Michael and Kim
Watching the absolutely brilliant “Bowling for Columbine” again last night, Michael Moore’s movie threw some new light for me on right-wing gun nuts like Kim du Toit. Moore talks a lot about the culture of fear that keeps us on edge, clutching our guns and anything else that helps keep us feeling safe.
Moore focuses on the major media. But people like Kim du Toit also play a big role in this culture of fear. Kim loves to detail stories of people shooting intruders (“goblins” in his parlance) who invade the homes of honest law-abiding citizens. Thank goodness those citizens had a shotgun/handgun/assault rifle at the ready! It’s no surprise he hypes these stories. After all, if people didn’t feel afraid, if they didn’t feel that their way of life was under constant threat by “goblins” and other undefined dangers, people might start questioning the wisdom of Kim’s site tagline: “Turning America back into a nation of riflemen – on person at a time.” And that would be a very bad thing for Kim du Toit.
I just saw Bowling. Amazing movie. The racism thread was in there too, but not as strongly.
I’m about halfway through Moore’s book now. In it he cites a fact that a gun in the home is only used to shoot the intruder 2% of the time in a home invasion or robbery. The other 98% of the time, a family member gets shot or the assailant uses the gun themselves on the owner.
Also, on the fear thing, there is a scripture:
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.” – 1 John 4:18
I’ve been thinking about this one since the movie and it’s fear angle. I never really saw it, since it is so prevalent. But now that I see it for what it is, I’ve been able to breathe a sigh of relief.
It seems to me the culture of fear plays just as prominent a role in turning gun ownership into a goblin.
Fucking Liberals