Morgan Spurlock's 30 Days - "Gun Nation"

[Arkansas Paul]

seanie, that's good stuff. It takes all kinds brother. You may look and dress different than most people here, and that's okay. That's what this country is founded on, the freedom to be whoever and whatever you want to be. It makes me glad to hear that totally different people can come together with common ground and stand up for our rights as law abiding citizens. Rock on!

 

[Kingofthehill]

No offense to this guy. But they just HAD to get a guy who's got tattoo's, Buzzed hair, in a manufactured home.

The gun store she worked at looked nice... the idiot who thought "HEY, lets make her first gun a 12 guaged shotgun" is an idiot!.... Way to go idiot.

And i love the end where she has a grin ear to ear about her shooting skill's and the guy says "see, your enjoying it and your good at it"... and her resonse "OH, Im not enjoying it"... thats funny, your smile says otherwise.

And this stupid chick thinks college equal's not using guns... If he could ONLY go to college he would be saved.

Good god...although it was semi nice to gun owners, they could have chosen a more professional guy and or someone that has FACTS.

the Other women giving crap about us gun owners need to GIVE a little... Umm.... we have over 20,000 THOUSAND gun laws on the books!... Enforce them damnit! We have given enough, we have caved in to SO MUCH it's not right that they think we need to give MORE.

my blood pressure was through the roof watching this

JOe

 

[ArmedBear]

Morgan Spurlock ate nothing but McDonald's for a year, gained a bunch of weight and threatened his health much more seriously than one would imagine, to make a movie.

Will he let himself be shot, too?

 

[DinosaurJones]

WOW guys, i should have been paying closer attention to this thread.

Sorry if i offended anyone, i should have chosen my words more carefully.

I completely 100% support people to buy as many guns as they choose, and if money weren't a concern to me i would have my own "small arsenal".

I only meant that the average gun owner, (maybe not the average on THR ) has one or two guns, and doesn't talk about them much. I'd venture to say that if you are a member of this forum you are a "gun enthusiast" not just a casual or "normal" gun owner. I wasn't trying to imply that anyone with a gun collection is some sort of lunatic.

Unfortunately some of you took it as me judging someone for owning multiple guns or whatever... I only meant that when gun owners are portrayed in the media it is always a "gun enthusiast" that gets shown, not the "casual owner" who represents the majority of the gun owning population. This, in my belief, leads anti's to believe that anyone who owns a gun is a so called "gun nut", because that is the only type of person they ever are exposed to.

I'm dissapointed that some folks on here jumped on me so quickly... Seems like i was "branded" as some sort of anti for saying the words "normal" & "ridiculous"

MachIVshooter: I'll try to answer this thinking like one of "them"

is this directed at me?

please read my post again.

to me... ridiculous = very, extremely. not literally ridiculous, as in, deserving of ridicule. so perhaps that is a poor choice of words... but why just assume that i would think any of the things you put in there.

also... why would you pick 1 word out of an entire paragraph to be offended about? Doesn't the context clue you in on what my beliefs are?

 

[Baphomet]

Morgan Spurlock ate nothing but McDonald's for a year, gained a bunch of weight and threatened his health much more seriously than one would imagine, to make a movie.

Minor correction: He ate nothing but McDonalds for 30-days, not 365.

 

[The Tennessean]

What a completely irrational person. I watched this last night.

First off, the woman hates guns because a "friend" of hers (her therapist) was "sprayed with bullets" (her words). Instead if putting the blame on the cold blooded killer who murdered her therapist she dwells on the gun, because she doesn't poses deductive reasoning skills, apparently. Later, when the gentlemen she is staying with says he has guns for protection she arrogantly asks, "From who!?" Try using your BRAIN lady, maybe from psycho people who might want to "spray you with bullets" like what happened to your therapist. Hello?

 

[ArmedBear]

But they just HAD to get a guy who's got tattoo's, Buzzed hair, in a manufactured home.

You mean a trailer, right?

There are some places that will put up a type manufactured home in the mountains around Sun Valley -- let's just say it doesn't resemble a trailer.

 

[Mikhail Weiss]

gossamar:
Did you actually watch it?

No. I didn't watch it. Thus I did the Internet appropriate thing: I condemned without seeing, based upon little information. Thanks for the description of what was afoot in the program.

But if she's the one others have mentioned not merely shooting a gun for the first time, but a 12-gauge shotgun, it still sounds exploitative. That's not at all a gentle introduction to the civil art of gun handling, but an abusive one, especially concerning her background, which you've kindly, and in some detail, pointed out.

Is it good TV to find someone whose loved one has been murdered by a thug with a gun, and to have them shoot not just any gun, but a 12-gauge shotgun, especially once her anti-gun attitudes have been forged by terrible pain? Sure. But is that really humane? No.

 

[gossamer]

Is it good TV to find someone whose loved one has been murdered by a thug with a gun, and to have them shoot not just any gun, but a 12-gauge shotgun, especially once her anti-gun attitudes have been forged by terrible pain? Sure. But is that really humane? No.

I respectfully suggest watching the show. Because the shows producers - as evidenced by the show itself - were not involved in this decision on the 12 gauge.

The show and it's producers were not the people who decided what gun she was introduced to shooting with. The decision to use a shotgun was the decision of the "pro-gun" folks she was learning from. The show's producers documented the situation, they did not participate in it. (interesting that it was the "pro-gun guys" who are responsible for the decisions we are calling "inhumane.")

Instead the producers did what good documentarians are supposed to do; (michael moore take note) removed themselves from the story and filmed what they saw transpire in front of them.

Had a producer said "maybe a 22 would be better" then it would have no longer been a documentary, it would have been fictionalized because they would not have shown the real decisions made by all parties participating in the event and the outcome. Instead it would have been a producer-tainted tale.

The Tennessean: she dwells on the gun, because she doesn't poses deductive reasoning skills, apparently. Later, when the gentlemen she is staying with says he has guns for protection she arrogantly asks, "From who!?" Try using your BRAIN lady, maybe from psycho people who might want to "spray you with bullets" like what happened to your therapist.

Is it unfounded that a person would have generalized fear when someone they know has been murdered?

And isn't a lot of fear irrational?

I think, within the context of a "high road" discussion, rather than calling someone "stupid" (as some have), arrogant, dumb, or irrational there is a better path (a higher road?).

The producers of this documentary made greater steps to promote a positive view of guns than one could possibly hope to attain by calling people names and ridiculing them for irrational fears after a murder.

Wouldn't it be better to realize that after the murder of a friend or loved one people are apt to act irrationally based out of fear? I think that in the case of guns it is our job as high-road RKBA supporters not to rebuke fellow humans for these very human qualities. I prefer to think that our cause is better served by allowing people to be human, even fearful, and instead educate them with the same temperance and tolerance we expect them to show us pertaining to our rights to own and carry firearms?

 

[DammitBoy]

I'm dissapointed that some folks on here jumped on me so quickly... Seems like i was "branded" as some sort of anti for saying the words "normal" & "ridiculous"

No, you were taken to account for using words you don't seem to understand the meaning of and the context you used them in.

 

[DinosaurJones]

Originally Posted by DammitBoy
No, you were taken to account for using words you don't seem to understand the meaning of and the context you used them in.

taken OUT OF context really, sir.

that's all I will say on the subject, as anything further would just be fanning flames.

 

[sprice]

I liked it.

 

[Kalashnikovkid]

Gossamer,
Your post is great-those of you who look at her without compassion and comment on her as "irrational" because a friend died by gunfire, try and be empathetic.
I hate to be the one to state the obvious, but we are the one's society labels as deviant when we refuse to offer sympathy to those who suffer from the objects we all love, not her.And frankly, we give them ammo(pun intended) to keep categorizing us as evil gun nuts when we are pig headed and don't look at issues such as this from any other angle than progun.What about "pro-people"? How many of you have lost a loved one to a tragic accident and looked for justification outside the perpetrator/deceased as to how this happened? Would it be intolerant of someone to categorize you as irrational?However, is it logical? No, but understand where they are coming from.
If anything, I'm surprised and jubilated that she was able to go into this willingly and remove herself from her comfort zone. Because she chose to live outside her box for a month, we may have a potential ally on the other side. I mean, at the end of the show she's shooting guns with a great big smile on her face and having a great time with other like-minded, good people, right? That scene alone brings warmth to my heart in this ongoing debate. As far as "this stupid chick" equating college to not using guns-when did she ever say that? She took fifteen year old kid who wasn't sure about getting a degree on a college visit that could potentially set the ball rolling for him to get a higher education and enrich his life. When did that become a bad thing? It sounds as if someone has a personal vendetta against college.

 

[IllHunter]

My issues....

The female in this episode chrystallized my image of "anti-gun, liberal trauma victims". Although she had other "issues" (seeing a therapist) when the therapist was murdered, her issues changed or morphed into "guns are evil".

The male lead was almost a charaicature of a "gun nut". I saw him as the typical gun guy. Ex-military, gun savvy but ignorant of the deeper thinking that is exhibited here on THR. He didn't have the savvy to give her a .22, she didn't have the knowledge or respect for the gun owners at the end of her exercise that 30 days of reading here might have given her. I do laud both for allowing the cameras to invade their space. This couldn"t have been easy especially for him, she didn't seem to mind exhibiting herself to the camera!
Hopefully both learned something new and grew from their journey. As for me....
.

I've known grown men who were a little disconcerted the first time they shot a 12 gauge.
__________________

Who told you?

 

[scythefwd]

Your post is great-those of you who look at her without compassion and comment on her as "irrational" because a friend died by gunfire, try and be empathetic.

I say her fear was irrational. And so you can gauge my empathy, I had 2 friends killed before I graduated by guns. It is irrational to blame the tool used instead of the craftsman.

 

[Kingofthehill]

I had 3 GOOD friends die on motorcycles within 2 months. It was some of the toughest times i have ever gone through.

I do not blame Motorcycles. I am not protesting the halt of sales of motorcycles.

 

[TexasBill]

Kingofthe hill: Let's try changing your statement a bit: "I had 3 GOOD friends killed by people on motorcycles within 2 months." Not to make light of your loss, but I would imagine your friends were voluntarily on the motorcycles and died accidentally. I am not saying that even if the modified statement were true, that you would be for outlawing motorcycles, but it might make you hesitant to ride one for the first time. You might be afraid and it might not be pleasant.

Many who have posted scoff at Pia, saying her fear is irrational. So what? That doesn't make it any less real. I think it's based not only on what happened to her friend but that the same thing might happen to her. And the only way she sees out of that fear is getting rid of guns. Gun ownership is not a big part of the culture of aerobics instructors in Boston, Massachusetts, another thing we tend to overlook.

We also have criticized the show's producers for selecting Ken, but it's actually pretty brilliant; with the exception of the Confederate flag and the moonshine, Ken is the epitome of Pia's preconceptions of a gun nut. The fact he is rational, well-spoken and has his facts down pretty well is a neat twist on those preconceptions.

The more I have thought about this show, the more impressed I have become. It's not perfect, put its one of the most fair media presentations I have seen.

 

[Kingofthehill]

Im sorry, but i just don't see it that way. I did not see him stepping up with facts that disproved her stats that she was throwing around. I did not see him try and be helpful by maybe putting a .22 rifle in her hands FIRST to shoot that and then ramp up from there... they put a freaking 12 gauge shotgun in her arms, held improperly and told to have at it. No crap it scared her!... it scares some full grown men. People hear 12 guage or shotgun they think POWER.

The ONLY good thing they did with her was the gun shop they had her work at. It looked like a nice and respected gun shop.

it could have been done a lot better... weather it was the magic of editing or just really siding with her fear/cause, it could have been much better i think.

JOe