After my incident in Walmart I really started thinking about what was going on in that man’s head. It is clear to me that his behavior was meant to intimidate. I stepped back, read some articles, and thought a little more about what that was about and why. Intimidation is not the whole story, though it is the primary symptom of a much deeper affliction: Change.
Political humorist Daniel Kurtzman quipped, ‘I’ll keep my guns, my freedom, my money. You can keep the change.’ This slogan followed the first election and carried into the second where the divide was defined by the right as choosing Guns, God, and Life or choosing Obama. Obviously this vitriolic style of campaigning didn’t get the job done, but it did offer an avenue of expression for those who felt like they were losing control–one that has been around for a long time.
Even back in the time before guns, those who felt like they were not in control of their destiny as much as they wanted to be. At one point people carried swords around to inflate their power and remind others that they deserved notice and respect. More recently the item of intimidation was the Truck and even more recently, the Hummer. The gun is not a new tool, but it is gaining more attention because guns are being used legally and being used by a population that historically hasn’t felt the need to remind us of their power.
I grew up in a city where I knew more than a few people who walked around with a piece. Most of the guns were illegal and being carried by people who had no business carrying them. When the guns were used, be it in schools or on the streets, it was hardly national news. Someone threatened to bring an AK-47 to my Jr. High. Someone else fired shots at my high school. Neither of these incidents received a shred of press. The people who carried felt they had a need to carry. They didn’t feel they had a right or a responsibility to do it as so many of the gun toters do today. The need was born of self defense. In many ways I feel this holds true for the modern gun carrier–though what they are defending against is more nebulous than the street kid worrying that someone is going to snatch his shoes off his feet and beat him to death if he tries to fight back.
That kid needs a gun. Nobody needs to carry a rifle into Target.
I’m struck by Iphone’s new ‘You’re more powerful than you think’ campaign. The idea resonates with this current crisis of courage experienced by these ‘toters. If there is anything they need fear it is those who are controlling them and using them to gain political strength in order to better the positions of groups and individuals who are certainly not them. We are each more powerful than we think–personally, politically, spiritually. But of course we should remember what Uncle Ben told us all:
With great power comes great responsibility.
Some Thoughts:
- Note to those who watch infomercials: If it sounds too good to be true, it is.