Hmm....
It's a great topic - it has got it all: fear, government, guns, and a dash of science thrown in for good measure.
Fear is primal and necessary, and without it man would not have risen to the top of the food chain. Guns are a great equalizer, allowing weaker men to protect themselves, and leveling the playing field from becoming some kind of Darwinian free-for-all. So far, so good.
But here's what I don't get...
(brace for it).... I don't get why you call the Brits out on this, while ignoring - nay supporting your own government's massive and successful effort to get y'all spooked and manipulate you into supporting such ludicrous things like a war against Iraq or rah-rahing the erosion of the Constitution and championing diminishment of your own freedoms... through fear.
While I could care less about guns, it's hard not to notice the common denominator here.
Gun owners tend to be Republicans, and Republicans tend to be uniquely responsive to threats no matter how vague, how unlikely, and no matter how distant.
Why do such fearing people generally tend to align themselves with the Republican party? Why does fear have such an impact on them? Why does Rove feel so comfortable on basing an entire campaign on fear alone were it not for the fact that it drives directly at the heart of a huge segment of the population whose default position tends to be one of fear?
I dunno...
I guess I'm just curious. And... the science of fear could be enlightening and no doubt has something to do with it.
It's like a chicken and egg thing. I'm not sure if the Republican leadership is playing their base for the frightened people that they are, or if the Republican party is made up of sincerely frightened people.
Ultimately, it struck me as kind of absurd that a post would be made here which attempts to explain fear and then tie it in with England's gun laws while oblivious to the fact that the USA is overwhelmingly being driven and governed through the use of fear as an acceptable, even embraced tactic.
And it's working. Perfectly.
To sum up - you know what they say about people living in glass houses...
(and no, the answer isn't to start stockpiling ammo, plastic sheeting, electrician's tape and canned tuna)