Baffling Differences

[the_std]

I was just thinking about bits of cultures that I, as a member of a different culture, will never understand, so I thought I'd start a thread where you can post facets of cultures you don't understand, and maybe have someone from that culture explain them.

My first one is, quite simply, Americans and guns. I don't really want an explanation of this, as I've read so, so many threads about gun control and it seems to boil down to "I'm an American, so I like guns". Yes, I know about the 2nd Amendment and the Civil War and all of that jazz, but it really just does come down to "Americans like guns", and I, as a Canadian, just... Do not get it. I have never met a Canadian who is half as passionate as the average American when it comes to guns. It boggles my mind.

I don't really mean for this to turn into a bashing thread either. I don't mean that Americans liking guns is necessarily a bad thing, but it's just something that confuses me.

What about you guys?

[Bloodsoul]

I like shotguns. I've never wielded one before. I don't think I've even been within 100 ft. of one (that I know of). Hell, I can't even explain why I like them (the videogame, DOOM, perhaps? Certainly my fascination came long before I ever watched "Army of Darkness"). I just.. do.

Granted, it and the Walther P38 (the gun Megatron turned into) are probably as close as I'll ever get to liking real firearms. I've no intention of going out and buying one (unless it really does turn into Megatron), but there's still something about the former that keeps me strangely.. er... enchanted? Intoxicated? It's relatively late and my brain stopped working hours ago. XD

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Here in South Carolina, football is a religion and I am a heretic.

Oh, yeah, but I DO like shotguns.

How can you not love a gun you cannot miss with? It's a macho thing. The damn thing kicks from both ends. It will blow things in it's path to smithereens. And it will break your shoulder if you aren't careful.

I heart shotguns. Especially my shotgun. It's an antique breechloader with a hand carved stock.

[Greenday]

Here in South Carolina, football is a religion and I am a heretic.

You better be a Gamecocks fan!

As for guns...I don't own one. I'm pretty neutral as far as they go. Guns aren't a big thing back in New Jersey. But they are definitely bigger out in PA. I've gone to the shooting range a couple of times with a teacher and a friend of mine for research and my teacher certainly knows a lot about guns. Just found out the other day one of my classmates has a license for concealed carry and carries everywhere he's allowed to. Never fired a gun myself. Never cared too but I've been getting more interested these days. It just seems fun at the range. And I seriously don't want to be caught defenseless against a mugger or some crackhead.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

You better be a Gamecocks fan!

Well, USC is the university I dropped out of. So...you know...can't lick our cocks and all that.

[guywithashovel]

I'm an American, and I'd say I'm fairly neutral on guns. I don't own one myself, but I've often thought about getting one. If I did, it would be a handgun of some kind.

Overall, I think gun control should be pretty lax. Even though I swing to the left on several issues, I tend to get irked when liberals talk about guns. You can do all the mental gymnastics you want, but the heart of the matter is that the second amendment says this:

"A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."

I'm sure that, overall, Americans probably are a little more "in love" with firearms than most of the rest of the world. Why that is, I cannot say.

[Greenday]

Ok, here's what I don't get: the rest of the world's fascination with soccer. I've had fun playing it, but watching it is boring as hell. Yet people kill each other over such a boring sport. What gives?

[Rapscallion]

I'm sure that, overall, Americans probably are a little more "in love" with firearms than most of the rest of the world. Why that is, I cannot say.

In love with? I'm not sure it's actually love. More like paranoia.

See, every time I see a US politician, it's always, "Our great nation and our great people." Many observers whoop with delight.

Every time I see a gun debate, it's, "My fellow Americans are crackheads and are going to bugger my pot plants, and I've got to stop them." Many observers whoop with approval of the point.

Rapscallion

[Wingates_Hellsing]

I don't understand why people think that shotguns are weapons with which one cannot miss, but more on that later.

I got the big three things I don't understand:

Football (in the international sense), and how crazy people get over it.

How the UK can have such a large anti-military force slant whilst simultaneously maintaining one of if not the best special forces units in the world (SAS)

Japan + Hello Kitty = PROFIT! ... never got that... at all...

On the topic of Americans with Guns (once that topic is brought up, can't seem to leave it alone ) I for one, attribute it to the fact that American culture treats firearms with a much more practical mindset. Firearms and weapons in general are little more than tools with which someone completes a task. As with almost any tool, improper use can be hazardous and/or lethal. and as with every tool, proper use and handling eliminates much of this risk as well as the correct mindset. Once you've gotten past the point where you're afraid of guns in and of themselves, they're pretty fuckin cool.

It's the crazy/criminal people who have guns (more or less always illegally I might add) that one needs to be wary of. And, I, for one, value the right to fight back. The biggest sentiment other than the right to do what we want behind the second amendment is the right to fight back against one's attackers and defend your family/property/life should someone try to take any of it from you unlawfully.

Don't get me started on how screwed up many liberal regions self-defense legislation is. In some places I would be put in jail for hitting a gunman in the head with a rock after he tried to shoot me/someone else.... that's just plain wrong.

Anywhoo, can someone explain the whole foot-ball thing? 'Cuz, it makes about as much sense to me as (US) Football crazies.

Oh and P.S. the 5 most awesome guns on the planet are the:
Magpul Masada, G36, USP-match, Desert Eagle, and MP5... in the order of most to least awesomely cool.

Edit:

In love with? I'm not sure it's actually love. More like paranoia.

See, every time I see a US politician, it's always, "Our great nation and our great people." Many observers whoop with delight.

Every time I see a gun debate, it's, "My fellow Americans are crackheads and are going to bugger my pot plants, and I've got to stop them." Many observers whoop with approval of the point.

Rapscallion

The portion of American culture of which I was peaking and more or less unilaterally likes firearms also just so happens to be non-liberal. The liberal mindset of protecting people from all the bad things in the world has locked many in that camp into hating guns for really no reason I've seen (or at least, not that I've seen well-argued). Never mind that if so many of the gun owning people in this country are crack dealers, that's all the more reason to be able to shoot back (or preferably first, but that's usually illegal).

[Slytovhand]

WWF type stuff.

Other "Reality" type TV... which is often completely un-real.

Ice Hockey.

[KabeRinnaul]

I've always suspected the American love of guns is mostly due to a love of the "rugged individualist" image and our national origins. We like the idea that if we had to, we could go out and live off the land just like the pioneers, or that if push came to shove, we could and would go out as individuals and fight for what is right, and win.

And I'll just name sports fandom in general as what I don't get. Mainly football madness and Nascar. Well, not even Nascar fans. Just the idea of the thing. It seems to me that it'd have all the appeal of watching a video of a busy traffic circle with particularly reckless drivers.

[Wingates_Hellsing]

It's the particularly reckless part that I think many are looking for, at least on TV.

[Boozy]

The OP has asked that this thread be about cultural differences you don't understand. If anyone wants to get into a gun debate again, there are many, many other threads for that. You can't fire a shotgun around here without hitting one.

[Slytovhand]

Probably won't get answered on this forum, but anyway.

I'm in China, and what I seriously don't get is how they can just let things go. The word 'maintenance' seems like a dirty word (ha! pun!) I don't recall having seen a single auto-mechanic's anywhere... nor any other sort of repair work happening. Sure, there's lots of building going on, but once it's done, it's basically left to rot. When I had my medical done here, we went to a great building - nice marble facade, columns, paintings, etc... but it was in an area overgrown with weeds, next to a stream that had become blocked up. There were some really beautiful bridges and a boardwalk.. all just let go.

On the same topic and place, I find it weird that while hygiene isn't a big deal in some respects, you get funny looks if you even scratch your nose!

And, not quite the idea of the OP, but... if you're a foreigner, your more stupid than the locals - but that's probably just a more general human thing - if you're not fluent in the local language, then it's a comment on your braincells...

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I don't understand why people think that shotguns are weapons with which one cannot miss, but more on that later.

).

Okay, let me rephrase that. I cannot miss with a shotgun. I am a very good shot, even with a handgun. Give me a longarm that belches out a wide spray of shot, the only way I am going to miss is if I am too far away to hit anything.

I can be half-ass aiming, I am still going to hit the target.

And to stay on topic, I am not a "gun freak." I dont go to gun shows, although down here in the south they are very popular. I like my guns, becuase they are interesting, and I like having them, but overall, guns in general are simply tools to me.

I am not really into most of the stuff a lot of southerners are into. So a lot of the stuff down here baffles me: gun fanatism, football, NASCAR, etc.