I have not been able to determine if, just like country western performers, the politics and views of gun owners have changed dramatically, taking a giant step left. If various forms of Internet communication are a realistic indication, I would have to assume this is so, but I keep thinking Internet communications is not comprised of the same demographics as the outside world. Relying on Internet messages, in one form or another, to develop a perspective on firearms is sort of like polling people exiting the Democratic National Convention to get a balanced view of how much the public likes and appreciates John Kerry, or that little guy he hangs around with and keeps patting on the ass.
I read a message today in a Usenet newsgroup with a signature that read, “Mr. President, this is not our war, the blood is on your hands” and I couldn’t help but think, a couple of years ago the signature would have been, “Mr. President, where do I sign up to get blood on my hands?” or even “Support our military”, or the moderator would have rejected the post for political comment. Even the general ebb and flow of messages seems odd, as though experienced gun owners and handloaders had been pushed out of the group and replaced with inexperienced aliens, possibly Canadians, people who didn’t actually own firearms but were attempting to pass as gun owners. Everyone seems polite enough, there just wasn’t much substance and a lot of the responses were from people who had no first hand information. Someone would ask, “Are Ruger No. 1 rifles accurate?” and the general response would begin with, “I heard”, “I’ve been told”, “I read”…etc which means generally, there were few valid responses and more perpetuation of myths. The attachment of some message propagators to firearm publication authors was…let’s just say more than I care to know about.
Some message boards are good; interesting, factual, broad in range and depth of technical discussion, many are not. On the good boards, comments seem conservative, most information is based on substantiated experience, questions are well thought out, and there is little pushing and shoving beyond friendly sparing. Some boards are just nasty; personal attacks, incredibly misinformed and potentially dangerous information. Most of these discussions centered around: gun blowing handload data, a lack of understanding of metallurgy or mechanical design and a need for the author to develop a new and exciting theory to make up for the lack of attention they receive, received, from their – mother, father, aunt, uncle, scout master, sibling, girlfriend, wife and, possibly ombudsman. How can you tell the difference? Where there is an image of an author adjacent to a message, and it looks like Daniel Boone, your dentist or a really good looking woman, it’s probably a good board. If the image is a Gnome, Druid, or Wonga – God of the Dark Dead, I’d probably exercise caution.
Gun owners like to talk about guns, most gun owners have a favorite next gun, but I think creating an entire fantasy world and imaginary social structure may not be the best way to spend time. I don’t know how many times I’ve received an email containing questions regarding a wildcat cartridge or firearm modifications, only to receive a follow on email, within a week, indicating the author has since secured the custom firearm that was the topic of discussion, along with dies and related tooling. Crap, I’ve been waiting since 1956 for a set of custom dies to show up and my gunsmith has an unlisted customer support phone number. It’s good to imagine, it’s good to day dream, but only to the point where fiction is as good and more convenient than reality.
Lately, I find more of a personal cry for help in Usenet messages; “Can you tell me what would be a good first gun? Not that I can handle a lot of recoil after the surgery, and not that there is much room for a long gun since that Wynona drove off with the trailer and took little Vern, our pet chinchilla. Did I mention we were going into the coat business?” Then there is somewhat disturbing subservience in Usenet posts by newbies, “Dear masters of all things firearms. Please forgive me for encroaching into your royal domain of gundom. I do not know if this question is worthy of a response, or if it casts a blight on…” And finally, there is the Jimi Hendrix, “Hey Joe” crowd messages, “I don’t know anything about guns, but I need a gun, a really big gun, and I need it quickly. I’ll make it worthwhile if you would purchase one for me. Contact me at surprise@batf.org”.
I see the evolution of Usenet groups and message boards not so much in what is posted as what is not posted. What happened to the great bullet crimp debates, or jacket expansion results on game, or which magnum burned out what barrels with greater speed, and how does one, or even two, achieve proper slide fit for a 1911 and a oneness with the universe? I don’t think I’ve even seen a good argument over suppliers and parts. Yet I go to the range, it is filled with people, new facilities are being created every day, manufacturers release new and improved products with great frequency. So I can only restate my question, how many Internet users actually own guns? The funny part is, while many may have walked away from boards and newsgroup, only to be replaced by the inexperienced, this is probably a time when these experience folks are necessary to help properly educate a new generation of gun owners as they wander out into public communications.
08/03/04
Thanks,
Joe
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