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Forums - General Discussion - Do you think it is normal having firearms?

Ismael, I can understand why you're puzzled as to why Americans love their boomsticks.

In my case, I grew up in a rural area and my dad took me deer and duck hunting every year. He bought me a .22 rifle at the age of 11 or 12 and taught me how to shoot a gun right around that time. Not to get me into the "gun culture" mind you, but to teach me how to properly handle, use, and disarm a loaded weapon. He considered it safer for me to know how to fire and handle a weapon in case I ever came across one that may be loaded than to panic and possibly do something stupid. I will do the same for my children when the time comes.

Since I moved out for college several years ago, I've been out on my own and purchased a .38 pistol for firing range use and home protection. It's still sitting under my mattress and only gets pulled out to clean every now and again.

To many Americans, guns simply aren't a big deal. We grew up with them, used them as children, and it's not considered odd at all to own one. To you Europeans, it seems weird but when you grow up around stuff and use it responsibly (which 99% of the population does), it just becomes another thing people own and occasionally use.




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Some of you Europeans are looking at guns as the reason for the murder rate while ignoring the entire fabric of America itself. We were founded on as much freedom as possible, a small government, and we're a heterogeneous society. That, in its very nature, is going to lead to a lot of strife.

It's not about the gun ownership, it's not about lax laws, it's about putting millions of very different people in the same area and watching them try to get along with each other. If anything, after the recent events in France, you guys should have a little more understanding of how attempting to mix cultures carries an underlying threat of violence with it at all times.




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I don't own one and don't see the need to. My life so far has never been in threat in any way. Gun aren't a necessity here.



rocketpig said:
Some of you Europeans are looking at guns as the reason for the murder rate while ignoring the entire fabric of America itself. We were founded on as much freedom as possible, a small government, and we're a heterogeneous society. That, in its very nature, is going to lead to a lot of strife.

It's not about the gun ownership, it's not about lax laws, it's about putting millions of very different people in the same area and watching them try to get along with each other. If anything, after the recent events in France, you guys should have a little more understanding of how attempting to mix cultures carries an underlying threat of violence with it at all times.

 Actually, there's been similar problems in the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Spain. Much due to big amounts of immigrants and/or refugees. Like here in Norway, where they stow away people from conflicting cultures in the same cardboard box, that's the stuff that'll cause noice sooner or later. I remember the first year we took in refugees to live in my hometown; they placed Kurds and Iraqi and Turkish together, and to add to the mix they presented every refugee with a "starter kit" for use in the refugee reception housings including a set of huuuuge knives. Result; three epsiodes of stabbing in one day.

But, at least here in Norway, it is not considered normal to own firearms unless you're a hunter or if its used in sports/competition. I'm not pointing fingers and demoting any one culture as more violent than others, but mixing cultures that generally don't go well together will not turn out well in most cases, especially among the male population of the world! 

 



Most of my friends own guns and they all go hunting during season. I never had that luxury because I grew up in the city. My friends now in college are mostly from rural areas and thats where my family is from and most of them also hunt. Alot of my friends are gun crazy and I don't mind it one bit. It's not really a problem for me. All I need is a bat or one my fake swords for protection...



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Mummelmann said:
rocketpig said:
Some of you Europeans are looking at guns as the reason for the murder rate while ignoring the entire fabric of America itself. We were founded on as much freedom as possible, a small government, and we're a heterogeneous society. That, in its very nature, is going to lead to a lot of strife.

It's not about the gun ownership, it's not about lax laws, it's about putting millions of very different people in the same area and watching them try to get along with each other. If anything, after the recent events in France, you guys should have a little more understanding of how attempting to mix cultures carries an underlying threat of violence with it at all times.

 Actually, there's been similar problems in the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Spain. Much due to big amounts of immigrants and/or refugees. Like here in Norway, where they stow away people from conflicting cultures in the same cardboard box, that's the stuff that'll cause noice sooner or later. I remember the first year we took in refugees to live in my hometown; they placed Kurds and Iraqi and Turkish together, and to add to the mix they presented every refugee with a "starter kit" for use in the refugee reception housings including a set of huuuuge knives. Result; three epsiodes of stabbing in one day.

But, at least here in Norway, it is not considered normal to own firearms unless you're a hunter or if its used in sports/competition. I'm not pointing fingers and demoting any one culture as more violent than others, but mixing cultures that generally don't go well together will not turn out well in most cases, especially among the male population of the world! 


Yeah, I realize that immigration has been causing problems all across Europe the past few years but I pointed out France because it was the most heavily publicized and widespread (to my knowledge, at least).

Now take those situations and crank them up to 11 and you'll get a taste of what urban America is like. The very country itself was founded on individualism, freedom, and immigration. That's a recipe for disaster and it's amazing that America has as little violence as it does given the circumstances. On the other hand, it's also what has made America adaptable and led to its status in the world today and it's what I'm most proud of as an American.

Every society is give and take. You take some freedoms, you will probably get a more peaceful society (or a bloody violent one). You add people of different cultures, new ideas will flourish but you'll get more societal strife as people clash over their creed, color, and lifestyle. It's the nature of humanity and the choice of gun ownership is just one thing that adds or detracts to a society, not the be-all or end-all to violence and crime. Some of you (not you, Mummel) are leading the horse with the cart. America is violent because of its wild west nature, its influx of differing people and viewpoints, and its stance toward the government, not because we own guns. Americans view guns the way they do because of the ideals the country was founded on, not the other way around.




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Gun alone does not kill poeple...poeples kill poeple.
However I would never have gun in my house solely for the fact that it increases change of accidents. Kids don't always act in the most intelligent way.



It's all about People

No, its not normal. Its very dangerous and pointless (not counting the ones used for sports).



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^
Yes, there really was hell in France for a while with billions worth of property destroyed and hundreds of serious injuries.
There were similar conditions in Gothenburg in Sweden a few years back too, one of the only Swedish protests that required police armed with live ammunition in a long while.
The biggest issue here in Norway are foreign "gangs" or mafia starting or continuing turf wars in the major cities. The most prominent being the "A gang" and the "B gang" which are tearing up the streets in Oslo and having shootouts on huge public arenas with big numbers of people on them.
There was also an incident with some Tamil invovling severed limbs, machine pistols and a genuine samurai sword (!).



Mummelmann said:
^
Yes, there really was hell in France for a while with billions worth of property destroyed and hundreds of serious injuries.
There were similar conditions in Gothenburg in Sweden a few years back too, one of the only Swedish protests that required police armed with live ammunition in a long while.
The biggest issue here in Norway are foreign "gangs" or mafia starting or continuing turf wars in the major cities. The most prominent being the "A gang" and the "B gang" which are tearing up the streets in Oslo and having shootouts on huge public arenas with big numbers of people on them.
There was also an incident with some Tamil invovling severed limbs, machine pistols and a genuine samurai sword (!).

As an American, I have to admit that I'm found some of the situations in Europe over the past decade comical in a rather morbid way. To hear Europeans up in arms over immigration troubles, to see the rioting, discontent, etc. just made me say "Well shit, now you know what it's like to be in America. People of different cultures just don't magically get along with each other. Took you guys long enough to realize that."




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