Some may find it hard to believe, but guns is fun. The same way some people get their jollies power strumming in front of a stack of marshalls, or plugging in an old, cranky analog synth. Done under safe circumstances, shooting is a thrill for many, if not most people. You should try it some time. You don't even need half a brain to be safe shooting, just follow a few rules. Always assume a gun is loaded and don't point it anywhere you don't possibly want to hit - like your sister. Realize the bullet goes a long way so don't shoot it where it can hit something farther than you want to hit. Likewise, shotgun pellets (and even bullets) can skip over water like stones if at a shallow angle. I learned that by putting some holes in the same tin barn I talked about in the above post. Guess who had to relay more tin? Important lesson learned, as well as a few new words from my grandfather.
As far as kids - rural culture (and those from it and now in the suburbs) isn't about guns but they are an important part of it. When I was a kid you progressed. BB/pellet gun, .22, shotgun, deer rifle. If you wanted to fire a cannon, you joined the army. Nobody made you shoot, or hunt, but it was as common as grass and everyone I knew took safety seriously. I can see if you didn't grow up around guns how they could be scary, esp. the way hollywood presents them. That is is mostly ignorance on hollywood's part - and anybody who expects the truth from film/TV is silly. Just like not going to a hospital when you are sick because that is where people and die.
Unlike Europe, the US has a mythology about guns, freedom and individuality. The main reason we don't have Elisabeth as queen was not only because of Washington's army, which couldn't beat the English, but the fact the Brits couldn't hold the countryside. There were always more good ole boys available w/ rifles than the English could muster to resupply their garrisons. Then you have the wild west, and Samuel Colt's .44 great equalizer. A lot of American mythology is tied up w/ guns.
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