colchar
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Before I start I want to point out that this thread isn't about gun control but, rather, is about the perceived need to carry a gun. It is about the fear in which one must live in order to perceive the most innocent of encounters as potential threats.
In some threads here recently some of us from countries other than the US have questioned why it is that Americans feel the need to carry guns when the rest of us don't, despite the fact that our criminals carry guns just as they do in the US. I have mused that it must be a cultural thing in that Americans fear their fellow citizens while we here in Canada (and other countries) do not.
Well the story linked below has hit the news up here and I think it perfectly demonstrates the differences between Canada and the US with respect to guns and the ways in which we perceive our fellow citizens.
It seems a veteran cop from Kalamazoo was in Calgary and was walking through a local park with his wife when two guys (likely a wee bit drunkish and thus overly friendly) approached them and asked if they had been to the Stampede yet. The officer perceived this as a threat and, in a letter to a Calgary newspaper, lamented the fact that he was not allowed to carry his off-duty weapon while in Canada as he seems to think that he needed it to protect himself and his wife (he also felt the need to bring Jesus into it but that is another issue altogether). The guy doesn't seem to grasp the fact that his argument is severely weakened by the fact that absolutely nothing bad happened and that he obviously didn't actually need a gun as he claims. But leaving his inability to reach that simple conclusion aside, his belief that he needed a gun to 'protect' himself and his wife from two guys asking a simple question clearly demonstrates the difference between American society and ours. I would never have perceived those two guys as a threat nor, I suspect, would the majority of Canadians. Had that American been carrying a gun, or had this happened somewhere in the US, it is entirely possible that those two young guys would have been shot and killed - not because they had done anything wrong but because the guy carrying the gun was ridiculously paranoid (everyone I've spoken to about this today thinks this guy is a paranoid nutcase because he perceived such an innocent encounter as one in which a gun was required).
I don't live in fear of anything and do not know anyone who does so I cannot imagine what it must be like to live like that nor what it must take to make one so fearful. So I have to ask - what is it that makes so many Americans so fearful of their neighbors and fellow citizens? Is it your media? Is it something else? What is it that causes and perpetuates this fear?
Here is a link to the guy's original letter to the Calgary newspaper:
Nose Hill Park confrontation makes visitors feel unsafe
Here is a link to a column written by an American who lives and works in Calgary:
Lakritz: Kalamazoo police officer's letter to editor about handguns points to cultural divide
In that column she makes a good point about the differences in the mindsets of Americans and Canadians by stating "Americans argue that they need to carry guns, because having a concealed weapon makes them feel safe. Their thinking seems to be that at any given moment, they could be under attack from the very next person they meet on the street, and they’ll need to shoot in self-defence. Whereas, when you walk down a street in Canada, you don’t assume that you’re at risk of being suddenly assaulted or killed. You just see ordinary people going about their day and you give their motives no further thought."
Here are a couple of other links to the story and the online reaction to it:
'Nose Hill Gentlemen' pro-gun letter sparks Twitter frenzy - Calgary - CBC News
American Becomes Laughingstock of Canada After Letter to Editor Lamenting Lack of Handgun During Mild Confrontation
U.S. tourist
And the comments on Twitter illustrate the cultural divide quite well too:
https://twitter.com/#!/search/realtime/#nosehillgentlemen
So I'll ask again in case my questions got buried earlier in this post - what is it that makes so many Americans so fearful of their neighbors and fellow citizens? Is it your media? Is it something else? What is it that causes and perpetuates this fear?
In some threads here recently some of us from countries other than the US have questioned why it is that Americans feel the need to carry guns when the rest of us don't, despite the fact that our criminals carry guns just as they do in the US. I have mused that it must be a cultural thing in that Americans fear their fellow citizens while we here in Canada (and other countries) do not.
Well the story linked below has hit the news up here and I think it perfectly demonstrates the differences between Canada and the US with respect to guns and the ways in which we perceive our fellow citizens.
It seems a veteran cop from Kalamazoo was in Calgary and was walking through a local park with his wife when two guys (likely a wee bit drunkish and thus overly friendly) approached them and asked if they had been to the Stampede yet. The officer perceived this as a threat and, in a letter to a Calgary newspaper, lamented the fact that he was not allowed to carry his off-duty weapon while in Canada as he seems to think that he needed it to protect himself and his wife (he also felt the need to bring Jesus into it but that is another issue altogether). The guy doesn't seem to grasp the fact that his argument is severely weakened by the fact that absolutely nothing bad happened and that he obviously didn't actually need a gun as he claims. But leaving his inability to reach that simple conclusion aside, his belief that he needed a gun to 'protect' himself and his wife from two guys asking a simple question clearly demonstrates the difference between American society and ours. I would never have perceived those two guys as a threat nor, I suspect, would the majority of Canadians. Had that American been carrying a gun, or had this happened somewhere in the US, it is entirely possible that those two young guys would have been shot and killed - not because they had done anything wrong but because the guy carrying the gun was ridiculously paranoid (everyone I've spoken to about this today thinks this guy is a paranoid nutcase because he perceived such an innocent encounter as one in which a gun was required).
I don't live in fear of anything and do not know anyone who does so I cannot imagine what it must be like to live like that nor what it must take to make one so fearful. So I have to ask - what is it that makes so many Americans so fearful of their neighbors and fellow citizens? Is it your media? Is it something else? What is it that causes and perpetuates this fear?
Here is a link to the guy's original letter to the Calgary newspaper:
Nose Hill Park confrontation makes visitors feel unsafe
Here is a link to a column written by an American who lives and works in Calgary:
Lakritz: Kalamazoo police officer's letter to editor about handguns points to cultural divide
In that column she makes a good point about the differences in the mindsets of Americans and Canadians by stating "Americans argue that they need to carry guns, because having a concealed weapon makes them feel safe. Their thinking seems to be that at any given moment, they could be under attack from the very next person they meet on the street, and they’ll need to shoot in self-defence. Whereas, when you walk down a street in Canada, you don’t assume that you’re at risk of being suddenly assaulted or killed. You just see ordinary people going about their day and you give their motives no further thought."
Here are a couple of other links to the story and the online reaction to it:
'Nose Hill Gentlemen' pro-gun letter sparks Twitter frenzy - Calgary - CBC News
American Becomes Laughingstock of Canada After Letter to Editor Lamenting Lack of Handgun During Mild Confrontation
U.S. tourist
And the comments on Twitter illustrate the cultural divide quite well too:
https://twitter.com/#!/search/realtime/#nosehillgentlemen
So I'll ask again in case my questions got buried earlier in this post - what is it that makes so many Americans so fearful of their neighbors and fellow citizens? Is it your media? Is it something else? What is it that causes and perpetuates this fear?
