General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMen demanding guns for their role as protector-of-the-family are full of it.
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When I hear men worshipping guns and talking about how theres nothing that will stop them from defending their family, my mind goes to Naaman in the Bible. Do you remember Naaman? He was a great military leader, and he also had leprosy.
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The prophet told him to bathe in the Jordan River 7 times to be cured. He refused. In fact he was pissed off the cure was so simple. So his servants said: If hed asked you to do some great thing, you would have done it, but youre not willing to go bathe in the water?
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Thats like men bragging about how theyre ready and willing to protect their family. They're picturing doing *some great thing*, but protecting your family is almost always much more mundane.
A few conversations with God to illustrate:
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Conversation #1:
Man: Hey God, I just want you to know I am committed to protecting my family at all costs.
God: Gosh, thats great to hear.
One of the main things I need you to do to protect your family is laundry. Tons of laundry. You know kids...
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theyre so susceptible to infections and viruses. Pinworms, athletes foot, lice, strep throat, colds and flues. Pneumonia and diarrhea are *serious killers* of children under five. The list is endless. So youre going to need to do laundry pretty much daily.
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Launder their socks & underwear, their sheets. Put their sneakers through the wash. I cant emphasize this enough: protecting your family involves a lot of laundry.
Man: Oh. Um.
I was thinking more along the lines of a masked intruder with a gun at 2 AM raping my family.
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God: First of all, stop fantasizing about your family being raped.
Second, do you know the stats on break-ins? The vast majority happen when no one is home, and only a small percentage are armed. Home alarms and dogs reduce the risk even more.
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Even if you do end up being the rare house with an armed-break-in-while-home, you want to shoot someone for over your TV? Isn't that a ridiculous overreaction?
Youre not in the mob. I assure you theres a slim-to-none chance youll need to defend your family at gun point.
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If you really want to protect your family, laundry is where I need you to focus.
Man: But. But.
I bought all these guns. And ammunition. And Im telling you, if anyone threatens my family, Ill be ready.
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God: Is there anything youre willing to do to protect your family thats not the plot of an action/thriller?
Man:
God:
Man:
God: Sigh.
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Conversation #2:
God: Id like you to protect your family.
Man: You bet. Im ready. If anyone touches my kids, they are dead meat.
God. Okay. Well, to protect your family, the thing I need you to do is teach thorough hand-washing.
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Basically, youll need to carefully wash your kids hands several times a day until theyre old enough to do it themselves. At that point youll need to supervise the hand-washing for several years until you know theyve mastered it.
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And from then on, you just need to spend another ten years asking them to wash their hands multiple times a day before school, after school, before meals, after potty breaks, etc.. Cool?
Man: Well. Um.
Is there an assignment thats more related to guns?
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God: Nope. The main thing is hand-washing.
Having guns in the house actually puts your kids in harms way. Surely, as a protective parent, youve read about the dangers of keeping and storing guns at home?
Man:
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God: Let me guess. If I need someone to dig a hole on an asteroid, plant a bomb in the hole to blow up the asteroid, in order to save the Earth, youll be first in line.
Man: HECK YES
God:
Man:
God: Helpful.
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Conversation #3:
Man: Im ready to defend my family!! My guns and ammunition are stocked.
God: So glad to hear youre ready to defend your family. Heres the key thing I need you to do: Never drink alcohol again.
Man: Wait. What?
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God: Well Im sure you know motor vehicle accidents and gun accidents are top killers of children. And mixing alcohol with driving or guns makes them far riskier. If youve been drinking, theres a higher likelihood youll drive drunk, lose your temper and hurt the kids...
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... or just be irresponsible with your gun. So if you want to protect your family, I would recommend giving up alcohol as a good way to start.
Man:
God:
Man: Cant I just shoot some bad guys?
God: So then, NOT actually interested in protecting your family.
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Conversation #4:
God: Are you ready and willing to protect your family?
Man: YES. Come at me. My house is fully armed and I keep a handgun under the passenger seat. I am READY.
God: Oh. Well. The thing I need you to do is feed your kids plenty of healthy food.
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Do the grocery shopping. Plans the meals. Stock the fridge. Cook dinner. And of course, do the dishes and keep the kitchen clean because you dont want harmful bacteria taking over.
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Man: But. I mean. I dont even know how to cook.
God: How did you learn about your weapons?
Man: Youtube.
God: Are there cooking videos on Youtube?
Man:
[End of conversations]
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I'm often told that men have instincts to protect their family and how Protector is their natural role.
I think the case can be more easily made that men have zero natural instincts to protect their family.
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If such an instinct had evolved, why wouldn't men check back with any woman theyd had sex with, to see if they'd caused a pregnancy?
How can we say men have an instinct to protect their family when there are children the world over with fathers who have no idea they exist?
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Its much easier to argue that mothers have a strong instinct to protect their families. Mothers still do the bulk (by far the bulk) of the parenting. Which means mothers do the real things that actually protect their kids every day all day long.
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Men demanding guns for their role as protector-of-the-family are full of it. They are only willing to protect in make-believe instances that are never likely to happen. When asked to *actually* protect their family, by doing something like laundry, they cant be bothered.
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Aristus
(66,462 posts)coti
(4,612 posts)welfare of their families beyond protecting them with guns is flat-out wrong.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)that gun toting dads think theyre protecting their families with weapons. Its obviously not about dads who really do protect their families by being loving parents doing the tedious jobs.
"I'm often told that men have instincts to protect their family and how Protector is their natural role.
I think the case can be more easily made that men have zero natural instincts to protect their family."
That's fucking bullshit. In fact, as a father, I likely think more in depth about the health and long-term well-being and happiness of my children than she can even fathom.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)Thus she used an exaggerated scenario which works, by highlighting the insane worship of guns in this country. Theres a message there that isnt too hard to grasp. You probably should try not to take it personally, and just note the kernel of truth in what she says.
Everybody knows that most fathers are nothing like that.
coti
(4,612 posts)She made a nice point with her scenario, but then she tried to extend it well beyond what's fair. She could have just said that fathers who want to protect their families with guns would be much smarter to look elsewhere, but she didn't. She said that fathers don't even have a natural instinct to protect their families.
You also played into that misconception with your "everybody knows" statement. No, everybody doesn't "know" that. It's not true, and the only people who would think that are those who have difficulty recognizing the subtlety of judgment and balanced decision-making, which can be a full-time job in itself.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)to slap at me. I leave you with the last word since you evidently need to have it.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)Different Drummer
(7,642 posts)He was obviously expecting God to be pro-guns.
jmg257
(11,996 posts)Rest of us - not so much.