Hoplophobia: finally, an in-depth analysis!

[PALADIN85020]

As you probably know, hoplophobia was a term coined by the late great Jeff Cooper to describe an irrational fear of guns as opposed to a rational respect and caution regarding the people who might be wielding them.

Finally, the condition has received some serious attention.

I found this very interesting. In the interest of full disclosure, I am pro-gun, but anti-criminal. I firmly believe that these two stances are not mutually exclusive. I have for years tried to figure out the roots of hoplophobia, and why it is so inextricably linked with restrictive but ineffective gun legislation. This is a very scholarly examination of the condition. I recommend it.

John

Hoplophobia: Gun Fear

 

[Rule3]

I certainly believe that some people have a true phobia of guns. Just as any other phobia. People that do not have phobias find it hard to understand those who hava true fear or phobia of something. Often classified as a "irrational fear" but they do exist. There are hundreds if not more phobias. People can not contol them, their fight or flight mechanism kicks in, heart rate increase. sweating etc.

How can any one be afraid of a little kitten for example? But they are. Children that have been attacked by a dog may never get over it.

Fear of flying or heights may be a little easier to relate to.

I believe my sister has a true phobia of guns.

BUT there is a big difference between a phobia and just anti gun and just not liking them as all they are good for is killing approach.
Then as the article states in PhD language the whole political slant

 

[shouldazagged]

Believe me, I am as pro-gun and pro-Second Amendment as anybody. But I also had occasion in my line of work to have to read a lot of scholarly studies of psychiatric conditions. While I don't question the reality that some people do have true phobias about guns, this study began with a political premise instead of objective research.

It's possible that some of the anti-gun people in positions of power are true hoplophobes. Probably some are. But I'm convinced most of their motivation is purely political, designed to protect us from ourselves. Which is garbage, of course, but not technically mental illness.

This kind of pseudo-science is pretty much irrelevant to the real problem. Do the research, diagnose the powerful anti-gun people to see which ones genuinely have the phobia, and then write your paper. I'd bet the ranch you'd find very few motivated by anything but misguided ideas about what other people need.

 

[PALADIN85020]

Believe me, I am as pro-gun and pro-Second Amendment as anybody. But I also had occasion in my line of work to have to read a lot of scholarly studies of psychiatric conditions. While I don't question the reality that some people do have true phobias about guns, this study began with a political premise instead of objective research.

It's possible that some of the anti-gun people in positions of power are true hoplophobes. Probably some are. But I'm convinced most of their motivation is purely political, designed to protect us from ourselves. Which is garbage, of course, but not technically mental illness.

This kind of pseudo-science is pretty much irrelevant to the real problem. Do the research, diagnose the powerful anti-gun people to see which ones genuinely have the phobia, and then write your paper. I'd bet the ranch you'd find very few motivated by anything but misguided ideas about what other people need.

Some of the more prominent anti-gun politicians seem to have incident-motivated hoplophobia. Sarah Brady - her husband crippled by a gunman; Diane Feinstein - saw Harvey Milk's body; Carolyn McCarthy - husband shot on a commuter train. I'd say they not only have misguided ideas, but sure-nuff hoplophobia, having an unreasoning fear of guns and not using any sort of logic in their resultant gun-banning fervor. I grant that all gun-banning politicians are not hoplophobes, but it's quite evident that some are quite visibly so. It's those who typically want to impose their phobia on the rest of us and demonize guns in the process (don't draw a picture of a gun in school, dear, you will be expelled).

My mother had a fear of flying, and so we had to put her on a train or drive her long distances whenever we did the cross-country bit. A phobia is usually irrational and unreasoning. Fortunately, my mom didn't want to legislate against airplanes!

These are the characteristics we see in so many anti-gun politicians. They just can't be swayed by reason and logic. They appear to want everyone to see things from their point of view and comply with their desires to eliminate the objects of their phobia. It's sad, really, that they are such political thorns in the sides of comparatively normal people, and that they want to trample on a basic right enshrined in the Bill of Rights. I think it's time that we recognize and deal with hoplophobia as a condition manifested in not all, but many of these people.

John

 

[2hawk]

From the article, re Feinstein, McCarthy, et al:
"Is America required to accept psychological acting out as a legitimate form of legislative discourse?"

I think many of us have been privately asking this question every time they start up with more inane and useless restrictions for the law abiding, while not getting within a thousand miles of creating any real "solutions" when it comes to crime, mental health, and violence caused by criminals or the deranged. Thought provoking read, although I am not entirely sure if the author's tongues are in their cheeks or not.

 

[DeathGrip]

Who's crazy now?

 

[2hawk]

On the other hand, I think people like Biden, Schumer, etc, may have Dunning-Kruger Syndrome.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning–Kruger_effect

"The Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias in which unskilled individuals suffer from illusory superiority, mistakenly rating their ability much higher than average. This bias is attributed to a metacognitive inability of the unskilled to recognize their mistakes."

I think we could probably figure every anti is suffering from either or both the hoplophobia and the Dunning-Kruger effect, from what I've seen....

 

[Old TexMex]

Indeed. A fear of guns which may be associated with PTSD can and does cause legislators to bias their positions.
Just as with others who, having been subjected to torture while in POW camps,have insisted that "torture doesn't work" have taken a position to virtually eliminate effective interrogation techniques and disavow known successes of those methods, and thus let their own traumatic experiences be a basis for national policy.

I submit that this article is NOT psuedo science nor irrellevant to our 2nd Amendment arguments. Certainly not when compared to the nonsense that is consistantly foisted on the public in the name of "Gun Safety".
Thank you for the link.

 

[TACC1]

Something else should be factored in. There are people
who take advantage of hoplophobes to enable their
own quest for power and wealth. Something about "unarmed
people are subjects, not citizens."
TACC1

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

What the author has written here could just as well be Sarah Brady's next speech on why we don't need to carry handguns... we're all suffering from a mass delusion, right?

So, how many is most? What we ask is how widespread is the malady, how bad is the suffering, how guilty are those who deliberately promote the condition, and what must be done about this deplorable situation?

One dangerous circumstance gives us pause. Anecdotal evidence repeatedly shows that cross sections of the U.S. population believe that we live in a violent society. Yet when probed, most people cannot recall ever having personally witnessed or experienced any acts of violence, especially serious violence, recently -- or even ever. Their own lives, their day-to-day orbit if that is any gauge, is actually delightfully peaceful.

It turns out that the violence they think they are familiar with comes essentially from only one single source -- illuminated screens -- TV, movies and the Internet. The rest comes from so-called "news" publications. Their lives are functionally devoid of the violence they have been convinced they live mired in. Is "our violent society" largely a fabrication of the mainstream media -- outside of isolated incidents, crimes in bad parts of town and video productions? Is it a mass delusion? For too many people reading this the answer unfortunately is yes.

 

[deadin]

Why is it that those that have a fear of guns have a neat sounding scientific term like "hoplophobia" for a descriptor, while we with a fixation for firearms are just called "gun nuts"??

 

[wbraswell]

I would bet that most of these hoplophobes are scared of any type of weapon. They probably keep dull knives.

 

[Old TexMex]

What the author has written here could just as well be Sarah Brady's next speech on why we don't need to carry handguns... we're all suffering from a mass delusion, right?

So, how many is most? What we ask is how widespread is the malady, how bad is the suffering, how guilty are those who deliberately promote the condition, and what must be done about this deplorable situation?

One dangerous circumstance gives us pause. Anecdotal evidence repeatedly shows that cross sections of the U.S. population believe that we live in a violent society. Yet when probed, most people cannot recall ever having personally witnessed or experienced any acts of violence, especially serious violence, recently -- or even ever. Their own lives, their day-to-day orbit if that is any gauge, is actually delightfully peaceful.

It turns out that the violence they think they are familiar with comes essentially from only one single source -- illuminated screens -- TV, movies and the Internet. The rest comes from so-called "news" publications. Their lives are functionally devoid of the violence they have been convinced they live mired in. Is "our violent society" largely a fabrication of the mainstream media -- outside of isolated incidents, crimes in bad parts of town and video productions? Is it a mass delusion? For too many people reading this the answer unfortunately is yes.

It is a quandry, ain't it...

I'd say it's proof than an armed society is a polite society!

Taken out of context, it (like much else) might be, but IN context:
I doubt Sarah Brady will reference any work,article or research that specifically refers to those legislators as delusional.

The antigunners can say there is NO violence,(so self defense is unnecessary) then say, in the same sentence, that gun violence is out of control (because of so many guns).

That much of the populace is under a delusion is quite possible, about more than one topic. One of them is that the right to self defense issues from legislators.

 

[gm272gs]

I think a few of our members here have Dunning-Kruger Syndrome, because there sure seems to be a lot of "Special-Forces-I'm-Ready-For-Anything" types around here.

I'm about as ready as anyone can be for "home defense", but I have to say that if I'm ever startled out of a sound sleep at 2AM with someone kicking in my door and coming at me, I'll more than likely poop my pants.

 

[vytoland]

I think a few of our members here have Dunning-Kruger Syndrome, because there sure seems to be a lot of "Special-Forces-I'm-Ready-For-Anything" types around here.

I'm about as ready as anyone can be for "home defense", but I have to say that if I'm ever startled out of a sound sleep at 2AM with someone kicking in my door and coming at me, I'll more than likely poop my pants.

that would probably be my response also, but first I would empty the rounds in my S&W revolvers in the general direction of the uninvited...

 

[gm272gs]

Well, yeah. I'm going to empty the mag as I empty myself, I'm hoping.

 

[Rule3]

It is all gibberish. The Politicians who are anti gin are just that anti gun.
They are not afraid of guns in a phobic sense, They are just into controlling people. They are themselves delusional as they think and feel that they are doing what is best for the people. They are here to save us and of course it is for the children.

No different then trying to regulate the size of a soft drink cup.

 

[jag312]

Diane Feinstein is not afraid of guns. If she was, she never would have gotten a concealed weapons permit to carry one. Actually, she had two guns listed on her permit. She is nothing more than an elitist who imagines herself above ordinary people, and if she can disarm us, then that makes her even more special. She isn't afraid of guns. She is just nuts.

 

[johngalt]

It is all gibberish. The Politicians who are anti gin are just that anti gun.
They are not afraid of guns in a phobic sense, They are just into controlling people. They are themselves delusional as they think and feel that they are doing what is best for the people. They are here to save us and of course it is for the children.

No different then trying to regulate the size of a soft drink cup.

They are simply evil. They are despots with no regard for liberty and the rights of the individual. They consider themselves the masters and us the servants. They have nothing but contempt for the principles that this country was founded on - that they get their authority from us and require our consent.

 

[jkc]

What's really crazy is that, judging by the responses to the OP (thanks, again, Mr. Marshal), is that evidently, many forum members who fancy themselves as being well-informed on gun issues are not subscribed to Alan Korwin's "Page Nine" blog and his other communications, which is an embarrassing admission on our part, collectively. Korwin and colleagues (David Koppel, etc.) are among the sharpest minds observing and commenting on contemporary "gun" issues, offering salient commentary, facts, figures, and "zero tolerance" for media shams and political frauds. If you're not tuned in to Korwin, you've tuned yourself out of one of your best informational resources.