A How-To Guide On Dealing With A ‘Gunsplainer’

[SuperDutyTX]

38. Really good post!

It's interesting; I grew up where the democrats (for the most part) had a reputation of really trying to understand an issue, and rendering an informed decision. In general, I still believe that to be true, but on the topic of firearms a subset tend to to adopt some kind of self–righteous ignorance, and immediately shout down any attempt by friendly folks to help them understand the issue (even if not attempting to sway their decision either way).

It's truly bizarre; it's one of the few issues where the mindset of a few on the left, strongly imitates that of the right (on issues like abortion, gay marriage, etc). I saw a post the other day that said something to the effect of "Several DUers are sounding identical to old white GOP guys talking about abortion, espousing how a woman can 'shut that down' naturally if required'". It's a striking similarity to some of the ignorance I've seen from people, even though I'm probably very closely aligned with.

I've seen it these past few days; people understandably have very strong emotions following a mass shooting, and are calling for the banning of AR15s and "Weapons of War". People knowledgeable about firearms on this forum have tried to explain that while they say they want to ban the AR15 and "Weapons of War", they more than likely really mean want to ban all semi-auto's; even that slight tip/correction is met with insults and claims that someone is just espousing NRA talking points, and all the while the gun knowledgeable person was just trying to help them, and is actually advocating for something significantly more "comprehensive" than just AR15s.

On the flip side, I have seen pro-gun people absolutely try to use less important technical terms to discredit folks. Clip vs. Magazine etc. I suspect it's hard for anyone unfamiliar with firearms to tell when it's a legitimate/helpful correction, or when someone is just trying avoid having a meaningful conversation.

Either way, this whole issue really is a mess, I would advocate for anyone that's passionate about an issue to take the time to learn as much as they can; gaining knowledge about something is rarely a bad thing.

Queue the posts saying I have blood on my hands, I'm a gunsplainer, and I'm on somebody's ignore list LOL.