The problem is a small but loud percentage of Americans believe that toddlers getting their brains sprayed against the classroom walls is a small price to pay for their gun fetish.

Pebble, you are a reasonable person from a far more civilized and sane part of the world- so you will assume, naturally, that that statement is just angry inflammatory hyperbole on my part.

I assure you, it is not.

There is no accident that a small percentage have this sick fetish- it has been marketed to them from countless sources, and become so ingrained in them that the worship of 'gun culture' becomes the primary element of their personality... Many Americans would lose most of who they are if they lost their guns- what would they have left? For them owning guns, shooting guns, talking about guns, reading about guns, fantasizing how one day they will use those guns to set everything right... that is their 'personality'. And that is by design. As a result they feel the core of their identity is threatened by any discussion of restricting guns, or discussion of the unnecessary harm they cause. Guns are an essential part of who they are, their identity, even their sexuality.

Sure, the media plays a role in linking guns with masculinity and strength, portraying them as a solution to problems.. but that really has nothing to do with the cause of our sickness- it is more of a symptom. Other countries are exposed to our media and they have no epidemic of school shootings, random mass murders... Same goes for blaming video games, its a feeble bullshit excuse that is offered to avoid talking about the real issue.

Gun manufacturers (and by extension the NRA) glorified guns, and bought politicians to oppose any common sense restrictions on guns... that alone would have led to an unfortunate state of affairs, but sometime around the early 2000's there was a coordinated change in gun messaging... it started veering more and more into manufacturing of threats you needed guns to protect yourself from.

"The liberals are coming to take your guns! Buy what you can now so you can defend yourself when they come to take the guns you have"

"The [insert minority group here] are out to take your stuff, you need to be prepared to defend your family and property'

The messaging shifted to inflaming paranoia, creating fears and then selling guns as the panacea- the only option that could protect you from these manufactured terrors.

Guns were the answer to ANYTHING that created a feeling of fear or insecurity- they became the pacifier for the man-babies of our nation. ANY sane attempt to keep guns out of the hands of anyone is reflexively fought against- babies crying when you threaten to take their pacifier. So now, even something as simple as saying 'perhaps we shouldn't allow mentally disturbed people to own guns' will lead to outrage on the right.

But it didn't stop there- as GOP politicians saw the passion of the gun culture they realized it could be harnessed for votes to help them win elections- and failing a win at the polls, well- having armed supporters might help in overturning the results... so they started subtly (and also overtly) telling their base that guns would be needed to take their country back from the liberals... they came right out and spoke approvingly of using 'second amendment remedies' to stop liberals- EVERYONE understands they were talking about politically motivated murder.

So now, we have a sizable minority of our populace that has grown up believing that guns are the only thing that protects them, and further believes- and fantasizes- that one day they will be called upon to take up arms to defend their country from the evil liberals. They aren't horrified at the thought of armed political violence- they have been whipped up into such a frenzy they are absolutely looking forward to it.

It all started as a way to improve gun-maker profits, then became a useful political tool for the right... and is now a weapon the right will use to seize power and intimidate it's opponents. When I was a kid in Oklahoma, gun ownership was mostly about being able to hunt for food if you needed to... Now it is about being prepared to live out your fantasy of killing those smug liberals.

It won't change, and it will only get more deranged... civilized countries are horrified at what is happening here now- but I assure you, you ain't seen nothing yet.

ER, Podrock- feel free to weigh in if you feel this is hyperbole- to be honest I would love to be convinced I am just being silly.