[Leica] guns, photography, and the american psychosis

[bd at bdcolenphoto.com (B. D. Colen)]

It is indeed part of American culture, and we 'got it' on the frontier. No
matter how one feels about whether or not gun should be as widely available
as they are today - they provided both food and protection to our colonial
forbearers, and the ubiquitousness of long guns, and the colonists skill
with them, played an important part in our victory over the British.

Ever since that time, the gun, and even more important, the myth of the gun,
has been writ large in our culture; think of all the paintings, prints,
etc., in which a flintlock hangs on the mantel; think of how many Currier
and Ives prints feature guns in one way or another; take a look a Wallace
Nuttings 'photos' some time and look for guns; and then there's the whole
mythology of the Western frontier, and the Colt .45 "Peacemaker" and the
Winchester rifle, "the gun that won the West."

I don't know about you, Walt, but I grew up playing with toy guns - playing
war, playing "Davy Crockett," playing "cowboys and Indians." Think about how
much all that play had to do with the acceptance of guns as a part of every
day life.

None of this, of course, begins to touch on the power and success of the
"gun lobby," the NRA, and the way it has influenced American politics.

But is our culture somehow different? You bet it is.

Now, back today's inane questions:

Do guns kill people, or do people kill people?
If guns are outlawed, will only criminals have guns?
If they take our guns, will "they" then come to get us?
Et al.


On 10/20/06 7:36 AM, "Walt Johnson" <walt@waltjohnson.com> wrote:

> Richard
> 
> I remember the first (and only) time visiting Spain. It was shocking to
> see the local police walking the streets with Uzis. Thirty years later
> we can see th same thing here.Is it  cultural  in America, if so where
> did we catch it? There is  quite a bit of talk about how crazy we are
> but a quick historical review might open minds and eyes. The Germans
> systematically killed millions of unarmed men, women and children. The
> Russians starved millions of their own to death for political reasons.
> India and Pakistan  threaten each other with nuclear weapons to prove
> who has the best god....and the list is endless.  (including Mao's Red
> Guard)
> 
> You are right to have chills up your spine, I do as well.
> 
> Walt
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Richard wrote:
> 
>> Jayanand, I grew up in HK and moved to the States in 75 when I was 13.
>> I can turn you that from my experience, this series probably bothers
>> me as much as it does to you! To think that this is a predominant
>> thing sends chills up my spine.
>> 
>> At 07:22 PM 10/19/2006, Jayanand Govindaraj wrote:
>> 
>>> Kyle,
>>> I think its a brilliant series, and truly frightening for those not
>>> used to guns (like me!), that this a predominant culture.   However
>>> much you humanize them, it still comes across as chilling, at least
>>> to me. But again, the photographs are compelling. My interactions
>>> with the USA and its culture has been largely on the coasts, and
>>> large urban centres, and my reactions probably show this.
>>> Cheers
>>> Jayanand
>>> 
>>> Kyle Cassidy wrote:
>> 
>> 
> 
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