hard.
no subject
Date: 2012-12-22 03:05 pm (UTC)The trouble, though, is that the argument assumes a best case scenario. It conjures up images of valiant, responsible defenders (self-insertion is encouraged) dispensing justice upon some imaginary criminal, and coming to the aid of his or her fellow citizens. But when any not-yet-a-criminal idiot can get his hands on a gun, the ratio of those to the truly responsible people who own them must be staggering.
I don't even know that I trust myself with a gun - because even though I'm sure I would be responsible, I'm also human and flawed and situations can escalate - much less the seemingly shocking amount of people that are just incredibly stupid and irresponsible.
So the argument assumes that the people handling the guns are going to be A) Responsible and B) In a position to even do anything effective, rather than just escalate a problem. And it just doesn't work that way. Logic or no, I personally feel much safer in a country where every idiot with an itchy trigger finger can't get their hands on a gun, much less a high-powered one.
But one problem that Australia, Britain and similar places don't necessarily face is that, because of America's second amendment and gun culture, guns are already very prevalent there. Stricter laws wouldn't make the already huge amount of them just disappear, so the idea of allowing citizens to be armed with the same power as the criminals does have merit. But you're right - the ignorant, "We are the best and you'd better shut up with your Anti-American crap" attitude really does fly in the face of the more sensible idea that they should at least be trying to fix things and do better. No society that already thinks it's perfect can ever improve - and it needs to.
And I mean, even if criminals still would be able to get their hands on guns through illegal methods, surely not all of them would? Surely making them harder to get would still have a positive effect on the violent crime rate? It would certainly make the problems of violence-escalation and crimes of passion much less serious, if the average person doesn't have a gun.
If guns are to be made available to responsible people, then "responsible people" needs to be defined. Background checks just aren't enough. I'm quite happy with them just being in the hands of trained professionals or people who can demonstrate a real need for them, to be honest.
But one thing that worries me is with the political climate in America seeming, at times, to be so rampantly conservative, its constitution is the only thing holding a lot of its citizens' rights together. At least, it's cited often enough in the defense of these rights. If the second amendment were to be expunged - as necessary and sensible as it seems - it would set a worrying precedent that could then be used to trample all over everything else.
no subject
Date: 2012-12-24 03:12 am (UTC)When I lived in Scotland, I lived across the street from the only licensed gun shop (a hunting and outdoors place) in the entire region. And yet I hardly gave it a second thought - so few people are licensed to own them and the threat of them falling into the wrong hands... just didn't seem to exist.