What do you call . . .

Metal god said:
I'd like to understand when the irrational part comes in and who defines it ? A firearm can take a life in a heart beat in countless ways so fearing that is not in it self irrational IMHO . It's not like being afraid of the dark where literally nothing can happen to you or being claustrophobic . Those are phobias that are actually irrational on there face . Being irrationally afraid of guns would seem to me to need a higher standard then just simply being afraid like other phobias are .

I was in a bad car accident in my teens and was literally terrified to be in a moving vehicle for months after that . Was that me just having an irrational fear ? I'd say no , there was a very good reason .
Click to expand...
To use your example, then, for a person who has been shot by a firearm it might not be irrational to fear firearms. (It also might be irrational, but let's not go there.)

For a person who has never fired a firearm and who has never been shot by (i.e. with) a firearm to break out in cold sweats at the mere sight of a firearm is decidedly irrational.

"But," you say, "A firearm can take a life in a heart beat in countless ways ..."

So can an automobile, but is it rational for a person who has never been injured in or by an automobile to be paralyzed at the sight of an automobile?
 
Correct but are those examples “irrational” ? I say no , phobia of the dark or confined spaces or the like where there is nothing to actually fear is what’s irrational . If theres a reason to fear something, to make that fear irrational there must be something more then just being afraid for it to be irrational . That’s all my point is and where does the irrational part of Hoplophobia start ?

Is the irrational aspect of any phobia how one acts or reacts to the phobia in question and not so much the phobia it self ?
 
So can an automobile, but is it rational for a person who has never been injured in or by an automobile to be paralyzed at the sight of an automobile?
Click to expand...

No they should not and instead of asking the question, maybe ask why are firearms and cars different if at all in these examples . At there core what is a car designed to do and what is a firearm designed to do ? One is “designed” to kill or incapacitate while the other is not .
 
My understanding is that hoplophobia isn't in the official diagnostic lists of the psychiatric association. Perhaps this debate indicates why.
 
I'd like to understand when the irrational part comes in and who defines it ? A firearm can take a life in a heart beat in countless ways so fearing that is not in it self irrational IMHO . It's not like being afraid of the dark where literally nothing can happen to you or being claustrophobic . Those are phobias that are actually irrational on there face . Being irrationally afraid of guns would seem to me to need a higher standard then just simply being afraid like other phobias are .
Click to expand...

I didn't grow up in a household that had guns, and my parents didn't like them. When I was growing up the only direct association I had with guns came when an uncle shot himself and then a friend was shot to death. Afterwards I associated guns with those outcomes until I met someone who taught me that guns were tools, and taught me how to use them.

It was patience and the use of facts that turned me around. Not mocking what I'd been conditioned to believe or lecturing me about the Constitution. But at the end of the day I had a fear of guns for a long time. In retrospect it was irrational, but it sure struck me as rational at the time.
 
The "irrational" fear of guns may be a misnomer. It should perhaps be called, "non-proportional" fear of guns in that shooting deaths are far behind the numbers of persons who die each year from "medical mistakes" (250,000 as per John Hopkins study), drug over-doses, auto accidents, etc. The difference is that those deaths are not sensationalized by the media as are shooting deaths.

However, there are some people who have an "irrational" fear of guns just as there are those who jump on a kitchen chair and scream when they see a mouse. "Mouse deaths" last year = zero.
 
I used to work in an industry that had to deal with people's fears, rational or not. Researchers have found that people tend to fear what they perceive as out of their control, especially if it is unfamiliar to them. Many folks feel safer in their car than on an airliner, though statistically it's far more dangerous. That's somewhat irrational, as you are not in control of that semi in the other lane, but it's human nature to feel that way. And driving is familiar. Most of us don't see that several tons of pickup closing on us at a combined 120 mph a few feet to our left as a threat. And most of us don't see that pistol on the other guy's hip as an immediate threat either. The pickup driver could flick his wheel and kill us quicker than the guy could draw his gun, but we all know which one most folks would identify as the bigger danger.

When my brother passed away, I was called to his house to retrieve a few guns from a spare room. His wife was afraid to enter the room, let alone touch them, as though they were snakes waiting to get her. (And just try convincing someone they shouldn't be afraid of snakes!) We can work on familiarizing people with guns and their common use, but few perspectives will be changed.
 
"Mouse deaths" last year = zero.
Click to expand...

I disagree, I killed several mice personally last year and saw my cats kill even more. :D

Human death, caused by mice? probably zero, if you leave out disease...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top