I cannot help but have a martyr moment right now.
If I had initiated a thread that resulted in some of these exchanges, the moderator would have locked it long ago – Merry Christmas from THR.
Since he has not locked it I’ll jump in.
.38 Special and GH,
I think you both agree that television is often guilty of, shall we say, a misrepresentation of the facts. Your disagreement is the nature of those who are watching the misrepresentations. I am under the impression that .38 is arguing that those who are watching are smart enough to know that television is not a good source of truth (I intentionally avoided the word “stupid” because GH did not use it). GH is saying that those who are watching television - yes even the smart ones - are being influenced by what they see. They are being affected by the fictional truths of television. .38’s repeated response to this is essentially, those who think like GH are treating everyone as though they are stupid. Here is the settling question. Do we have evidence that television is affecting the worldviews of “smart people?” My experinces have made me suspicious.
1) CSI definitely changed the jury selection process.
2) The kids in my neighborhood started holding their guns horizontally because they saw movie gangsters doing it.
3) I had a professor ask why it is necessary to wear ear protection at the shooting range. She asked because she saw the cops from Law and Order have a casual conversation at the shooting range and they were not wearing ear protection.
4) I recently heard a young lady shriek in fear when a box of ammo was dropped to the floor at the gun shop. She expected it to explode because “it happened when Calleigh Duquesne dropped a bullet.” Coincidentally, her embarrassed husband responded by saying, “You are too smart to believe what you see on television.”
5) I will tell you that it was a common belief at my high school (many moons ago) that Glocks are invisible to metal detectors because they are made of plastic.
6) Your semi-auto tactical rifle is considered a weapon of mass destruction because television has portrayed it as such.
Whether you agree with him or not, it seems to me that GH
may be on to something. I believe that we can all agree that smart people can be ignorant (read "uninformed") and, therefore, easily misinformed. And television/movies are often a means of the misinformation.
BTW - With all due respect .38 Special, your repeated use of the word "stupid" is a Red Herring. GH is referring to the misinformation of television, not the IQ’s of the television watchers. I appreciate your point when you say that people are smart enough to avoid this, but you distract us from your point by imposing the word stupid on GH in spite of his attempts to reject it.
When it is all said and done, we have to admit that television and its philosophers (aka actors) are negatively affecting the firearms understanding in our country. But then again, so is the internet. HMMM, what you gone do about that GH?
Now that I have spoken, I am certain that the thread will be locked.
Seriously guys, lighten up, it's just a thread.
Heavy
