You’ve heard the phrase, “Guns don’t kill people; people kill people”.
Years ago I embraced the “people” orthodoxy. Who didn’t? People kill people. It makes such simple sense. But in 1992, I was part of the bullet heterodoxy. I wasn’t with papp—People Against “People” People—I was part of Schtumpfhauer’s group. We did a lot of valuable work, a lot of published work.
… By 1995, the bullet theory had pretty much taken over. At the ‘96 Summit in Lubbock, there was something approaching consensus (two shootings, neither of them fatal). But that fragile accord was shattered by the time of the Bogotá Conference in 2001. Part of it, of course, was the groundbreaking work that Jacques Derrida had been doing with triggers. With his widely quoted article, “Velocity and the Itch: The Hermeneutics of the Hair Trigger” (Guns & Ammo, vol. 72, pp. 1–91), he demonstrated conclusively that the trigger was both signified and signifier.
… After that it was two years of vicious papers being published in journals that should re-examine their peer review process if you want my opinion. The nadir was probably Bubba Lunt’s article, “Derrida is a Moron” (American Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 91, p. 3). Derrida’s response “Am Not: The Solipsism of Others” (Soldier of Fortune, vol. xxi, pp. 4–86) did little to heal the wounds. Still, no one foresaw what came next.
I mean we all knew that inside the “people” camp there was a religious minority. They had been there for years. It was basically three guys in short-sleeved shirts and Poindexter haircuts from Salt Lake City. Frankly, we never thought they even owned any guns. For years, they had been quietly arguing that God made us in His image, therefore it was God who killed people. Even Bubba Lunt could have driven a Dodge Durango through a theological hole that big. No one even bothered to refute them. We just nodded, took their leaflets, and threw them away.
But while the gun, bullet, trigger, and “people” people were all duking it out, they came up the middle in a surprise move. Suddenly, they had a catchy acronym, gapp (God Against “People” People), a new spokesman (Ted Nugent), and long-sleeved shirts. …
– from A Very Palpable Hit: Deconstructionists get down on gun deaths by Don Gillmor in the May 2005 issue of The Walrus
Please read the whole piece. It’s very fine. [ link ]
-Julie
It’s very funny, and very well done :-)
Do you feel inclined to come down on a particular stance about the subject of gun ownership? (Not suggesting that there is any obligation on you to do so, or reason why you should; just interested)
Comment by Felix Grant — August 30, 2008 @ 3:39 am
I’m against it. I don’t think the Constitution says we have the right to private gun ownership.
However… however, to many (good, law-abiding, etc.) people in the rural community in which I live, the right to purchase and own guns is probably the most important political issue that they consider when voting for representatives. For them, it’s about a healthy skepticism of the government’s (not just criminals) right to be the one with all the guns and therefore, potentially, leaving us helpless to retain our other rights.
Americans, as you very well know, have a very different relationship with our governement than do Europeans.
Comment by unrealnature — August 30, 2008 @ 4:58 am
Thanks. I do, as you say, know that … mind you, there are many different relationships within Europe, too, as I’ve discovered since being here…!
Your reply, to which I had no entitlement, is much appreciated – and understood.
Comment by Felix Grant — August 30, 2008 @ 6:27 am