What Do Liberals Mean by 'Gun Culture' Anyway?

CNN went there today, blaming the Jovan Belcher murder-suicide on a “culture of manliness.” CNN published a column by Democrat Kevin Powell that argues that Belcher’s act was the summit of a too-male culture.

Belcher was a man living in the supersized macho world of football, a world in which many of us American males reside, be it football or not. Too many of us have been taught manhood in a way that is not healthy. Be tough, men do not cry, man up — these are the things I’ve heard my entire life, and I now cringe when I hear this relayed to boys or younger men by teachers, coaches, fathers, mentors and leaders.

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That is the problem for so many of us. We do not talk about much of anything, except sports, women and sex. Everything else is routinely ignored. Or repressed. Until we explode.

It’s politically incorrect to suggest that Belcher was living anything but a manly life. But the fact is, he was living in a world most of us dream of reaching, yet he never lived up to his most important responsibility.

Let’s look at his life. Was it manly of him to have a child out of wedlock? Was it manly of him to abuse drugs and alcohol, as he has been reported to have done, especially after he had become a father? Was it manly of him to go on what looks like a jealous rage that ended with him murdering the mother of his child? Was Jovan Belcher’s life a manly life at all?

I will submit to you that it was not. There was nothing manly about Jovan Belcher’s life. A real man takes real responsibility by getting married before having children. A real man does not resort to chemicals to escape from his problems. A real man does not ever become a menace to the mother of his children. Ever.

Jovan Belcher was responsible for his actions. The evidence that has emerged since Saturday suggests that he was a product of a culture that substitutes real manliness for something false. It’s spiritual. It’s killing our nation.

We don’t know what was going on in Jovan Belcher’s mind. We don’t know what was going on between Belcher and his victim, Kassandra Parker. I don’t and nor do Kevin Powell and Jason Whitlock and Bob Costas. And that’s the point. We don’t know. Exploiting this heinous act is opportunistic, irresponsible, and inflammatory.

The left is exploiting the tragedy, in the words of Whitlock, to marginalize the “gun culture.” What is that culture? Does it exist? Does Whitlock even know?

The phrase “gun culture” suggests more than just firearms and the right to bear them. “Gun culture” implies more, a world. What is that world?

Well, attend any gun show and you’re likely to see what it is that so bothers liberals. It’s not just the firearms and ammunition, or the other weaponry and security gear on display. It’s the opposition to government control that really bothers them. They don’t like that some people will fight with all their spirit to be free.

Some, like Whitlock, also despise the “gun culture” because they perceive it as white.

The “gun culture” is about real manliness, in the form of recognizing potential threats before they’re standing in your hallway at midnight menacing you and your loved ones. The “gun culture” is about the responsible use of firearms through attention to safety. The “gun culture” is about the freedom to live your own life, have your own thoughts, and resist coercion.

Liberals just cannot abide that. So they attack it.