by Allen C. Dexter
Why do some people seem to be compelled to take firearms to religious and political events, irrespective of any threat to them or any public need outside of their personal need for show and intimidation?
I brought this question up to my little comedienne wife. She commented that it’s just a macho extension of their penises – a “mine is bigger than yours” kind of thing. She has also often commented that men want to drive around in big trucks for which they have no utilitarian use because they think their “wienies” are too small.
She’s right!
It’s all about creating an atmosphere of superiority, fear and ultimately of control.
I’m no psychologist, but I’ve read enough on the subject to know that many things, from big hats to exaggerated shoulder pads are used in an attempt to project masculinity and superiority and intimidate anyone perceived as an opponent. Remember the recent commercial where the father-in-law said admiringly, “This is a man’s truck?” It shows up in the Texas saying, “big hat, no cattle.” Remember the cold war saying: “kill a commie for Christ?” Did you ever wonder why “Onward, Christian Soldiers” is such a popular hymn? We sang it more than any other in the old WCG. We probably should have sung “You’re In the Army Now!” A great religious organization is called “The Salvation Army.” We seem to want to equate Calvary with the cavalry. You can almost hear the query, “My neighbor doesn’t believe in God — Can I smite him?” Why does an “omnipotent” God want or even need hit men (or women)?
It’s not as common a syndrome in women, but they are subject to similar mindsets that usually revolve around things like big bosoms, dazzlingly smooth complexions and hourglass figures. As they become more of an equal force in business and society, that is changing. More women are thinking and acting much like men.
The desire to dominate, attract and intimidate is a basic drive in all primates and other evolutionarily advanced creatures. The more narcissistic one becomes, the greater the drive.
Two forces, religion and politics, like no others, lend themselves to the utilization of guns and super weapons as instruments of dominance and control.
It took the form of swords, spears, bows and arrows, etc. until the advent of firearms. We see it in action in the blood soaked accounts of the Old
Testament. Most of the great heroes of scripture were mighty warriors. Jesus is painted returning as a conquering king wielding a devastating sword and a rod of iron.
There is nothing human society and religion pictures as more manly than the conquering hero, whether it’s on the battlefield or the college gridiron. Many of our presidents became presidents because they were military heroes. That includes our first president. Patton was right when he said Americans (really all humans) have no respect for losers.
The purpose of military power is to be able to call the tunes to which other nations are compelled to dance. Multiple billions are spent in an unending struggle to maintain our military supremacy. Area 51 really does exist. It has always been so ever since one family or tribe cast covetous eyes on the territory and resources of the family or tribe next door and realized their aspirations could be accomplished easier if their clubs and sharp rocks were bigger and/or more lethal. Even our chimp cousins apparently go to war with neighboring chimp communities. We are not unique in our propensity for violence within our own kind.
Religions also jockey for dominance and dream of becoming the only accepted religion. Violence and the threat of violence often become the tool of choice in the hoped for attainment of their aspirations. For example, the administrative editor of this site doesn’t make his full name or his address known because he has received death threats over what is published here. Horrible things like Thomas Paine’s “The Age of Reason” my book, “Believing the Unbelievable” the history of how the christian church and the Bible as we know it came to be and of course this, “The Painful Truth Blog.”
This emphasis on real and threatened violence has fallen to the lunatic fringe in the background of most of Christianity, but it comes to the fore quite easily when extremists take over causes like anti-abortion. Then, we hear talk of things like “the Phineas priesthood.”
Violence is very much at the forefront of Islam. They have never renounced their doctrine of spreading Islam by the sword. They can’t renounce it because they dare not admit their great prophet said or wrote anything that was wrong.
Guns are viewed as convenient “equalizers.” If a 90-pound weakling who has always felt put upon and persecuted can avail himself of a firearm, he has the potential to turn the tables on those he regards as his enemies and tormenters. Usually, it amounts to only swagger and implied threats, like a chimp who finds he can make a terrifyingly intimidating din and enhance his standing in the group by rolling an oil drum around and beating on it with a stick.
When a serious mental pathology enters the picture, the results can be devastating. Witness what recently occurred in Tucson. The wide-eyed booking picture of the assailant reminded me of the wild looking eyes of Marshall Applewhite, the Heaven’s Gate founder who led his followers into mass suicide. It will be interesting to read what qualified psychologists have to say about his mental pathologies.
~Rebelling against Gods true leadership on earth~Terry RAtzmann
The Tucson assailant was definitely a “crazo” who should have been treated and probably institutionalized. The signs were everywhere and such deranged people are all too common as local authorities struggle against budgets and the need to maintain individual civil rights. It’s a thorny problem.
Outlawing guns for our population would accomplish nothing in stopping the “weirdos” among us. They would just resort to black market firearms, homemade bombs and craft their own “zip guns.” Or, they’d use crossbows or something else. Even a fireplace poker and kitchen knife can be used to kill. In the meantime, the average citizen would find himself helpless against the home invader and a myriad of other criminals who would always find ways to get guns.
Every sane law abiding citizen should be able to own guns for hunting, sport or protection. There are many utilitarian, practical reasons to own guns. Those common sense reasons are why we have the second amendment to our constitution.
When World War II descended upon the unprepared democracies, we were all at a preliminary disadvantage as far as our decimated and ill-equipped military readiness was concerned. The British were especially at a disadvantage because their gun laws prevented most of their citizenry from owning guns. We not only had to brave the submarine wolf packs to help them arm their military, but also to provide arms for their home guard militias.
The US, although relatively unprepared militarily, was in a far different and far better position, which was a great worry to knowledgeable Japanese. Many of them had been students in American universities. They had been guests in American homes and had seen the well stocked gun cabinets full of everything from side arms to shotguns and big game rifles. They knew we could field armed citizen’s militias in a matter of days and hours.
Invading the mainland USA would have been a tactical nightmare!
Hitler basically “waltzed into Poland” in 1939 because the Poles had outlawed private ownership of guns and had allowed their military to deteriorate so far that they basically had no air force and had to oppose panzer tanks with mounted cavalry. The Swiss, by contrast, were armed to the teeth and were never threatened.
I remember the day World War II began. I was five years old at the time and had ridden to town with my grandfather who was delivering a load of grain. The elevator operator announced that Hitler had just attacked Poland. My grandfather thought a moment, then said: “Well, we whipped the bastards once; we can do it again.” We did and fought a two front war on opposite sides of the world to do it. As Churchill said, it was our finest hour and that was our greatest generation — so far, at least.
I no longer own a single gun. I sold them all and gave to my own son the .22 rifle my father had given me at the age of 14 so I could hunt rabbits and gophers. I had previously made use of a Daisy air rifle to hunt sparrows and other “varmints” on our North Dakota ranch. I no longer feel a need for firearms.
I won’t be going hunting anymore, and I’m not too worried about being burglarized or attacked in my home. My guns were just gathering dust and taking up space. Someone younger can shoulder the citizen’s militia responsibility, should the need arise. I’d fill in as a support volunteer which would be far more practical to my advancing age. Marching, drilling and combat wouldn’t fit very well with my current physical prowess.
The real problem is a psychological, philosophical and theological one. As long as religious and political extremists tell us that it is up to us to force others to see things our way, by means of possible violence, and hint at that violence, there will be the danger of even more Tucsons. There are a multitude of mentally unstable people out there just waiting for the opportune time and excuse to strike. They will feel like the godly successors to Phineas and/or patriotic avengers and feel no guilt in wiping out those they consider the enemy, and claim a few innocent bystanders as collateral damage while they are at it.
The “It’s going to be my way or it’s the warfare highway” attitude has to end. The “Hell no, you can’t” rants have to halt. Superimposing target symbols on political opponents has to be abandoned by all parties. Democracy doesn’t work the way such people want it to work – which is really tantamount to a monarchy, a dictatorship or a fascist theocracy.
They will loudly trumpet their love of democracy just so long as it coincides with their interpretation of what is right and proper and truly American. Many of them would want to run Thomas Paine and Jefferson out of town on a rail after they had been tarred and feathered, were they around today. They’ve already barred Thomas Jefferson’s writings from being taught in some places.
What’s next? I suspect even more enforced ignorance and pressure to conform – all in the name of Americanism.
Where’s the swastika? The hammer and sickle? The star and crescent?
Oh, that’s right, it’s the cross (and gun?) here.
Editors note: For the Church of God members who never vote but bitch a lot about the conditions in America, this video is dedicated to you.
-James
I’ve enjoyed guns over the years, mostly for target practice. In the right hands, they are an asset, an equalizer, an insurance policy promoting a polite society. In the wrong hands, they’re about as unforgiving as a plane crash.
Can’t help but think that the title cut off the new Skynyrd album, “God & Guns” would make an awesome soundtrack for this blog entry.
BB
Not familiar with Skynrd or “God and Guns.” I leave such possible additions to the skillful hands of James. If he decides to add it, fine with me. I suspect it would take some artful computer savvy.
Thanks for commenting.
Yes, Al
As expected, I did appreciate this writing – particularly the sterling comment by your wife as to why men carry guns and/or drive big trucks. As usual, the lady is right on!
Personally, I also no longer own a gun. I stopped even hunting after about two years of joining deacons and other macho men (when I was a young minister needing to prove myself!) for outings to shoot quail, dove and pheasant. Unfortunately, I was a decent shot, and more killing than “necessary” was the result. Not all the “game” birds were eaten. Those that were eaten presented some cruel bites for a few folks because it was practically impossible to dig out all the bird shot.
My last hunting was on sunny day in 1970 when an errant spray of my 12-guage shot fell from a high tree and one lead ball burried itself in the corner of the eye of my boss, the local pastor. He was firing his own shotgun up into the same tree from the other side of a rock promontory and was therefore in a “safe” place from my shooting. Either of us might have been partially blinded that day; fortunately the shot soon fell out of his eye socket with no apparent damage. I was always glad I had frozen (unable to shoot the buck in front of me) while sitting in a deer blind the winter previous. A thirty-ought-six slug similarly striking a fellow hunter would not have been so lightly laughed off afterward.
Much more could be said about guns, but any extensive comments from an idealist would be pointless. Maybe a few thousand more years of evolution will see human kind able to forget such angry tools that are no longer required for most of us to find food. People loudly proclaim that “guns don’t kill people; people do,” which is semantically correct. But when the ten-year-old boy in Ohio shot his mother to death this month with the rifle his dad gave him for Christmas, one has to wonder. How much longer might this boy have had a mother if he had not had the gun?
Anyway, I’m certainly better off not owning a gun. There’s no way I could use it to shoot an intruder, any more than I could pull the trigger on that deer. The criminal would simply have one more weapon to use on me!
Thanks for the blog entry
Your comments are appreciated. I never had qualms about hunting, but I’ve often wondered if I would really have the guts to pull the trigger on another human. In any case, it would certainly be a last resort.
The last time I went hunting was in 1960 in the New York Catskills with some church members. The group hadn’t applied for a “doe tag” so we could not take one. I was waiting at the confluence of two trails when a doe wandered up, stopped about 15 feet from me and stamped her foot at me. She was beautiful, and I’m kind of glad we didn’t have that tag. I hope she lived a full life and produced a few fawns. My dad and I once crawled up and observed a fawn hidden in the North Dakota brush by its mother. Cute little thing.
My dad once had the tail of his coat shot off by a careless neighbor who was hunting pheasants with him when his gun discharged accidentally. A few inches ….! My shotgun once discharged accidentally when I was stalking crows. Guns can be dangerous. But, just about anything can be dangerous, including the open dishwasher door Phyllis tripped on about a month ago. She still has trouble with her wrist and shoulder and a ripped fingernail. Luckily, no broken bones.
YEs, I know the experience of chomping down on metal pellets. There were a lot of pheasants and ducks in North Dakota.
That boy’s mother would probably be alive now if his dad had laid down the edict my father did when he gave me that .22. He told me if I ever came in the house with the clip in place and/or the bolt closed, I would lose that gun for a very, very long time. He meant it and I knew he meant it.
Just this morning, I was reading blogs at Awaypoint. They have several very incitful writeups that tie in directly with my blog. http://awaypoint.wordpress.com/.
Did someone say God and Guns?
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql49eLRRJ_E
And another off the same album:”That Ain’t my America”
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KVmRtEO18k&feature=related
I agree with a lot of the article in principle.
The problem I have with it is the terrible memory of Chuck Harris showing me his sixshooter he whipped it out from underneath his jacket after Sabbath Services in Bellevue, Washington. It may well have been the same one he used to kill Brenda James and several others. He had also very much corrupted two teens and they ended up murdering their drug dealer. I knew the families. We were all devastated.
It is certain that guilt plays a part: Even though I was in shock, should I not have told Dennis Luker, the minister? It turns out that Chuck’s roommate in the church knew it and was going nuts trying to deal with it before the murders occurred. In retrospect, I’m certain that no matter what I did, the minister would have done exactly nothing, because I had brought other matters up and they were ignored. I was not alone: One of the Elders was interested in male children and the leading women “watched him” during services. Rather ironically, he held Y.O.U. classes. The entire WCG ignored the Elder.
On one hand, freedom to bear arms may deter foreign invaders somewhat (after 9/11, not so much), on the other, guns and other weapons in the hands of nut cases are a huge problem. Many grade schools have metal detectors to prevent murders in classrooms.
It is my opinion that guns in the hands of Armstrongists is like… like… like… giving a loaded gun to a baby. Worse, actually. Terry Ratzman springs to mind. You take your chances….
One thing is certain: Herbert Armstrong didn’t need guns to do the damage he did. All he needed was ideas — bad ones — self-centered ones. He came close to having total power without accountability. After all that is said and done, it is all about accountability, I think. If people are responsible, as Byker Bob says, weapons can be a good thing. I cringe at the alternative.
Wow, Douglas. I hadn’t been aware of those murders up there in the PNW.
The one that was so hot in my memory had happened decades earlier: Murder-suicide, Don Weininger and his soon to be ex-wife. An awful waste of life in both cases.
I was glad James posted the Skynyrd material because their lyrics addressed this issue much more eloquently than I could have done.
Regarding Penis-extensions, Allen, I think this is a concept, possibly Freudian, that is overapplied to nearly any way in which people attempt to improve their odds, or get rid of a deficiency. Lifting weights, hot cars, martial arts training, further education, assertiveness training, or a plethora of other things could be reduced to the penis extension cliche.
Sometimes it’s a legitimate analysis, others possibly not. I think that someone who attempted to use his firearm as an extension of his manhood would most likely get himself into a whole lot of trouble!
BB
Yes indeed, one can get into a lot of trouble trying to be more macho than thou. Whether it’s penis extension or something else, there is a terrible drive in homo sapiens sapiens to be top dog and make the other dogs tow our line, and we see it at work every day. Also leads to a lot of frustration in the non-top dogs, which can get so bad that it leads to violence.
As I pointed out, I’m not a psychologist and don’t claim to know what makes everyone, and sometimes even myself, tick, but some things do seem a bit obvious.