I grew up with guns.
When I was a kid, dad bought me a semi-automatic .22 rifle, and took me to Glen Rose, Texas, to camp and shoot stuff. I loved it. Next came a 20 guage shotgun, then a pump action 12 guage.
I had a gun rack in my room.
It was all part of an adolescent childhood, and a friendship with Dad, that I fondly remember.
Most of my friends had guns as well. I remember pickup trucks with gun racks/rifles hanging from the rear window.
There weren’t many laws restricting guns back then.
As someone who leans liberal, and someone who’s been on the wrong end of a gun a couple of times, you’d think I’d be all about gun cuntrol. After all it’s just a mindless, liberal, anti-freedom agenda, right?
I don’t want more gun control.
And I certainly don’t want to see guns go away. I know few liberals who do, although the left is often accused of such an agenda. That’s what happens when we don’t listen to each other, right?
But we have a problem that goes deeper than guns, one that few pundits are talking about.
Over the last 10 years, acts of domestic terrorism/mass shootings have been on the rise. The majority of these are perpetrated by white, american-born men, who’ve purchased their weapon legally.
Seeing a growing need for awareness, the University of Kansas recently offered the “Angry White Male” studies course, seeking to explore this growing phenomenon, but I’ll bet they remove it from the course list – it’s making too many white males angry.
Critics of the course are asking, understandably, “What about angry female syndrome?” or, “Angry black male syndrome?” There’s trouble there too, but voilence in these demographics isn’t on the rise.
Again, the recent surge in mass shootings is perpetrated by white males whose anger seems to be growing.
I’m still doing my homework here, but I’ll take a few stabs at what my comrade angry males are angry about.
“America Is Going to Hell in a Hand Basket.”
Pundits, politicians, and big time media outlets are having a hey-day with the idea that our country is on the brink, and only a certain brand of political ideology can save it. The other party? They’re hell-bent on driving our country into the ground.
Immigration is a good example of hot-bed, “they don’t care about America” politics. Some want our borders to be more open and accommodating, while others claim that more immigrants = more terrorism. How could someone who cares about America not want stricter immigration laws? Don’t they know that these foreigners are terrorists?
So the story is spun that anyone who doesn’t jive with the current administration’s immigration philosophies must be, on some level, anti-America.
It’s easy to see why some in our country might come to believe that brute force, or sending some kind of lethal message, is a good idea.
I do agree however that increased immigration results in increased terrorism. In Western Europe, a recent study claims that’s exactly what happens when immigrants flood the scene; a study that certainly applies to us.
“Many people think that more immigration into Western countries leads to more terrorism, because immigrants from non-Western cultures are more likely to be terrorists. My research finds a very different kind of relationship. Immigrants aren’t committing terrorism in Western Europe. Rather, native citizens appear to be committing terrorism because of their hostility to immigrants.”
As immigration increases, or in our case, as the threat of immigration increases, so will acts of domestic terrorism.
Whatever the issue, media outlets and political folk have found a way to use our growing anger to make a few dollars, and further their agenda. Pay no attention to that guy behind the curtain pouring fuel on the fire.
The Growing Freedom, Equality, and Equity of Non-White, Non-Males
White males occupy the top tiers of the food chain. We’re the first to be hired in an economic upswing, and the last to be fired when the economy goes south. With few exceptions, we earn more than any other demographic, and are unemployed less.
But the issue of racial/gender inequality is being talked about more, and a few policies have been put into place to move us towards something better.
As our country continues its slow crawl out this, and as discussions regarding these agendas get louder and louder, it’s understandable that those with the most privilege and freedom might get nervous.
There’s no way that America can put everyone on the same level without the top rung folk coming down a few rungs. But if your favorite media outlet addresses these issues as some mindless, evil, political agenda of the anti-America party, I can understand how folk could get angry, and begin to nurse a growing sense that our country/their privilege needs to be defended.
Unresolved Trauma
Show me someone who’s angry, and I’ll show you someone who’s been hurt by someone(s) else. Show me someone who’s so angry that they’re ready to violence on a group of strangers, and I’ll show you someone who’s really hurting.
I don’t mean to justify mass shootings, or incite us to feel sorry for their authors, but I have compassion for these men. I can’t imagine what they’re going through, or worse, what they’ve been through.
But what they believe is behind their anger, probably isn’t what’s behind their anger.
Trauma is a strange animal – always someone perpetrating an act of voilence, neglect, shame, etc. over someone who’s powerless to stop them. It leaves the victim with deep psychological pain that few will manage to crawl out of.
And it leaves the soul with a deep need for retaliation.
War.
I can’t tell you how many married folks I’ve counseled who’s tension is tied to something painful in the past, who are ready to burn everything to the ground because they haven’t yet resolved things that were deeply seeded long ago.
Likewise, men with guns, attempting to mow down large numbers of strangers in public, aren’t ultimately angry about politics, etc. These are stories about retaliation, almost completely unrelated to whatever issue the gunman might claim allegiance to.
Add this to the current media situation, the rising sense of anger and frustration in America, the growing divide between people of different political persuasions, and nobody should be surprised when things get crazy.
The problem isn’t guns.
However, as more people with guns abuse their right to own guns, you can bet that more gun control is coming, like God’s justice, whether we like it or not.
We are a nation of laws, and that’s how laws work. When people express their freedom in ways that take freedom from others, the government will step in and do something about it.
Often I hear, “It’s a slippery slope. Tighter gun laws come first, then more control, until ultimately the government takes away our guns.”
That’s not what happened with speed limits, or the drinking age, or the majority of other freedoms that we enjoy – freedoms that come part and parcel with some level of legal restriction.
Sure, not all of our laws are just, some are the result of people in power who care little for the folks under them. And it seems that our love of freedom can easily turn into a sense of entitlement.
But a love of freedom is core to both sides of the political fence, which is the number two reason why we should listen to each other: the number one reason being we’ll tear ourselves apart if we don’t.
Either way, tighter gun laws are coming. Don’t be surprised or incensed when they do.
Likewise, don’t be surprised when the government doesn’t try to take away everyone’s guns.
At the same time, we should confess and address our country’s white male anger problem. It’s real, and it’s not getting better. We can only expect it to get worse as the freedoms of non-white-non-males become a bigger issue in our country, as media outlets on both sides continue to wring $$$ from fear and anger, and as our political divide continues to widen.
The problem with saying that white males are the top tier is that while on average, they are, white males fall along a huge bell curve. While those on the top tail of the curve rule the world, the “angry white males” are not top tier and feel like they have never been. That’s what them angry. They are told they have all the privileges, so they ask why am I not seeing them? I must need to fight for them like everyone else is fighting for theirs. I say this not to justify, but to caution against the risks inherent in the way statistics are used to try to explain what is a very complicated issue.
Right, but take two guys on the same point anywhere along that bell curve and you’ll find that, with few exceptions, the white guy’s always on top.
And if he is scraping to get by and you tell him to give up what he has because someone else has less, he’s going to get angry. Focusing on the idea that all white males have privileges doesn’t help to move us towards a better place. We would do better to remind one another that we can all improve our lives if we pull together with those who will join us and focus on the goals instead of the obstacles. If we sit around waiting for “whitey” to make our lives better, we will get nowhere.
I appreciate your candor here – some of my thoughts:
I agree that the goals must be talked about as well. I’m not suggesting that we focus solely on the obstacles, but not talking about them at all, or acting like things like “white privilege” are a mindless liberal agenda doesn’t move us forward either.
Also, there’s racism here. It’s never played “nice.” If we try to “pull together those who will join us,” we’ll find ourselves lacking people power. The racial inequities of our contry are born from a spirit that was weaved into our fabric long ago. If we even try to gently poke at it, like we’re doing now, people will lose their minds, like they’re doing now.
No white person has lost their power, but white people are beginning to talk like they’ll soon be at the bottom of the pile, and all we’re doing is talking, occasionally, about it. It’s scary to think about what will happen if significant, actionable steps are taken.
One of the reasons I entered into the conversation here is that I have read your blog for a while and you have demonstrated that you aren’t following a “mindless liberal agenda.” I had the impression that my input would be considered thoughtfully and we could stay away from ad hominem arguments. So thanks for confirming my impression.
I have no argument that we have long-term racism in our culture. A few anecdotes from my history: I have a friend who was pulled over for DWB (driving while black) and ended up losing his license for a year because his car insurance had lapsed. It made his life more difficult.
I have a shirt-tail relation with whom I had a long Facebook exchange and she asserted that the fact that her retiree friends had to move to Belize to make ends meet was somehow related to illegal immigration. I gave up trying to explain.
What I was trying to address in my post is the question of how to have a conversation about race and racism. I certainly don’t have all the answers, but if we assert that white people have all the power and won’t relinquish it, that doesn’t fit with the reality of the situation. Over the last 50 years, white people have relinquished some of their power through the overturning of Jim Crow laws, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (and its descendants), the elimination of bans on interracial marriage, the desegregation of schools, Equal Opportunity and anti-discrimination laws, affirmative action, etc. It is important to recognize progress made and encourage those who are the recipients of today’s racism with the reminder that their forefathers and mothers paid a great price to get us this far. There are also positions of significant power in our country that are held by people without white faces. The CEO of Microsoft, the current and previous CEOs of PepsiCo, and the previous president to name a few. Without remembrance of progress, hope is hard to retain and without hope, you are left only with despair and/or anger.
Returning to my previous post, I was trying to address the statements about “whites.” I don’t believe that it is helpful to make generalizations about whites, blacks, yellows, reds, or whatever color you are called. It seems to me that it encourages the racist mindset instead of reducing it.
So what can we do? During the civil rights movement of the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s, they told one another to “keep your eyes on the prize”. So what is the prize of today? To change a bunch of irrational thinking with rational arguments or heated protests? That doesn’t seem to be working. How about the following instead:
One issue where activists seem to be making some headway is in the area of policing. Cities are starting to improve how their police departments treat minority populations. There is plenty of progress required, but we can learn from those cities are making headway.
What else should be the prize? What would change the lives of the most people? I recommend looking for things that are working. Why are Asian Americans over-represented in college admissions? How have the native Americans improved their lot over the last 30 years? How have women gone from requiring their husband’s permission to open a credit card account in the 1970’s to running corporations and running for president today?
It seems to be part of human nature to blame others for one’s misfortunes. Unfortunately, that is usually counter-productive, even if there are good reasons to blame someone. What can we encourage people to do that empowers them, regardless of what racists and racist institutions do to them?
All good thoughts. I appreciate you taking the time to thoughtfully articulate your position. It helps me a ton to hear where you’re coming from. I need to read this a couple more times to make sure my understanding is solid, then I’ll post some thoughts.
One thing that comes up for me with the issues/suggestions above is something I’ve been wanting to post about for awhile now – so I did, staying up later than I should on a Sunday night 🙂
Check it out if you get the time. We can move this conversation to the newer post if you want, or keep it here.
Either way, I appreciate folks like you who are willing to talk this stuff out.
For the most part, I agree with you. I don’t think you went far enough with addressing anger. Mass shootings seem to be the method of release that angry white men choose and it is sensational and horrifying. I agree that most occur because the individual is responding to a deep hurt. But acting violently out of anger is rampant regardless of race or gender it simply doesn’t make the headlines in the same way.
I agree. Males especially tend towards violence when angry. This particular cross section of male angriness is in a class by itself. And, most importantly, it seems to be on the uptick – that’s the part that bothers me most.
Hi Mr. Landry. White men are losing status. Ask an anthropologist how angry they get when they are not naturally at the top of the heap. They could include other men, but they believe they are inherently “better” than all others, disregarding IQ testing and the Olympics. Women are beginning to breed with other races. That makes them angry, belligerent, fearful. Besides, change of the status quo where they can pick and choose their property and breeding stock is trampling their expectations. I feel kinda sorry for angry white men.
I see the point you’re making when you say that the problem isn’t guns, that the underlying anger and trauma are the drivers of the tragic killing sprees. In countries with very few guns, angry white men will use knives or other tools to do damage. If not “the” problem, I’d say that guns are still “a” problem, because of they way the multiply and amplify the problem.
If a person has issues with dizziness, that’s a small problem, until they insist on standing by the edge of a steep cliff for long periods of time. Yes, you want to address the dizziness issue, but until that’s resolved, it’s important to separate the dizzy person from the cliff, even though the cliff isn’t the problem.
Anger and trauma may be the problems driving gun crimes, but separating the angry and traumatized people from the guns until their issues are resolved is an effective way of preventing those weapons from becoming a giant pain megaphone for all involved.
I totally agree with you about guns – tried to make it clear that, until we take care of the people side of the problem, we’ll need more gun control