219. Gun borrowed courage

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I ended up today in a Twitter discussion with Trump supporters (I know, I know) about fraudulent voting claims. There was a lot of potential Twitteretter gold in just a few exchanges, but the one that really pricked my ears was when, at some point, one of them stated that conservatives are fearless, unlike the left, because they believe in the 2nd amendment. The thread was chaotic and the grammar poor, so it was difficult to follow at times, and it was not clear whether this was actually a threat. But my imagination was caught by the implications of being fearless because of owning a gun. In my mind, if all that stands between you and fear is a gun, then you are very afraid, afraid enough to think you need a gun to protect you, or to impose your views, which is still protecting you from political or intellectual insignificance. Small children use a blanket, or a teddy, to stave off fear. Bigger children use guns. Adults use presence of mind, rationality and self knowledge to vanquish it 

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Location: Hereford, UK

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