One of the things that Europeans find so strange about United States of America is…gun culture. Lets face it, we all played at being Cowboys. But many Americans never grew out of it.

In fairness, many of us are jealous. If I was tempted to go and live in USA, I would probably buy a gun. Cos lets face it, I am as inadequate as any American redneck.

It is after all their “constitutional right” to bear arms.

The whole “open carry” thing seems dangerous. Why does anyone want to carry a gun other than to look cool?  Or to kill people? Or just be the kinda person that looks like he/she might want to kill somebody else.

Who in USA actually uses a gun?

Sadly,a lot of gun-owners murder their spouses and accidently shoot their children. Some kill themselves. Some “go postal” or go on a killing spree at a church, school or shopping mall.

But most just fire their weapons at gun ranges. Or …pose. Posing seems to be a very important part of gun culture.

So, as a general rule, gun owners are not killers. They just look like killers (its a constitutional right to look like a killer”. A person might get involved in a road rage incident or in an argument over the last box of Lucky Charms in Walmart. Whether, it is a constitutional right to own and carry a gun, the Law takes a dim view of actually shooting a gun.

Of course, it does take a sinister turn if the person carrying the gun is wearing a Tshirt with the Confederate flag with the words “kill all commies”. That would be a very bad time for me to go up to him and explain that I am actually a democratic socialist and wasn’t the last Confederate flag a white flag.

The chances of gun-toting Mr & Mrs Karen from Hicksville, Georgia actually shooting somebody they dont (politically or personally) like are very slim.

Carrying a gun in USA is actually just a very potent way to look totally impotent. Or a very impotent way to look potent.

Yet the same people who carry guns are not wearing masks to protect themselves and more importantly, innocent bystanders. A right wing fanatic in USA wont go on a shooting rampage. All he/she has to do is go on a sneezing rampage.

The man or woman openly carrying a gun is demonstrating NOT that they would use it. Rather they are demonstrating that they would like to use it. And they are indirectly posing the question “are you my enemy?” to everyone they meet.

The people refusing to wear masks are really displaying the same contempt and lack of empathy.

The great difference is that the gun-toting posers will kill fewer people than the people refusing to wear a mask during a pandemic.