The problem with the pro gun viewpoint is that you'll never change anyone's mind about it, because their need for guns is based on emotions, not logic.
If someone doesn't feel safe in their home (ie, people might attack us!) then no statistic or fact will dissuade them from that viewpoint.
The only way to change their minds is to figure out how they might be made to feel safe in their homes and neighborhoods.
The fact that it's never actually happened to them (or anyone in their family), they still feel afraid. In that way they are not unlike the people that invest in the stock market and then are in constant fear of the next crash. Even though rationally everyone knows, based on all history, that it'll recover. Fear of loss seems very strongly baked into our DNA. Some more than others.
So the real question - how can we get gun owners to feel less fearful?
I know right? I also think the problem with the pro
gun fire extinguisher viewpoint is that you'll never change anyone's mind about it, because their need for
guns fire extinguishers is based on emotions, not logic.
If someone doesn't feel safe in their home (ie,
people might attack us fire might happen!) then no statistic or fact will dissuade them from that viewpoint.
The only way to change their minds is to figure out how they might be made to feel safe in their homes and neighborhoods.
The fact that it's never actually happened to them (or anyone in their family), they still feel afraid. In that way they are not unlike the people that invest in the stock market and then are in constant fear of the next crash. Even though rationally everyone knows, based on all history, that it'll recover. Fear of loss seems very strongly baked into our DNA. Some more than others.
So the real question - how can we get
gun fire extinguisher owners to feel less fearful?
In all seriousness, recognizing that throughout human history the "little guy" has been screwed over by bigger stronger forces, and preparing to protect yourself in case it happens again, is not really how I'd define fear. I guess you could say people who invest in bonds are motivated by fear, or people who wear seatbelts, or eat healthy, or buy insurance, but at that point I think you've pretty much diluted the word so much it's almost meaningless. Being prepared =/= fear.
It is true that each person has a different tolerance for that preparedness. Some people only ever have enough food and water on hand for the next 2-3 days because more than that is wasteful, but ask anyone over about 70 years old and they'll tell you how foolish that is because their parents lived through a time when that would have been disastrous. Hell people in other countries who you can fly on a plane to visit today will tell you how foolish that is, look at Venezuela right now, talk to an immigrant from China who was there in 1960. My girlfriend's grandparents basically panic if there's less than 100 pounds of rice in their house at a given time. The entire soviet union collapsed in the 90's, that was a world superpower and all of the money just evaporated basically overnight. I read a very interesting outline on another forum by someone who lived through it. This wasn't some revolution in the middle ages, this was in 1991. Some people had cell phones during the last time a major world superpower collapsed.
To me, fear implies an emotional response that isn't logically based. I think it's entirely logical to prepare within reason for any number of events that have happened all over the world in the last 60 years. If I really thought the world was going to collapse, I wouldn't be saving more than half of my money in 1's and 0's on investment firms' computers. I suspect the system will last a good long while. I also recognize that I can be wrong, and have taken what I think are reasonable precautions in case something happens. That's also part of why I think it's a good idea to learn some skills other people don't want to learn. The guy who posts about his experience in the Soviet Union got by with skills as an auto mechanic and gardening.
Basic human psychology experiments and research shows us what people are willing to do if ordered. The prison experiment and electroshock experiment come to mind (don't remember the exact names). Those experiments are why I'm a bit wary of putting all of our "protect us" eggs in the government basket so to speak. I'm also very skeptical of 100% relying on protection by a government that has Donald Trump as its leader.
Also I do like knife sharpening too, I use a water stone, but gotta love that mirror.
edit: The Stanford Prison Experiment and the Milgram Experiment are what I was referring to.