{"id":128235,"date":"2015-10-05T15:09:42","date_gmt":"2015-10-05T21:09:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/10\/05\/the-fault-dear-brutus-is-not-in-our-guns-but-in-ourselves-that-we-are-bad-asses.html"},"modified":"2015-11-11T09:34:36","modified_gmt":"2015-11-11T16:34:36","slug":"the-fault-dear-brutus-is-not-in-our-guns-but-in-ourselves-that-we-are-bad-asses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/10\/05\/the-fault-dear-brutus-is-not-in-our-guns-but-in-ourselves-that-we-are-bad-asses.html","title":{"rendered":"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our guns, but in ourselves, that we are bad-asses"},"content":{"rendered":"

David Niose suggests that debates over gun control and reining in gun violence in the US are useless because "American society reveres aggressive, take-no-shit behavior, an attitude that naturally sees violence as not just a plausible option, but often a desirable one."<\/p>\n

http:\/\/davidniose.com\/badass-the-culture-that-makes-gun-reform-impossible\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Our national mythology is all about that, from the take-no-shit Founding Fathers (who defeated the most powerful army in the world) to the take-all-the-shit settlers of the West, to the US as World Power that needs a bigger defense budget than the next ten countries (most of whom are allies) combined, to pretty much everything else in our collection of cultural icons where violent stands for principle are seen as the be-all and end-all of dramatic conflict and heroism.<\/p>\n

It's a depressing thought, but it certainly explains some of the modern condemnation of Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama (as "negotiators"), and the lionizing of folk like Ronald Reagan, Donald Trump, and even Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n

What it says is that gun violence is not the price of liberty, but the price of our preferred self-image.<\/p>\n

The question then becomes, what the hell do we do about it. If we really think we should<\/i> do something about it.<\/p>\n

(h\/t +<\/span>Les Jenkins<\/a><\/span>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n
\n<\/a>\u00a0\n<\/div>\n

View on Google+<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

David Niose suggests that debates over gun control and reining in gun violence in the US are useless because "American society reveres aggressive, take-no-shit behavior, an attitude that naturally sees violence as not just a plausible option, but often a desirable one." http:\/\/davidniose.com\/badass-the-culture-that-makes-gun-reform-impossible\/ Our national mythology is all about that, from the take-no-shit Founding Fathers … Continue reading “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our guns, but in ourselves, that we are bad-asses”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":128236,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[106,298,108,380],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-plusposts","category-guns","category-history","category-nationalism-exceptionalism"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/dirty-harry-620x2505B15D.jpgimgmax=660.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":136496,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2018\/05\/19\/oversimplifying-public-policy-debates-doesnt-make-them-simpler-guns-edition.html","url_meta":{"origin":128235,"position":0},"title":"Oversimplifying public policy debates doesn’t make them simpler (Guns Edition)","author":"***Dave","date":"Sat 19-May-18 11:40pm","format":false,"excerpt":"So. Guns.\u00a0We do have a gun violence problem in this country -- less, net-net, than in decades past, but with more notorious \/ spectacular instances (i.e., mass shootings).\u00a0And the biggest problem I see about it is a desire for a Silver Bullet to Fix The Problem. We need more guns!\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/america%2Bbullets%2Bguns.jpgimgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/america%2Bbullets%2Bguns.jpgimgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/america%2Bbullets%2Bguns.jpgimgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":128238,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/10\/05\/in-fighting-gun-violence-knowledge-is-power.html","url_meta":{"origin":128235,"position":1},"title":"In fighting gun violence, knowledge is power","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 5-Oct-15 12:07pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Which is one reason why the gun lobby is so keen to keep knowledge about gun deaths and injuries to a minimum, let alone addressing gun violence as a public health issue (besides vague handwaving about \"the crazies\").The article's \"new way\" isn't all that new, but it's useful. A New\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":129255,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/12\/24\/dark-things-fear-the-light-gun-freedom-edition.html","url_meta":{"origin":128235,"position":2},"title":"Dark things fear the light (GUN FREEDOM! Edition)","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 24-Dec-15 3:08pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Because we can't have the Gummint gathering some actual data about guns and violence in a nationwide, funded, systemic fashion because ... well, who knows what we might find?!Even the original sponsor of Congress\u2019s gag order on research now agrees. \u201cI wish we had started the proper research and kept\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42433,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/06\/07\/guns-guns-guns-guns-2.html","url_meta":{"origin":128235,"position":3},"title":"Guns, guns, guns, guns","author":"***Dave","date":"Sat 7-Jun-14 11:28am","format":false,"excerpt":"Ran across the below, and it prompted a flurry of tiny aneurysms. \u00a0If your prime counter-example is a domestic terrorist from almost twenty years go, it seems you're reaching -- especially when the number of people killed by guns in that same time frame is much, much higher.The analogy falls\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/BoQai8fIgAAk6n6.png.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":128303,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/10\/13\/the-only-thing-that-can-stop-a-crazy-with-a-gun-is-um-no-more-crazy.html","url_meta":{"origin":128235,"position":4},"title":"The only thing that can stop a Crazy with a Gun is … um … no more Crazy!","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 13-Oct-15 11:10pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Jeb! has revealed his secret plan to stop mass killings: http:\/\/www.stonekettle.com\/2015\/10\/bang-bang-crazy-two-in-bush.htmlThe cause of all this gun violence is that crazy people can get guns! And then they kill people (not because they have guns, or that they are crazy and have guns, but because they are crazy). So, somehow, we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/gun-crazy-movie-poster-1949-10201427725B15D.jpgimgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":31851,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/12\/19\/simple-gun-answers-are-generally-simplistic-gun-answers.html","url_meta":{"origin":128235,"position":5},"title":"Simple gun answers are generally simplistic gun answers","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 19-Dec-12 5:37pm","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been thinking a lot about the Connecticut shooting (et al.), but not doing a lot of actually table-pounding posting about it because, aside from inarticulate wails of grief, there's not a lot simple, straightforward, concrete to say to try and fix what caused this. Because, sadly, there is no\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Gaming"","block_context":{"text":"Gaming","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/gaming"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/0725-guns-sale-up.jpg_full_6001.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/0725-guns-sale-up.jpg_full_6001.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/0725-guns-sale-up.jpg_full_6001.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128235"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128235\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":128761,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128235\/revisions\/128761"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}