Scholar And Journalist Makes Interesting Points About Guns In Talk

By Tom Knighton

When I see a journalist or an academic start talking about guns, I tend to dig in and get ready to be angry.

So few of either understand the issue, for one thing. Instead, each parrots talking points, advance their narrative and call it a day.

However, it seems that Patrick Blanchfield–a man described as both–seems to grasp at least that the issue is far more complex than partisan talking points.

Journalist and academic Patrick Blanchfield encouraged listeners to abandon partisan responses and called attention to U.S. gun violence and the reactions it prompts, which he presented as a phenomenon called “Gunpower,” also the name of his upcoming book.

In his presentation, in the Hawkins-Carlson room on Tuesday, Blanchfield described Gunpower as a way in which guns are distributed in some contexts and restricted in others. He called it a “uniquely American approach to managing disorder and social reproduction.”

“Gunpower is a system for assuring that, in net, certain kinds of people keep getting shot, and certain kinds of people don’t,” Blanchfield said.

Now, based on that, some of you are likely getting a little worked up. I don’t blame you. I was right there when I first read this.

After all, it sounds …Read the Rest

Source:: Bearing Arms