Not only do we have Second Amendment rights because
God gives them to us, but also the Gospel.
God gives them to us, but also the Gospel.
— Marty Daniel
Among the scores of abhorrent characters created by novelist William Faulkner, the small-town vigilante Percy Grimm was one of the most abhorrent.
Whenever justice needed a hand, Percy Grimm donned his National Guard uniform, holstered his automatic, and assembled a posse—mostly poker players from the American Legion hall.
In Light in August, while leading such a posse, Percy chases down the escaped mulatto convict Joe Christmas, shoots him, and castrates him, shouting, "Now you’ll let white women alone, even in hell.”
Faulkner created Percy Grimm in 1932.
Years later, the novelist would describe him as a "Fascist galahad," a two-bit storm trooper who's only tolerated by townspeople because they find his patriotism "quicker and truer than theirs."
Years later, the novelist would describe him as a "Fascist galahad," a two-bit storm trooper who's only tolerated by townspeople because they find his patriotism "quicker and truer than theirs."
"He's not prevalent," Faulkner said, "but he's everywhere."
Percy Grimm is indeed everywhere, even today; presently in the form of the gundamentalist.
Like the members of any cult, the gundamentalist simply cannot abide a mainstream viewpoint.
In the case of the gundamentalist, the mere hint of "gun control" unleashes a Grimm-like fear of miscegenation.
I'll give you an example.
This Wednesday, local police arrested a crazed gunman in a town near me, just 24 hours after the mass shooting in Texas.
Their report, posted on Facebook, identified one of the gunman's weapons as an AR-15.
The police report generated a heated discussion about the right to own AR-15s for hunting.
That provoked Gundamentalist Mike to scold Diane for her Liberal's ignorance:
"Good lord!," Mike wrote. "AR stands for 'Armalite,' not 'Assault Rifle.' 'Assault Rifle' is a fake, Democrat talking point used since the 90’s. Picture a stock Mustang or Camaro. Then picture that same car with 'accessories' designed to make it look more sporty, or badass, if you will... plus with engine/drivetrain work designed to make it perform better than factory. That’s all an AR-15 is. It’s a hunting rifle, with accessories."
Diane, ladylike, apologized for her error, prompting Liberal Tom to jump in and say to Mike, "What a bunch of nonsense! You are trying to tell me that an AR-15 is just a .22 bolt action with accessories. The AR-15 is not a hunting weapon."
After much insult-trading between Mike and Tom, I commented to Mike, "Well, you sure do love your guns. Guess they substitute for virility."
Mike replied, "Hardly. And a very typical, and pedestrian statement. But as a gun enthusiast, yeah they’re pretty cool. It’s OK to be scared, just don’t belittle everyone else who isn’t."
He punctuated his comment with a half dozen predictably puerile emoticons.
"Who's scared?" I asked.
"Apparently you," Mike replied, "if you think having a gun has anything to do with manhood. That’s just a stupid fucking statement. It’s OK to be scared of them, I just don’t happen to be."
I then offered gun-loving Mike—who looks like a biker—some food for thought.
"Men experiencing SD are no more likely to own guns than men without SD," I wrote. "However, the members of the Second Amendment Cult work overtime to compensate for inadequate genitalia by decking themselves out as angels of death. The cult itself connects gun ownership with SD."
Mike responded, "That wins the Internet for the stupidest comment of the day so far."
With Percy Grimm in mind, I replied, "The failure of a mythical America to materialize has resulted in a flight by White men into predictable defense mechanisms: regression into childlike tantrums and abject dependence on unquestioned authority; the projection onto the historical victims of violence—including castration—the desire to perform symbolic castration by taking away 'our guns;' the projection onto the victims of sexual predation, whose supposedly dangerous sexuality must by controlled by laws and police power, the desire to take 'our' women; the seemingly natural identification with the real oppressor, whose interests his victims force themselves to believe are their own, and whose bidding they will willingly do, if it gives them an opportunity to assert illusory power. This can be understood to be, at least in part, a psychosexual disorder, common to modern men struggling to survive contemporary capitalism in multicultural societies."
That quieted Mike.
And with that I feel it's now time for coffee.
