AStone
Member
At a Thanksgiving gathering today, I was accused -- by a person who knows of my interest, ownership, and study of guns -- of having a "bang fetish". Her words.
What stimulated that accusation? I picked up a BB gun in her garage to look at it, which is their only gun, used to drive off squirrels from the garden. I'd not call her 'anti' gun, but uncomfortable with them and little interest in learning more. (I asked, if your partner and I go to the range, would you like to go? Response: "I'll have to decide; I've got a lot of things I want to do; not sure that's one.")
When she used the phrase "bang fetish", because she's a friend, I laughed and brushed it off. It originally struck me as humorous. But later, at dinner, she proceeded to lay down the law to me about hunting with her partner, how she disproved, and claimed that I should not hunt hogs because I'm older (65), and our reaction times get slower (by msec) as we get older. Her irrational fear seems to be grounded in a paranoia that I -- or more importantly, her partner -- will get ripped by a boar because we're stupid enough to follow them into tall grass or deep water in a swamp.
By that point, I was getting fairly annoyed, and displayed that with my response, which drew tears to her eyes. (Summary of several minutes: experience hunting since I was a kid; knowledge of the game; refuses to hunt with idiot bravosi; her total lack of knowledge about hunting; and her total inexperience -- she's never even shot a gun, let alone hunted; etc.)
We poured more wine, and moved on with the conversation to a different topic.
On further reflection, given that we are friends and live in close association, and have both personal and professional association, and that her partner IS interested in taking up shooting with me (he's not totally inexperienced, but he's only shot once, decades ago), I'm going to need to clarify my position on this topic, and make it clear that the characterization of my interest in firearms as "bang fetish" is not acceptable.
Thoughts? Would you accept a description of your interest in guns as a "bang fetish", especially when offered as a chide by a quasi-anti? If so, why? If not, how would you respond?
An Internet definition.
What stimulated that accusation? I picked up a BB gun in her garage to look at it, which is their only gun, used to drive off squirrels from the garden. I'd not call her 'anti' gun, but uncomfortable with them and little interest in learning more. (I asked, if your partner and I go to the range, would you like to go? Response: "I'll have to decide; I've got a lot of things I want to do; not sure that's one.")
When she used the phrase "bang fetish", because she's a friend, I laughed and brushed it off. It originally struck me as humorous. But later, at dinner, she proceeded to lay down the law to me about hunting with her partner, how she disproved, and claimed that I should not hunt hogs because I'm older (65), and our reaction times get slower (by msec) as we get older. Her irrational fear seems to be grounded in a paranoia that I -- or more importantly, her partner -- will get ripped by a boar because we're stupid enough to follow them into tall grass or deep water in a swamp.
By that point, I was getting fairly annoyed, and displayed that with my response, which drew tears to her eyes. (Summary of several minutes: experience hunting since I was a kid; knowledge of the game; refuses to hunt with idiot bravosi; her total lack of knowledge about hunting; and her total inexperience -- she's never even shot a gun, let alone hunted; etc.)
We poured more wine, and moved on with the conversation to a different topic.
On further reflection, given that we are friends and live in close association, and have both personal and professional association, and that her partner IS interested in taking up shooting with me (he's not totally inexperienced, but he's only shot once, decades ago), I'm going to need to clarify my position on this topic, and make it clear that the characterization of my interest in firearms as "bang fetish" is not acceptable.
Thoughts? Would you accept a description of your interest in guns as a "bang fetish", especially when offered as a chide by a quasi-anti? If so, why? If not, how would you respond?
An Internet definition.
fet·ish ˈfediSH/ noun
an inanimate object worshiped for its supposed magical powers or because it is considered to be inhabited by a spirit. -- Synonyms: juju, talisman, charm, amulet
a course of action to which one has an excessive and irrational commitment
-- "He had a fetish for writing more opinions each year than any other justice."
a form of sexual desire in which gratification is linked to an abnormal degree to a particular object, item of clothing, part of the body, etc -- "Victorian men developed fetishes focusing on feet, shoes, and boots."
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