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Paul Waldman

These gun manufacturers are selling masculinity

With manual labor but a memory for most Americans, we have even fewer opportunities to enact rituals of manhood in the way our ancestors did. The strongest caveman may have led the tribe, but who are the masters of today’s universe? A bunch of skinny, pasty kids who spend their days staring at computer screens. Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg may not be able to best you at arm-wrestling, but they could buy and sell you a thousand times over.

We have to find reassurance where we can, so even if we can’t prove our masculinity on the job and our kids won’t listen to us, there is a way to feel that testosterone surge through our bodies. Whatever else you think about guns, no one who has ever held one can deny that they make you feel potent and strong. You don’t even need to fire it to appreciate its power — just holding it is enough. So if watching your fantasies play out on TV doesn’t quite scratch that itch, you can enact them yourself down at the range — or get a concealed carry permit, and convince yourself that the only reason you’re not Jack Bauer is that the right opportunity hasn’t yet presented itself.

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Sometimes people think far too much and to the point of insanity.

CW on December 22, 2012 at 3:22 PM

I don’t own a firearm and I’m still quite secure in my masculinity, but this sounds way too much like “clinging to guns and religion”.

JeffWeimer on December 22, 2012 at 3:28 PM

I rarely ever feel any different holding a gun than when it is a hundred miles away. Physical items do not a man make.

astonerii on December 22, 2012 at 3:28 PM

And if you’re anxious about your masculinity, if you aren’t quite sure whether those around you find you sufficiently strong and potent, the Bushmaster corporation has an answer for you. If you buy one of their semi-automatic rifles — like the kind Adam Lanza used to murder 20 children and six adults last week — you may “Consider your Man Card reissued.”

That’s one reason I have guns. The other is the government and tards like you.

davidk on December 22, 2012 at 3:29 PM

So if watching your fantasies play out on TV doesn’t quite scratch that itch, you can enact them yourself down at the range — or get a concealed carry permit, and convince yourself that the only reason you’re not Jack Bauer is that the right opportunity hasn’t yet presented itself.

I suspect there is som projection going on.

CW on December 22, 2012 at 3:29 PM

Good gosh! So why are so MANY gals getting guns? So they can be like their ‘man’?

It seems that there are alot of people who write articles that try to out-do others on who comes up with the dumbest things to write about?
L

letget on December 22, 2012 at 3:30 PM

And if you’re anxious about your masculinity, if you aren’t quite sure whether those around you find you sufficiently strong and potent, the Bushmaster corporation has an answer for you. If you buy one of their semi-automatic rifles — like the kind Adam Lanza used to murder 20 children and six adults last week — you may “Consider your Man Card reissued.”

That’s one reason I have guns. The other is the government and tards like you.

davidk on December 22, 2012 at 3:30 PM

Be sure to click thru to the CNN link, to see a picture of the author of this steaming heap. His picture should be in the dictionary next to the definition of Limbaugh’s “New Castrati”.

Didn’t have time to wade thru the 9100+ comments already there, but one of the very first ones demolished Waldman’s entire theory by correctly noting that it was the mother of the shooter who bought the guns!

OT but related-from Breitbart:

In their zeal to rampage this left-wing agenda, the media has apparently forgotten that back in 2000, on the one-year anniversary of the Columbine shooting (which occurred with an assault weapons ban in place), President Clinton requested $60 million in federal money to fund a fifth round of funding for a program called “COPS in School,” a program that does exactly what the NRA is proposing and the media is currently in overdrive mocking

By the way, both Columbine and Newtown happened on Democrat Presidents’ watches. So how can we blame all this on Bush?

Del Dolemonte on December 22, 2012 at 3:30 PM

It’s more to do with pissing off squeamish liberals for me…along with the personal protection.

The Count on December 22, 2012 at 3:30 PM

What a dork

darwin on December 22, 2012 at 3:31 PM

Liberals could use some masculinity. I suggest they visit their local gun shop.

darwin on December 22, 2012 at 3:33 PM

Yeah, I wish I could be as masculine as progressive men naturally, but I had to buy a gun to pull it off.

forest on December 22, 2012 at 3:33 PM

I’m sure Bushmaster wishes they’d put the kibosh on this ad:

COLIN F IS JUST UNMANLY
COLIN F, AVOIDS EYE CONTACT WITH TOUGH-LOOKING 5TH GRADERS.

MAN CARD REVOKED.

Ladysmith CulchaVulcha on December 22, 2012 at 3:33 PM

“When I had the gun, I didn’t think I was actually going to have to shoot somebody,” the 6th grader recalled. “I think it’s going to change me a whole lot, knowing that I can hold my head up high and nothing can hurt me anymore.”

http://news.yahoo.com/okla-girl-12-shoots-intruder-during-home-burglary-120453440–abc-news-topstories.html?ugc_c=lI4YXH712QD19_nh840Yg5BdplH7mSWj3fAF2HOIaSoEkZSFO5kPZodZPtQOLtTxFEwTwfL72rThJPCT3Y0KP3iMiUKk1pCktNDUbL3oyE4zfO.uPeoNohL6lAWLCBcSpH.NeWCVOnXFq4r3wyxHrD7xC6MiYrjWb48EAB5GEHF69Lidyu7IYgCKssNvvoB9mo9qcfCIkhN9F6xZkRG8lA39RVLyQ31VSjVl8bk03sa3c2L7LFq7EUnN5K9M&bcnv_s=e&ugc_scnv=1&ll=2

davidk on December 22, 2012 at 3:34 PM

Yeah, and keyboard manufacturers are selling psychoanalytical expertise.

Dusty on December 22, 2012 at 3:37 PM

Whenever libs start pontificating about guns, It’s always fun to trot this gem back out. A taste:

The Senator, who has made a career of being against gun ownership for the general public, didn’t hesitate to defend himself with his own gun when he believed he was in immediate danger and he was the victim.
In typical hypocritical liberal fashion, the “Do as I say and not as I do” Anti-Gun Activist Lawmaker picked up his gun and took action in what apparently was a self-defense shooting.

Kataklysmic on December 22, 2012 at 3:41 PM

Yup, that’s it. They’re selling masculinity.

Dusty on December 22, 2012 at 3:46 PM

Reading this pap, you’d think that we live in a peaceful, formerly prosperous society because more people have gotten liberal arts degrees and embraced post-modern enlightenment.

Even if you embrace the postmodernist view of courage and chivalry and cruelty and misogyny of being essentially the same quality, reality is unkind. Caveman masculinity is only a puff on a candle away from being, objectively and unarguably, the highest quality a person can have, as was for most of the history of the species.

Don’t believe that. Consider the real operators in power right now (as opposed to the useful idiots and staffers). Or heck, if you’re a liberal, relive your Bush-Cheney-Rove fantasies and pretend that they were true. Where do you think the real holders of power in this country the Chris Hayes-Saddam Hussein Axis? Before you answer, consider that, statistically speaking, a Hellfire missile is coming out of the sky as you read this.

And then consider that the people who have been increasingly exercising brute force without apology on the American public for a century – and since the Second World War have even made it into a kind of virtue – are our allies. Compared to the rest of the planet, men like JFK and Reagan and Nixon are almost overlapping Chris Hayes on the Liberal Masculinity Axis.

Like almost every other liberal project since the October Revolution, the destruction of this quality they hate would result in its rebirth and apotheosis. If liberals triumph over masculinity, the segment of society that liberals dominate will be replaced by one they do not. If, through the federal government, that includes the entire society, then so be it. Darwin will not be denied.

HitNRun on December 22, 2012 at 3:49 PM

Yup, that’s it. They’re selling masculinity.

Dusty on December 22, 2012 at 3:46 PM

Penis envy.

Not that I’m going to say that to their face. (Cause I don’t want mine shot off.)

davidk on December 22, 2012 at 3:49 PM

Yup, that’s it. They’re selling masculinity.

Dusty on December 22, 2012 at 3:46 PM

P3nis envy.

davidk on December 22, 2012 at 3:50 PM

HitNRun on December 22, 2012 at 3:49 PM

Huh?

davidk on December 22, 2012 at 3:52 PM

What is it with leftards and the inability to comprehend tongue-in-cheek humor?
My friends and I tease each other about our “man cards” all the time and it usually has nothing to do with our guns.
But the guy that showed up at a .22 match with his 9 yo daughter’s pink Hello Kitty 1022 is still doing penance…

single stack on December 22, 2012 at 4:00 PM

“Effeminacy, liberalism, and a word processor: A predictable equation?”

Akzed on December 22, 2012 at 4:01 PM

Yes, because what makes a Man feel more Manly then drawing down on target with that fine Lady Smith of his?

Bmore on December 22, 2012 at 4:01 PM

Never having owned a weapon and having no idea how to properly use one … still, this guy is nuts. As Shane would say, a gun is a tool. Like a reciprocating saw, a hammer, or a backhoe. To tie it into masculinity strikes me as just gay. Bring on the Village People.

The author focuses on feeling “potent and strong”. I don’t think it’s a stretch to suggest that is more about his own personal experience, or lack of one, rather than that of gun owners. The “man in the arena” more or less accomplishes things, then dies. His “potency” and “power” relates to what good he did in the world.

Paul-Cincy on December 22, 2012 at 4:05 PM

Paul Waldman
These gun manufacturers are selling masculinity

And Paul Waldman is selling claptrap.

petefrt on December 22, 2012 at 4:33 PM

I stopped at Gander Mountain last night and there were about five women lined up waiting to buy handguns, and another dozen or so waiting for a concealed carry class to start. I think the overwrought histrionics on the part of the gun-grabbers may be backfiring.

Walter Sobchak on December 22, 2012 at 4:34 PM

davidk on December 22, 2012 at 3:53 PM

Oh gawd, tell me it ain’t so.

petefrt on December 22, 2012 at 4:35 PM

My wife doesn’t have that problem.

Me either.

Guns are about protection. And about having fun at the range with my kids, putting holes in pieces of paper with bits of metal at high speeds.

Like a golfer who hits little white balls and then chases them to knock them into little holes.

My “masculinity” is just fine. As is that of the guys I know at the range. Including the gay guys we shoot with, before he decides to go all sexual reference on us.

I’d say it was little Paulie is the one with problems with his masculinity.

ProfShadow on December 22, 2012 at 4:39 PM

Form follows function. Guns look the way they do because it is necessary for their function. Go ahead and design one without a barrel.

BDavis on December 22, 2012 at 4:53 PM

To no one’s surprise, obama spokesperson, über-masculine Sandra FLUKE believes that boys and men are TOO masculine, and that their masculinity causes gun violence, or something …

http://twitchy.com/2012/12/21/sandra-fluke-how-we-raise-boys-is-contributing-factor-to-gun-violence/

Pork-Chop on December 22, 2012 at 5:00 PM

This old lady was pretty manly when she chased FIVE robbers from her store:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CriVUV5lh_M

You know, cars, beer, toiletries and a whole bunch of other things are marketed to men for their masculinity. It’s a no brainer for a marketer.

juliesa on December 22, 2012 at 5:09 PM

Annie Oakley was unavailable for comments.

tommy71 on December 22, 2012 at 5:14 PM

The problem with Waldman’s premise is that the statistics do not back up what he is saying. If you look at places like Texas, the fastest growing demographic of gun ownership is black females who are arming themselves at a greater rate than any other segment of the population.

crosspatch on December 22, 2012 at 5:23 PM

Sometimes people think far too much

Ah, the knucklehead credo of American conservatism.

lostmotherland on December 22, 2012 at 5:25 PM

Is this writer arguing that Nancy Lanza was getting in touch with her masculine side when she bought her AR-15?

meci on December 22, 2012 at 5:38 PM

Gillete is selling masculinity. Damn them.

tommy71 on December 22, 2012 at 5:45 PM

The problem with Waldman’s premise is that the statistics do not back up what he is saying. If you look at places like Texas, the fastest growing demographic of gun ownership is black females who are arming themselves at a greater rate than any other segment of the population.

crosspatch on December 22, 2012 at 5:23 PM

True black women here are getting concealed weapon permits at a pretty brisk clip, but at best, PolitiFact rates the claim of “fastest growing segment” as only half-true. Unfortunately, the Texas Department of Public Safety counts Hispanics (40% of Tejas’ population!) as “white”, so naturally black women applying for CC permits at DPS are only compared to white men, white women, and “other”.

Ladysmith CulchaVulcha on December 22, 2012 at 5:46 PM

What a pant load…So all these women buying weapons are freeing their inner masculinity? Geez…

major dad on December 22, 2012 at 5:46 PM

I don’t own a firearm and I’m still quite secure in my masculinity, but this sounds way too much like “clinging to guns and religion”.

JeffWeimer on December 22, 2012 at 3:28 PM

I do own a firearm…and I ‘ain’t no’ male!

annoyinglittletwerp on December 22, 2012 at 5:52 PM

Ah, the knucklehead credo of American conservatism.

lostmotherland on December 22, 2012 at 5:25 PM

^^^ lonely communist with low self esteem.

darwin on December 22, 2012 at 5:57 PM

If you look at places like Texas, the fastest growing demographic of gun ownership is black females who are arming themselves at a greater rate than any other segment of the population.

crosspatch on December 22, 2012 at 5:23 PM

My bet would be not just black females, but females generally would be the fastest growing demographic, as a percentage.

petefrt on December 22, 2012 at 6:43 PM

As Shane would say, a gun is a tool. Like a reciprocating saw, a hammer, or a backhoe.

Paul-Cincy on December 22, 2012 at 4:05 PM

I will say that this is part of how it “makes” masculinity, though. Men like tools because it enables them to do things. Firearms allow you to do: hunting, defense, breaking things. Saws and hammers help you build things. Guns help you take care of your woman/family/community.

GWB on December 22, 2012 at 9:12 PM