Lady With A Gun

I was at the post office the other day, a couple of people behind an older woman who evidently wanted to pick up her mail. The man at the counter politely told her how she had to do it now and gave her a card that would help her get it done by phone. She took the card and turned to leave, but before she got far , she stopped in front of me and complained to the effect that she traveled a lot and it used to be easy to pick up her mail, but now it was very difficult but and different now—and maybe it was because of the illegals. She waited for my input on the matter.

Now, I don’t quite understand how she connected the illegals to this process, but it was clear she felt that ‘her country’ was no longer the same, and that everything was worse now, because of something—she wasn’t exactly sure what—but illegals seemed to definitely be a part of it somewhere.

I was left standing there, trying to be agreeable and indulgent—rather as everyone does when faced with older peoples’ misconceptions and fears about modern life. I tried to say something vague and sympathetic. At which point, she informed me forthrightly that she was considering getting a gun.

Now, I’m not sure how the gun helps with the mail delivery and the illegals in America either, but it seemed that she thought this would help her significantly in her daily living in these unsettling times. And I thought: How many other older or otherwise slightly dispossessed people of this society are considering buying a gun as the solution to their confusion, fear, and general alienation?

I don’t know why she felt that way. I suspect it has something to do with right wing talk radio whipping fears about everything that Republicans no longer have control over, and didn’t do a good job controlling when they DID have control. Maybe someone out there can add a bit of clarity to the situation. It seemed more likely that this little old woman would fire on the UPS man trying to deliver a package than anything else—especially if he were the wrong color or otherwise threatened her in some irrational manner that day. But she had her right to own a gun, and by God, she was going to use it.

She looked at me squarely in the eye as she told me this about buying the gun, as if I could automatically be counted on to back her up and encourage her to do so. I did not, however. In fact, I told her I thought it probably wasn’t a good idea. “Why not?” she demanded. So I told her: “Because more guns floating around only make it more dangerous for good people.” She did not take this well. And I added with a shiver, “I don’t like guns—I don’t want any in my house.” The gentleman behind me in line, a young man in his thirties piped up at that very moment. “I don’t like them either. They scare me. My dad used to teach me to handle them, but I don’t want any around.”

The little old woman seemed nonplussed by this lack of support. It was my turn to step up to the counter, and I missed her departure. But I don’t think she got the satisfaction she hoped for. Maybe, however, the young man and I were able to dissuade her from reaching for gun ownership as an automatic solution to every problem, the standard balm for every emotional wound.

I don’t know, it was just a very scary encounter. It just did not bode well for our society that she should feel this way. Old or not.

The Republican Legacy of Dismissal

Republicans are still at it—still pushing their same old ideology of ‘them that has, gets.’ Now, it's regarding healthcare, and it’s going on continually among people—with talk radio starting the ball rolling to give people the language with to start dismissing people—as individuals and in groups—so that they can rightfully be eliminated from the political public discourse.

I recently heard it in regard to fat people. You may hear it pretty often yourself, more so, now that we are discussing healthcare and what should be done. From ‘fat people should be taxed’ to ‘fat people are causing all the healthcare dollars being spent.’ As if when we eliminate fat people from the healthcare equation everything magically falls into place.

This is ruse of the worst kind. It plays on peoples’ already entrenched visual dislike of those with extra body fat, who are easily recognized and can be readily pointed out as ‘not like us.’ It calls to mind what was once done—is still being done—with blacks. And that similarity to a past social error alone rubs me the wrong way, to the point where I refuse to participate in the group dynamic of ‘let’s get fatty.’ Which also plays out as ‘we’re better than fatty,’ and ‘you’re either with us or against us.’ Which technique was used to everyone’s detriment during the Bush years, when anyone who disagreed with a stated policy was met with taunts of being unpatriotic and un-American.

See what a handy dynamic it is? Useful in almost ANY circumstance.

Okay, before I get too psychological here—which I am prone to do—let’s just say I expect better of the human species. Historically, we always get into some strange and ugly territory when we lean into the ‘us versus them’ mentality. It never serves us well, and almost always sets us backward on the evolutionary track. Better we should get used to the idea that we are all in this together. That even those who hold us back during the trek on this planet are valuable assets and may even teach us something.

But you won’t find this in Republican ideological circles. It will always be ‘us against them’ there. That political party thrives on division. It also thrives on delusion. That much, we have already realized.