I grew up in, what would considered today, bright Red MAGA Country.

[kairos12]

Cowboy country. I don't recall back then everyone walking around with long guns strapped to their bodies while buying jerky and a moon pie.

I see these Cargo Pants Commandos strapped with ARS and Glocks while going into supermarkets.

When the hell did people become scared shitless?

As an old infantry guy it makes me want to puke.

[BlueTsunami2018]

1. It's not about being scared.

It’s about intimidation and defiance.

[mahina]

8. Part of it is about being afraid.

Part of it is the bs sold to them which they turn to for comfort. Ironically they tell them to be afraid and also some garbage about what it is to be a real man.

You know who is a man? They guy who fought off the Monterey dance hall shorter unarmed.

So many lovely good man.

People don’t have to buy a penis and wear it around to be a man.

[Bev54]

13. It is a penis extension

[Ziggysmom]

23. Oh hee hee too funny! But it is psychologically relevant.

It's just like the cliche that a man driving a very expensive sports car is compensating for his male inadequacy. Having that big ol' gun strapped to your bod makes a moron feel better about themselves, it becomes an extension of who they think they are.

[duhneece]

27. And for the women, I figured that the men in their lives

Need a penis extension

[TygrBright]

18. The need to intimidate others and manifest defiance is essentially fear-based.

Those who do it are acting from the fear that others will regard them as weak, inadequate, powerless, lower on a hierarchy, etc.

By attempting to intimidate others, etc., they are merely confirming that they are indeed, weak, inadequate, etc., but it is a symptom of their fear and weakness that they are unaware of this.

Real strength has no need to intimidate. It just is.

helpfully,
Bright

[jalan48]

2. I had the same experience. No one strutted around in public with a gun strapped on.

The only place I'd see a gun (hunting rifle) in public was in the gun rack of a pick-up truck.

[modrepub]

3. Gun Industry Is A Lot Bigger Now Than Back Then

IMHO it's all about profits. The more guns out there the more money these folks get to take home. It's not about a particular constitutional amendment, which is kind of vague as far as what it means in our time, but more about generating demand for more powerful (and expensive) fire arms.

[GenXer47]

4. they're cosplayers

You didn't play hyper-realistic video games of war from a young age.
You didn't have those same weapons marketed to you in real life.
There was a clear wall between war and civilian life, that has been broken down.
The kid who shot up Deerfield bought the exact gun from his video game, and then went and used it on a crowd.
We live amongst a bunch of incredibly dangerous cosplayers.

[hay rick]

12. They've also swallowed an enormous amount of propaganda.

They rationalize their displays as "patriotic" preparedness for threats that are completely imaginary or vastly exaggerated. Yes, it's cosplay- they are living and playing in a diseased fictional world.

[inthewind21]

31. I particularly

like the excuse of the "need" to defend against a tyrannical government.


"A United States Air Force pilot guides his aircraft through dark skies above the Pakistani region of Waziristan. He's not, however, in a cockpit, or even anywhere near the Middle East. He's sitting in a desk chair thousands of miles away at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base outside of Syracuse, New York. In front of the pilot is an array of computer screens displaying maps, video feeds and gauges, which he intently examines while manipulating a joystick and throttle control. While this setup looks like a gamer's paradise, the task is much more sober: remotely killing suspected militants using unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) — popularly known as drones.

The pilot watches as five men walk into a small hut made of mud and bricks. As the last one walks through the door, the operator gives the order to fire, and with a push of a button a laser-guided missile drops from the drone and slices through the night.
Meanwhile in the hut, the men are unaware they're being watched. Still, they know drones can strike without warning, so they're a bit anxious as they discuss a plan to bomb polling places during the elections in neighboring Afghanistan. Suddenly, a hissing noise breaks the silence of the evening. Instinctively the men dive for cover, but to no avail; the missile blows the roof off of the hut and shatters all the windows. All five men perish from burns, flying shrapnel and the impact's crushing blast."

[Martin Eden]

34. They've been told their country is threatened from within

American democracy is indeed being threatened from within, but these gun-totin "patriots" have become useful idiots for the fascists who seek to destroy the rule of law which is essential to our rights and freedoms.

They are eager to use their 2A joysticks in a civil war to overthrow a "tyrannical" government and put in power a real tyrant like Donald Trump.

At the root of their machismo is ignorance, bigotry, and fearmongering propaganda. They have been skillfully manipulated by the malefactors of great wealth entirely motivated by power and greed.

[Hope22]

14. I agree...

But the game players would chew us up if they heard us say that!

[Sky Jewels]

5. These dumbfucks are almost always deeply insecure males who simultaneously feel

entitled to power and control over others, especially women and libs. They try to cover their intense feelings of failure and powerlessness through toxic masculine he-man compensatory displays, like strapping guns to themselves. Pathetic, transparent losers all.

[kairos12]

6. I'd like to put that on a

bumper sticker.

[Sky Jewels]

7. Maybe use a 5-pt font.

[appalachiablue]

11. ++

[Thomas Hurt]

9. Me too, people had their gun racks and had guns in them. I suspect that has stopped as ...

people will probably just bust your window and take them nowadays.

Of course even back then, people were circumspect about guns. You didn't go strapped into the local stores. Just common sense and civility. The only place you carried your gun to was the little sporting goods store. No fn tactical chic. No weeny wagging by proxy.

[vlyons]

10. It's also showing the world what he-men they are.

Nothing sensitive and sissy about them!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

15. Maybe: Guns are protection, but masks are fear?

[flashman13]

16. The wannabe commandos walking around packing heat scare the shit out of me!!!

Do they have a round chambered (probably)?

Is the safety on (chances are 50-50 at best)?

If they drop their piece, is it going to go off and kill someone (me in particular - that's what scares me)?

I don't trust any of them because I don't think they are especially bright.

[Aristus]

17. And I never heard any man, growing up, ever, ever refer to himself as an 'alpha dog'.

These are sad, scared, pathetic losers grasping onto anything right-wing hate radio will throw at them to make them feel less sad, scared, and pathetic.

[republianmushroom]

19. like it

[onecaliberal]

20. They are not scared, they want to scare people. That is their entire point.

[Warpy]

21. Grew up in Dixie and it was the same

Gun racks in the pickup, full during hunting season but not the rest of the year. Maybe a fishing rod there, secured with twist ties. Nobody going to the 7-11 for a six pack and a Slim Jim with a pistol strapped to the hip.

One thing at work when I was growing up was the number of war vets who never wanted to see another gun. The guys who;d been raised around guns were the ones with the gun racks, full in season.

Nobody had the cockeyed idea that swaggering around with the biggest gun they could get when they went into pick up a case of motor oil and a new filter is somehow showing their patriotism and willingness to defend "Murka at any time. Walking around with loaded guns as fashion accessories was seen as dangerous as it really is.

And what did this to these swaggering gunloons? Check out NRA TV if your stomach is both strong and empty. These guys all see themselves as potential soldiers in a citizen army and besides, when they're packing, nobody gonna tell them what to do, no suh.

[kairos12]

26. I am the same opinion as the Vets you

know. I issued weapons. I was trained on them. Stored them in the arms room. After that I never felt a need to have them around. They are a tool.

I don't see welders walking around with their work rig or chefs sporting their knives.

[Baitball Blogger]

22. America is no longer home of the brave.

Bragging rights now belong to Ukraine. At least they have a real reason to carry weapons.

[Ferrets are Cool]

24. Machismo.

They mistakenly believe it looks masculine. It actually makes them look weak and foolish.

[relayerbob]

25. A - They always were. Don't kid yourself.

B - Part of it is a power play, to prove to you and everyone else how tough they are, Even if they come across as cowards.

C - Part of it is penis envy. They feel inadequate because (insert illogical reason here), but really they understand why they and their ilk are "incels", so they use the gun as a substitute.

D - It's considered more acceptable than wearing a white, pointy hood.

[IronLionZion]

28. Who are they planning to shoot?

because they are more likely to accidentally shoot themselves or some innocent bystanders than any bad guys.

This isn't Afghanistan or Iraq.

[Bettie]

29. As an ordinary middle-aged woman

I find it hilarious that I can go to the store and not be afraid for my life.

I can even go to a sandwich shop without five or more guns strapped to my body.

What are they afraid of? I just don't get it.

[sarisataka]

30. Do you often see people shopping

For Jerry and moon pies while carrying rifles?

[Skittles]

32. I agree with others who have chimed in

they're TRYING to be intimidating but honestly, they come across to me as pathetic, gun humping COWARDS

[Samrob]

33. Many allege it's fear of "the other" especially blacks.

I bet most people in these bright red places haven't seen a black person except on TV.