Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
,(SBN: 179986)
LAW OFFICESOF DONALD KILMER
ff3ffi-
2 A ProfessionalCorporation
126l LincolnAvenue,Suite111
a
J SanJose,California95125-3030
Telephone: 4081998-8489
4 Facsimile: 4081998-8487 Þ/¿*"' a êAA6
5
E-Mail: Don@DKlawOffice.com
r,,rir,#,ffir.Êl{iW
Attorney for Plaintiffs
6
8
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
t , 10
11
RUSSELLALLEN NORDYKE and No.:C 99 04389MJJ
Case
t2 SALLIE ANN NORDYKE, dbaTS TRADE
SHOV/S, JESSB. GI.TY,DUANE DARR, PLAINTIFFS EXPERT'SREPORT
13 WILLIAM J. JONES,DARYL N. DAVIS,,
TASIANA WERTYSCHYN,JEAN LEE, FederalRulesof Civil Procedure26(a)(2)
T4 TODD BALTES, DENNIS BLAIR, R. L.
Judge: Martin J. Jenkins
l5 (Bob) ADAMS, ROGERBAKER, MIKE Courthouse: U.S.Court House
FOURNIERandVIRGIL MoVICKER. 450 GoldenGateAve.
t6 SanFrancisco
Plaintiffs, California 94102
17
vs.
18
& 23
To: Defendants,
MARY V. KING, GAIL STEELE,WILMA CHAN, KEITH CARSON,
ffi 24
SCOTTHAGGERTY,The COUNTY OF ALAMEDA, and The COUNTY OF ALAMEDA
ffi 25
26
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS,
throughits attorneyof record,RICHARDS,WATSON &
7 Court'sNovember1,2005Scheduling
Order.
8 AttachedasExhibitsA - E heretoare:
9 A. Expert'sReport:The Gun asa Symbolfor AmericanGunEnthusiasts.By Abigail A.
( , 10 Kohn,Ph.D.
t6 200s.
T 7 E. Cultural Anatomy of a Gun Show. By Joan Burbick. A paper presentedthe Conference
lr.
18 "Gun Control:Old Problems,New Paradigms."The conferencetook placeat the
i
t9 StanfordCriminalJusticeCenterat StanfordUniversityLaw Schoolon September16-17,
20 2005. This paperwasreferencedin footnote#31 of the Plaintiffs Expert'sReport.
2I Dated:May 12,2006
22
23
24 DonaldE. J. Kilmer,Jr.
LAV/ OFFICESOF DONALD KILMER
25 A ProfessionalCorporation
126l LincolnAvenue,Suite111
26 SanJose,California95125-3030
Phone:4081998-8489 Fax: 408/998-8487
27 E-Mail: Don@DKlawOffice. com
Donald Kllmer
Attomey at Iáw 28 Attorney for the Plaintifß
126l LincolnAve.
Sùitell I
SanJose,CA 95125
Vc: 408/998-8489 Nordvkev. Kine Page2of 2 PlaintiffsExpert'sReport
Fx: 408/998-8487
r . )
í,,,
)
The Gun as a Svmbol for American Gun Enthusiasts
7637HolmesRun Dr.
FallsChurch,VA 22042
(703)992-632e
',,
(t'
1l Mav 2006
Table of Contents
VI. Conclusions
l"''t
\..,..r
I. Introduction and Methodology
The Scotsmanthat "guns are the basis of much of Europe'sfascination and loathing with
the United States,from the V/ild West to the mean streets."2 The National Coalition for
Gun Control in Australia has publicly arguedthat the sport of combat shooting (i.e., IPSC
called sport" that epitomizesAmerica's gun culture becauseit "glamorizes violence" and
the gun culture has received in recent years,very few commentators(in academiccircles
or otherwise) have attemptedto define the term, or discover what it meansto the people
who composethe gun culture. Who are the membersof this gun culture?
From the fall of 1997to the winter of 1998,as a Ph.D. candidatein a joint
question. To collect data for this study, I used the traditional anthropological method of
engagingin group activities with the community.a Thus for 14 months, I observedpeople
This anthropological
studyformedthebasisof my Ph.D.dissertation,
which
4
This researchalsoqualifiesme to serveasan expertwitnesson the law suit,
Nordyke,et. al. versusKing, et. al., andto addressa seriesof questionsrelevantto the
canpossession
of a gun conveya particularizedmessagethat would be
pafücularized)that areconveyed?
at gun shows?
culture?
messages
outlinedabove?
arenot addressed
duringthe courseof my discussionwill be answereddirectly in the
SASS(SingleActionShootingSociety),IPSC(International
PracticalShooting
Confederation),
andtheNRA, andshootingcompetitionsandeventsthat occurredalmost
presentsnapshots,
imagesandpiecesof a complexsocialworld.
7
An excellent description of ethnography as method comes from Michael H. Agar, The Professional
Stranger: An Informal Introduction to Ethnography (San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 1980).
" J.P. Spradley, The Ethnographic Interview (New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, L979),referenced in
Janice M. Morse and Peggy Ann Field, "An Overview of Qualitative Methods," In Qualitative Research
Methodsþr Health Professiozøls (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1995),21-41.
'
See Jack Katz, "Ethnography's Warrants," Sociological Methods and Research 25(4, 1997),391-423.
to
Gary Kleck's Targeting Guns provides an encyclopedic review of the extensive criminological literature
on firearms and their ownership. See Tørgeting Guns.
Ethnography,on the otherhand,cancombineandinterpretthesepiecesinto a rich
which provide
arewhat sociologistJackKatzhaslabeledthe "warrantsfor ethnography,"
the themesandconceptsthattheseshootersraise,andthethemesandconceptsdiscussed
in suchnationally-based
publicationslike NRA magazines,
andgun-debatearticles
publishedin nationally-based
newspapers
andmagazines.
there are numerous"regulars" at gun shops,gun shows, and the local shooting
'.' Katz,"Ethnography'sWarrants."
" Ibid. For fi.¡rtherdiscussions
on the legitimacyandrelevanceof ethnography to socialscienceresearch
moregenerally,seeRobertA. StebbinsandWilliam Shaffir,ExperiencingFieldwork:An Insider Viewof
QualitøtiveResearch(ThousandOaks,CA: Sage,l99l) andtheir"Introduction,"pp. l-23,inparticular.
13Becauseof the variationanddiversityof what hasbeendescribedasAmerica'sgun culture,its important
to recognizethatthis reportcontributesto the socialscienceresearchon gunsby consideringoneaspectof
America'sgun culture,andby discussingonesubgroupof Americangun owners:thosepredominantly
white, middle-classindividualswho selÊidentifyasgun enthusiasts, live in a largelyurbanenvironmentin
the Vy'est,oìMngunslegallyandrecreationally, andform meaningfulsocialcollectivesaroundtheir interests
in guns.The individualsinterviewedherewerecontactedasa part of an ethnographic study,which means
that I did not attemptto contactandinterviewindividualswho would collectivelyprovidea representative
sampleof gun ownersfrom acrosstheUS.
by physicalspacebut by their sharedinterestsin guns.laAs such,thoseindividuals
unidimensional entity composedof white men who fetishize and enjoy guns becauseof
the violence that can be committed with them-is limited. In fact, this view of the gun
culture is held only to those who dislike guns, or straightforwardly equateguns with
violence and killing. For these anti-gun critics, the pairing of guns and violence is
symbolic one. To thesecritics, guns are violence. This view was held by the Million
really the solepurposeof guns. This is a position that hasbeen echoedin by critics of
importance.le
While guns are certainly used to commit violence, this is only one of their uses.
i ' i sociefy, guns not only symbolize violence, but also freedom, political rights, and rugged
anthropologicalresearch. Just as guns are a symbol of violence for some, they are a
symbol of freedom and constitutional rights for others. The point to be made on this
to guns, or put anotherway, the messagesascribed to guns, can be both positive and
negative, as well as every shadein between. In other words, for Americans, guns are
polysemic: they symbolize a variety of things, and have multiple, complex meanings.
is not, in fact, unidimensionaland easily equatedwith violence and death. The gun
in which guns mean different things to different people (or groups): freedom and
mentioned, violence and killing for yet more. What all of these sub-culturessharecan be
objects, rich with literal and symbolic meaning. Americans have used guns to win wars,
to carve out a frontier, to uphold the law and violate it, to engagein sport and recreation,
and to maintain homeland security. The usesfor guns are numerous,and their symbolic
meanings equally so. Becauseof the enofinous symbolic and literal import of the gun to
Americans, and the extent to which guns are v/oven into American society and culture,
the United Statesas a nation can be understoodas both havíng a gun culture, andbeíng a
gun culture.
a love of guns,both
All of the shootersI interviewedsharedsomebasiccharacteristics:
10
for anymiddle-classsportingphenomenon,
is an industryin andof itself), andan
includedten menandthreewomen;onewasMexican-American,
anotherAsian-
i:. _..,, American,but the restwereof Europeandescent(i.e.,white).All of theseindividuals
their selÊproclaimed
classstatus.
includesnineteenpeople,elevenmenandeightwomen.I interviewedoneAfrican-
administrators,
artists,or in onecase,a retiredlaw enforcementofficer. Therewerein
actionshooters.22
20
I met all of these individuals becausethey worked on a range, taught a class, or were inhoduced to me by
other shooters.
2r At the time
of fieldwork, only one Black cowboy shooter regularly participated in the sport in the area.
" I didnot manage to interview more than one of them, primarily becauseI ran out of time.
11
The third group of shootersI call the "Generation X" shooters,not only because
they were the youngest group overall (all were bom after 1960),but becausetheir
media representationsof Gen X. There were only five shootersin this category, all men,
activities for themselvesand their friends on public lands severalhours outside of the
urban centersof Northern California. Some of these shootseven made oblique social
equipment.'oThis event was called the "Hard Drive-Bye." It was intended to be social
point being that AOL was a less-than-perfectbut overly utilized vehicle for accessingthe
internet. I usually shot with thesepeople under more private circumstances,on local
Overall, the shootersI interviewed were typical of the shootersI met while
the study, and most of the shootersin the Northern California community, all subscribed
to what I refer to as'þro-gun ideology," a set of beliefs and political idealsthat includes:
23I only interviewedmenin this categorybecauseI only cameto know maleshootersin that group.
However,I met severalwomenwho shotwith thesemenon occasion.
24I did not observethis event.but it wasdescribedto me extensivelvin interviewsandcasualconversation.
12
and one's nation safe from criminals, foreign enemies,and a tyrannical
domestic government,and
The belief that owning a gun (and being a gun enthusiast)is a key signifier
stronglyaboutpossessing
firearms,andthe political symbolsandmessages
embeddedin
legalaccessto firearms.
gun enthusiasts
constitutionalrights,andAmericancitizenship.In essence, believethat
13
owningâ güfl,beingableto handlea gun anddiscussit in a public forumlike a gun
ownershipsendsthe message
thattheyadhereto andrespectthe AmericanConstitution,
ownershipembodies
thoseideals.
GunsSymbolizeRíghts
l4
American gun owners-the greatly mythologized citizen soldier-won the Revolutionary
War and helped createthe United States. Paula, a white shooting instructor in her late
forties who was also a former police officer, associatedguns strongly with the founding
of the nation:
to-that's whatmadeAmerica...
i.-l
When I askedKeith, a white mechanicin his late thirties, what guns symbolized
15
Elliott, a white mechanicin his earlyfifties, saidthe following whenI askedhim what
gunsmeantto him:
theywant.....
For Elliott, however,that right comeswith a trade-offin termsof public safety. Elliott
The fact [is] thatpeoplelive by the fact that theywant to own guns,and
thatalsoallowspeopleaccess
to Uzis andthe abilityto shootup crowds...
. ', that gunsbe legal. That'soneendof it. And the otherendis being- is
i . ,
giving up everything,is giving up the right to defendyourself...
Manuel, a Mexican-American man in his late forties who workedata gun store, also felt
did have a right to own guns, and he did not want to seemparanoid by voicing a concern
that he could lose that right. He said the following when I askedwhat owning a gun
meant to him:
t6
It means-I was going to say that it meansI'm exercising my right to own
that, where people are not so much yelling about their guns rights being
The attendees
of the SanJoseGun Showon 8 April2006 who wereinterviewed
him whatmessages
wereconveyedby hispossession
of a gun at a gunshow,Mr.
Hallowavanswered:
Number one, it proves that I still have the right to possessand own
25
Reginald Halloway is the real name of this individual. He provided his name and addressfor Donald
Kilmer so that he could be contacted in the context of this lawsuit.
t7
anybodyshouldhavethe right to try andtakeour Second
'- :/
GunsSvmbolize
Freedom
he saidthe followine:
What do they symbolize? Freedom. We fought and won our freedom with
a gun. ... It gives us the freedom to enjoy it with our family and protect
18
contextthatI just did... Freedomof choice,expression,
individualism,
a
varietyof thing.
Lewis, amaî in his forties of both Europeanand Native American descentwho worked
as a commercial artist, answeredthe question of what guns symbolized to him this way:
f, .) arekind of synonymous
words....
t9
his interview. WhenDonaldasked"What messages
areconveyedto you by seeingother
peoplepossessing
gunsat a gun show?"Mr. Hudnutanswered:
possessed
in a legal manner. ... That's I think the biggestmessagethat's
aboutwhatgunssymbolize:
whatever.Always haveandalwayswili.
, , , )
thatwe'reAmericans.Responsible
Americans.We don't causeany
that.
20
in his fortieswho enjoysparticipating
Marcus,anAfrican-Americanbusinessman
mavbe.
gun enthusiasts
handlingguns,carefullyexaminingthe groovesandcarvingson
2T
Ml Garandcanbe an experiencethat recallsa time whenhe defendedhis country
the morecontemporary
conflicts. Thesearethe kindsof memoriesthat guns
promptfor shooters,
particularlyatlargevenueslike gun shows,whereshooters
encompass
everyimportantaspectof the gun culturefor gun enthusiasts:
gun
knowledgeable
experts,for learningaboutAmericanhistory,society,andpolitics
example, when a shooterutters phraseslike, "God made man, Colonel Colt made
" Kohn,Shooters,p.138.
22
themequal,"2earrd"Frommy cold deadhands,"3o
whatthat shootermeansis,
to me,"respectively.
accompanied
this phrasewith a defiantgesture,raisinghis rifle abovehis head,
communicate
to othershooterscertainkindsof messages;
I am readyto defend
California.
23
VII. Conclusion
wheregun enthusiasts
canassemble
to talk about,view, handle,buy, andsell guns. And
However,otheracademics
haveinterpretedthemessages
at gun shows
masculinity,maleconsumerism,
andvigilantepolitics."3l Tracingthe history of gun
awayby progressive
politicsandtheriseof women'sandcivil rights. Professor
Burbick
24
arguesthat gun ownership in this context is a rather feeble attempt to reclaim a loss of
social and political status,and gun shows are one of the few places where men can gather
to talk about and festishizeguns, demonstratingtheir statusas "real men" who use their
action.
shows, is quite different from my own, ProfessorBurbick's point is quite clear: "Gun
shows can be studied as cultural markets that sell not only things but ideas and values."33
She statesthat for some of the men she interviewed at gun shows,purchasing a gun has
grabbers," againstall those enemies,real and imaginary, who have come to embody
the messagesthat guns convey, wo are in strong agreementon this point: guns do, in fact,
The final point to make is that there is a profound and ugly irony in suggesting
that a gun show could be held without the presenceof any firearms. Removing guns
from the gun show, or substituting actual guns for pictures of guns (the implication being
that the guns themselvesare too dangerous,or too repugnant,to allow their literal
themselvesby being gun enthusiasts. A gun show that bans guns is analogousto a
33lbid,p. r.
25
andcelebratetheir gunrights:the
it. For shooters,a gun showis a placeto demonstrate
implicit recognitionof the gun asa symbol,not asan actualpurveyorof violence. This is
the casebecausethe gunsat gun showsdo not actuallymaim andkill. They are rutely
that guns
evenfired. Attemptingto bangunsfrom a gun showis an acknowledgement
\ r conveyedby guns.
messages
to an
or for anyonewho subscribes
symbolizein the first place. For gun enthusiasts,
above,gunenthusiasts
pointless.For thisreason,aswell asthereasonsI discussed
26
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27
' l
, . 1
:
-:
, ]
I
!
' , j
ABIGAIL A. KOHN, Ph.D.
7637HolmesRunDr., FallsChurch,V^ 22042
homephone: 703.992.6329
cellphone:202.247.8372
email: abbykon@post.harvard.edu
TS/SCYISSA
Clearance:
Education
Work Experience(SeealsoTeachingPositionsHeld)
Positions Held
2005 Ray andPatBrowneAward for the BestBook by a SingleAuthor for 2005 for Shooters:Mythsand
Realitiesof America'sGun Cultures,Awardedby PopularCulfureAssociation
2002 SesquiGrant,Universityof Sydney,ProjectEntitled,"An Analysisof PoliceAttitudesandKnowledge
About FirearmsOwnershipandViolence"
2000 Nominatedby UCSFMedicalAnthropologyDept.for the "JuliusR. CrevinsDistinguished
Dissert¿tion"Award for 2000
1997-t998 RosenbergFellowship,Universityof California
t996 W.H.R. RiversPrizefor BestGraduateStudentPaperin MedicalAnthropologyfor paper
titled "ImperfectAngels:The MedicalManagement of Childrenwith Craniofacial
Anomalies,"AmericanAnthropologicalAssociation
t99s-r996 RegentsFellowship,Universityof California
t994-t99s RegentsFellowship,Universityof Califomia
1994 HonorableMention,PredoctoralResearchFellowship,NationalScienceFoundation(U.S.)
1993-1994 RegentsFellowship,Universityof Califomia
t992 First ClassHonorson M. Phil. Thesis,CambridgeUniversity,Cambridge,England
l99l A.B. CumLaude,HarvardCollege
TeachÍngPositionsHeId
Book
Kohn,A.A.
2004 Shooters:MythsandRealitiesof America'sGun Cultures.New York, NY: OxfordUniversityPress.
Dissertation
Kohn,A.A.
2000 Shooters:The Moral World of Gun Enthusiasts.Ph.D.Dissertationin Medical
Anthropologyat the Universityof Califomia,BerkeleyandSanFrancisco.
Kohn,A. A.
2005 PoliceBeliefsandAttitudesaboutGun Control. CurrentIssuesin CriminalJusticel7(2).
Kohn,A.A.
/ 2000 ImperfectAngels:The MedicalManagement of Childrenwith CraniofacialAnomalies.
MedicalAnthropologtQuarterly14(2):202-223.
Kohn,A..4.,andK. Bryan
1999 Ritual Practicein a SocialModel RecoveryHome.Contemporary
Drug Problems25(4):7ll-740.
Kohn,A.A.
1994 Speakingof the Devil: Anti-SemiticThemesin Contemporary
Psychotherapy.
Caldornia
Anthropolo gist 2l (2): 23-34.
Kohn,A.A.
2000 CowboyDreaming:Gunsin FantasyandRole-Playing.In Gun V[/omen:FireqrmsandFeminísm
ín Contemporøry
America.M.Z. StangeandC. Oyster,Eds.New York: New York University
Press.
/ Kohn,A.A.
1999 Paramilitaryorganizations.InOxfordCompønionto AmericanMilitary
History. JohnV/hiteclayChambers,II, ed.New York: OxfordUniversitypress.
Other Publications:
Kohn,A. A.
2004 The Wild WestDown Under:ComparingAmericanandAustralianExpressionsof Gun
Enthusiasm.
Journalson FirearmsandPublic Polictt 16.
Kohn,A.A.
2001 Their Aim is True:TakingStockof America'sRealGun Culture.ReasonMagazine,33(l):26-33.
Kohn,A.A.
1994 Underlyingassumptions in thework of mentalhealthprofessionals
on ritual abuse.
Division of CriminalandLegalPsychologyNewsletter37, April 1994
Kohn,A.A.
1994 Underlyingassumptions in the work of mentalhealthprofessionals
on ritual abuse.
Clinical PsychologtForum 69:19-21.Reprintedfrom abovenewsletter.
Invited Presentations
at Scientificand Professional
Meetingsand Workshops
Presentations
at Professional
Meetings:
Kohn, A. A.
2003 The Wild WestDown Under:ComparingAmericanandAustralianExpressions of Gun
Enthusiasm.
PaperPresented
at the Americansocietyof criminology,ñovember.
Kohn, A. A.
2003 TheWild WestDown Under:ComparingAmericanandAustralianExpressions of Gun
Enthusiasm.
PaperPresented
at the AustralianandNew Zealand,
Societyof Criminology,
October.
Kohn,A.A.
1996 ImperfectAngels:The MedicalManagement of Childrenwith CraniofacialAnomalies.
PaperPresentedat AmericanAnthropologicalAssociationMeetings,November.
l . -
\'----'
I
Reasonmagazine- May 200J Their Aim Is Trueby Abigail Kohn Page1 of9
ffig,#"spnürl[ln
home ¡h*u1 5e¡r.h $"rhr{r;iÉ *d,rarli5!
SeeAlso:
Their Aim Is True
Taking stockof America'sreal gun culture æ Gun Ownershipin America:
The numbers
By Abigail Kohn æ REASON's Gun Page
I heard the rangemastercall my name, and that meant it was time to make final
preparationsfor my turn. In the safety area,r carefully loaded my rifle with the
requisite 10 rounds. Then I loaded my revolvers and tucked them back into my
hip holsters. My heart was starting to pound, and when my name was called, I
slowly walked up to the pony, handing my rifle and shotgun (with their actions
open) to the shooterwho'd be keeping track of my hits. I readjustedmy eye and
ear protection, climbed up onto the pony, and nodded that I was ready. I could
feel how clammy my handshad gotten as I took back my rifle, the first of the
http://reason.com/0
105/fe.ak.their.shtml 5/tt/2006
Reasonmagazine-- May 2001 Their Aim Is Trueby Abigail Kohn Page2 of 9
Y'
I vaguely heard the rangemasteryell the commandsto standþ and then start,
but I was already on autopilot, trying to move with the pony, which had
startedrocking. The motion was slow, but since I was used to shooting while
standingperfectly still, it had already completely destabilized me. I tuned out
everything except the gun I was holding at the moment and the targets in front
of me (pretty far in front of me, actually). I worked my rifle's lever to
chambera round, aimed, and fired. Aiming was not easy,but I felt like I was
shooting close to the target. I think I even managedto hit a few, but I couldn't
be sure. After firing all 10 rounds, I handeddown my rifle. The pistols were
easierto aim and shoot, and I heard five of my 10 shots plink againstthe
metal targets.
The shotgunwas the worst, as I knew it would be. My borrowed gun was a
"side-by-side," a I2-gauge double-barreledshotgun.I am not a tall woman, so
even with light loads, this gun \ryasa handful. After loading quickly, I brought
the butt up againstmy shoulder and held it there as tightly as I could. I was so
full of adrenalinethat I didn't even feel nervous anymore. I let myself rock
back and forth with the motion of the pony and carefully aimed at the targets
about 8 or 10 yards away. I pulled the first trigger. The gun slammedback
againstmy shoulder with a thud. What seemedlike an eternity later, I pulled
the secondtrigger, and this time I managedto control the recoil pretfy well.
But by this point I was too busy reloading to feel much satisfaction from
having hit the target on one of my first two tries. After loading two more
times, Irealized that I probably hit only half my targets.
That last shot was a relief. When I climbed down from the pony, stiff from
tension, my shoulder was akeady throbbing. The recoil had causeda massive
bruise to begin forming.
Truly, I didn't care how fast or accurateI had been. I was just glad to have it
finished. My shoulder \ryasreally starting to ache. I was not looking forward
to tomorrow's team shoot, though thank God it would be the last day of the
two-day event. I had learned an important lesson:It's tough to be a decent
cowboy action shooter when you have to keep borrowing the guns.
There was a time when I would not have wanted to touch a gun of any kind,
much less spendpart of an afternoon riding the back of a rocking mechanical
pony and blazingaway at a seriesof targetswith revolvers, rifles, and
shotguns.But that improbable picture is the culmination of a journey that took
me from the ivory towers of academiato the shooting ranges of Northern
California.Bluntly,Iwassurprisedbywhatlfoundthere.Asapractrcmg
anthropologist, I nui,.1ottii" of gün ctazies'butwhat I foundwere
regularfolks -- relateto íheir gunsin generallysocially
who"u"h
of
peopleareu91lallyignoredby mostmediaaccounts
"rrtt.rriurt,
positiveways.These
storyof-howI came to make
America's"gun cultuie."What followi iJthe
sorisof peoplewho makeup
that discovery,andsomebrief sketchesof the more
America,s*u.t --ãiiË;l;;ã *sunderstood gun culture.or, perhaps
accurately,America's guncultures'
Militia or Mainstream?
Iama32-yearoldanthropolog'l!,lry.thefocusofmyresearchisgunusein
unus.til background-I did not
the U.S. no, u,,g.rrr*rã¡oiå.,'f"tniot ltrave an
grow up with guns;i;tt*;p on theEastCoast'the daughterof white'
anda master's
colle-ee-
politically liberal,i#isï d;tnts' After finishing graduate
programin EngunJ,'i;;;t";k. q. u.s. anddecidedon more it
school.I choset" ;õ;;ht;pology u""u"..I1iked the spiritof adventure
within a nonjudgmental
embodied,urr¿U"culsáI Ut"¿ìn. id.u of working interaction'In 1993,I
human toðiul
disciplinettratencÃiragsJitt".qlOv.of at theuniversity of
enteredthejoint pr"Ërr:*-r" -ãJi"ár anthropology
Californiaat Berkeleyand SanFrancrsco'
Ididn,texpecttostudyguns.Butafterseveralyearsofstudyingandlivingin
-- culture-
Berkeley,I foundüi"t"ti' i"terestin my originál-topic9f inOuirf
-- I siowly beganlooking
boundpsychiatricsyndromes waswáttittglSo
aroundfor other#;;h;"pics, hopingto-frndsomethingcurrentand .
graduatestudent
interesting.Aroundthat timè, I met a fãttow anthropology
namedMichael(his andall subsequent nameshavábeenchanged),who was
*tiiittg his dissertationon Moroccantourism'
Michaelwasafascinatingperson.AhighlyeducatedsecularJewfromNew
England,he wasp-äil andpro-feñrini.'o-- andhe liked to ride
a hunter-I found this last
motorcycler.rur"Ji"t i-g"ing91il1, Michaelwas
i ;
!
in commonwith Michael' but
i
facetto be particularlyodd.I felt that I had a lot in
I didn,t expect *""ïft" was so liberal andsourbaneto be interested
" Michaelhad grownup aroundrytt;.H" huntedwith his
guns.Un1ikeme'
iñcluding a rifle, a shotgun,
father andbrother,;;d il o*ttã¿ ,.u*à guns,
to hunt'
;¡; sþrter pistoíthathe usedto train his dog
IwasintriguedbymyinabilitytopigeonholeMichae|.Ialsolikedhis
specificallyhis interestin
willingnessto sharehis interestswith me,most
awareof my own
guns.That attracieãm", not only becauseI wasso
sucha traditionally
ignorance,urrturrã-u"r-å"r.his ieadinessto share
genderegalitarianism'Thoughwe
masculineinterestsaidsomethi"guuã"lrris
had a sometimes;;;i; rehtiõnshþ, we eîentua[y decidedto be simplyfor
gettingto know eachother
friends,which *" ;;;;i" five yearsr-íår. After
,"u"rui*onths, we decidedto try working together.
Webeganbystudyingthglghrwingmilitiamovementoftheearlyl990s.
beencomicalif it hadn't beenso
our first foruy intáïrr? *uj.ãt woulã have
51rU2006
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Reasonmagazine-- May 2001 Their Aim Is True by Ablgall llonn
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Reason magazine-- May 200t Their Aim Is True by Abigail Kohn Page) oI v
literally and symbolically very powerful, and I was drawn to this research
becauseI wanted to understand,and analyze,the sourcesof that power.
Working with Michael helped as well, becauseI could tell he was impressed
with my desire to take on such a traditionally masculine interest and sport.
Most oithe female shooterswho I know were introduced to guns by men, and
I know for myself that overcoming my fear and matching Michael shot for
shot was both challenging and exhilarating. It was anxiety-producing too, but
fantasticbecauseI could do it, and I becamepretty good at it.
I spent the most time with a local posseof cowboy action shooters,and in the
ptôce*t became an active participant in their sport. Beyond dressing in period
costumesand using old-style weapons,cowboy action shootersconstruct
elaboratemock-ups of Old West towns using painted plywood and vivid
imaginations. These cow towns are assembledand dismantled on local
shooting ranges on the weekends,all for the purpose of the somewhat
complicãtedihooting competitions sketchedout at the start of this article.
Somè of the better-aitended(and better-financed)shoots include makeshift
dancehalls and saloons.Shooterseat, drink, dance,hang out, and, most
important, shoot. I enjoyed spendingtime with the cowboy action shooters.
This part of my researchconstitutedwhat anthropologistscall "participant
observation," and my observationsand assessmentscomposedmy
anthropological data.
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Reasonmagazine-- May 2001 Their Aim Is True by Abigail Kohn Page6 of9
Community Servant
Greg - who, like most of the instructors I've met, is white -- emphasizedthe
importanceof "good gun etiquette," which includes becoming thoroughly
familiar with your firearms and their properties, and never pointing a gn at
anotherhuman being, regardlessof whether or not it is loaded. He
underscoredthe importance of this by observing the rule at all times. When he
handled guns, he turned them in his handsvery carefully, without ever
pointing themuzzle at himself or anyone around him. Throughout the lesson,
he constantly reminded us of the deadlinessof guns, reiterating the idea that
while they were not "magic talismans," they did have symbolic and literal
power in the hands of their users,regardlessof why they are used. Greg was a
charismaticman and a good teacher,and the lessonwith him passedquickly,
culminating in a late afternoon shooting sessionin chilly winter rain. He
observedour group as \ryeshot our handguns atpaper bull's-eye targets,
brusquely correcting improper stancesor techniques.This class was the most
exhaustingone I attendedduring my entire research.
Ms.45
Thea becamemuch more interestedin guns when she began dating a gun
enthusiast,whom she has since married. Thea associatesher husband
Jonathan'sgun enthusiasmwith his willingness to care for and protect her.
Initially, I was ambivalent when she told me that becauseThea seemedso
feminist in both her professionaland personal life. But her interview
reminded me that people are more complex than labels can render them. Thea
made it clear that theseissuesare complicatedfor her. She said: "I made a
career,personally and professionally, of empowering people. But as good as
I've always been about standingup for other people, I'm not the least bit good
about standing up for myself. And so it's very important to me to have
somebody -- f mean, trdidn't have a clue how important that was until I was
with Jonathan-- to have a man protect me. And I feel like he is completely
protectiveof me. I just kind of bask in that."
Shooting makes Thea feel confident and strong -- or, as sheputs it, like she
has "somethingelsegoing on besidesestrogendepletion."She admires
shootersas people who know how to stand up for themselves."I think of them
being kind of in chargeof their destinies.And I think maybe that's another
reasonwhy this is somethingthat's good for me now." She linked her
admiration for shootersto her difficult childhood. Shooting has helped her
find an inner strength. "I'm a person who loves to stand up to bullies. My old
man [her father] was such a bully -- this is a very new skill that I'm learning
to cultivate. It's very hard for me. And this makes me feel strong."
The Rifleman
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Reasonmagazine-- May 2001 Their Aim Is Trueby Abigail Kohn PageI of9
He said: "I think a lot of times - until just recently, maybe in the '60s -- when
you used to seeWestern movies, you didn't seeblack faces.But I knew ever
since I was a kid that there were [black cowboys], becausewe had pictures of
guys from around 1901."
It was easyto seehow this image could appealto a man who lived and
worked in a highly urban environment.Leonard had a sophisticated
understandingof the difference between fantasy and reality, but that
knowledge did not diminish his pleasurein cowboy action shooting.
Paradigm tr'ound
For that reason,when critics equateguns only with violence, they miss a large
part of the picture, and they misrepresentthe complex nature of America's
diverse, multilayered gun culture. If guns werc only about tragedy and death,
then they would not be so enjoyed and so firmly incorporated into the lives of
so many different Americans. The people who actually arepart of the gun
culfure often have rational, thoughtful, or simply mundanereasonsto own and
use guns. Ridiculing and insulting them to further policy agendasstrikes me
as both counterproductive and wrong.
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Reasonmagazine-- May 2001 Their Aim Is Trueby Abigail Kohn Page9 of9
guns and their relationship to violence, and to try to understandwhy they are
such powerful symbols in American society. If I learnednothing else during
my research,I learnedthat "the gun culture" is not some concrete,bounded
entity that is manifestedat gun shows or at shooting ranges,or in NRA
magazines.
( . j
tf.eason: ùlrargnt ùnoolmg On ¡ yun UOntfOl: a{ <l>t(eason</l> debate PageI ot 17
t--è
[!_l Thepagecannotbefound
ffi*#*$pnünlin
¡l¡cui !tãr'tn ,Jh5{¡.Þù :.¿lcri¡.ts
May 2005
'When
it comes to rancorousdebatesin which the two sides
routinely talk past each other, gun control ranks up there with
abortion and the deathpenalty. Last year Abigail A. Kohn, an
anthropologist trained at the University of California at San
Francisco, bravely waded into this battle with Shooters:Myths
and Realities of America's Gun Cultures (Oxford University
Press).A sympatheticportrait of gun enthusiastsin Northern
California, the book endswith aplea for a calmer discussionof
guns and crime. ReasonaskedKohn to summarizeher argument
and invited responsesfrom three people with an interest in this
area: civil liberties lawyer Don B. Kates,journalist Wendy
Kaminer, and law professorMichael L Krauss.
Abigail A. Kohn
'When
the Department of Justiceissuesa public statementthat
the SecondAmendment protects an individual right to own a
gun, when 35 statespassnondiscretionarycarry permit laws,
when New York Timescolumnist Nicholas Kristof declaresthat
"gun control is dead," you know the gun debateis over.
http ://www.reason.com,/O5
05/fe.ak.straight.shtml s/tt/2006
r\ç4ù\rrl. ùu<uËrrl ùuuuturË UII . rUIl \,UlltlUl; ¿\ \I/j\ËASUII=-/12 UCDAtg rage¿orLt
Stop tryíng to destroy the gun culture. There are more than250
Then there are the people who own all those guns. The gun
culture is a multilayered, multifaceted phenomenonmade up of
diverse, complex subcultures.Contrary to popular stereotypes,
membersof the gun culture are not alipoténtial tenoristsj
unemployed skinheadshanging out at gun shows, or menacing
warrior wannabesin camouflage geat.Not every gun owner is a
member of the National Rifle Association; in fact, some gun
owners dislike the NRA. Gun owners come in all colors and
strþes: They are police officers, soldiers, farmers and ranchers,
doctors and lawyers, hunters, sport shooters,gun collectors,
feminists, gay activists, black civil rights leaders.Most of the
shootersI know are normal membersof their local
communities. They have regularjobs; they go to neighborhood
picnics and PTA meetings; they have children and
grandchildren. They interact with their co-workers, bosses,
employees,neighbors, friends, and families in socially positive
ways.
Speakingof which...
http://www.reason.com/05
05/fe.ak.straight.shtml 51rU2006
I\ç.1ÐuIl. ùuarBilt ùuUUturB UII ' {UIl L.UIltfOl. .á\ <-l2l(eason<-/12 OeDale rage4oï Ll
And why would gun owners want to get behind any kind of gun
control policy? Becausegun control is not going away.Despite
the lack of evidence,many Americans continue to believe that
gun control will prevent gun violence, or at least reduce it. As
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Ñeasurr; ùrrargnr ùnooltng on'.-r]n uonffol: .¿\ <rl>tfeason</l> GeDate rageoorr/
long as there are guns around, there will be people who insist on
controlling them. No matter how effectively gun owners
demonstratetheir safety consciousness,or how often they use
guns to defend themselves,there will always be gun control
supporterswho genuinely believe that owning guns causes
crime.
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com/O505/fe.
ak.straight.shtml snv2006
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rf.gasorr: ùLrargflr ùn(]()[rng on "un \-onuol: .¿\ <-l2l(eason</l> oeDale ragey or r I
Don B. Kates
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r(eason: òüargru ùnooung on'-un uonrol: l\ <l>l(eason</l> ceDate tsagelu oI I /
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V/endy Kaminer
But while Kohn exhorts both sides of the gun debateto re-
examine their assumptions,she seemsto expectmore
compromise from proponentsof gun control. How many
assumptionsmust gun enthusiastsre-examine,after all, in order
to support strategiesfor shutting down black markets and
reducing juvenile violence? I'm not inclined to let them off this
easily.
htþ :i/www.reason.
com/0505/fe.ak.straight.shtml 511U2006
Keason: ùrralgnr ùnoolmg on '-un uonlrol: .¿\<-l>Ì(eason</t> oeDate rage rJ or r /
The NRA also was busy opposing the Brady Bill. Inside the
bubble of the gun rights movement, waiting periods for gun
purchaseshave been treated as worse deprivations of liberty
than life sentencesfor shoplifting. The federal waiting period
expired in the late 1990s,and researchershave concluded that
waiting periods have only marginal effects on gun violence; but
marginal effects can have enorrnoussignificance to individuals.
In any case,waiting periods also have only marginal effects on
gun purchases.Kohn does not pressgun rights advocatesto
rethink their categorical opposition to modestregulations such
as waiting periods, but if they don't like being viewed as gun
nuts, they might consider doing so.
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05/fe.ak.straight.shtml 5/Lt/2006
lteason:ùuargn[ ònooung on '+un uontrol: A <l>Keason</1>debate Page14 of 17
Michael L Krauss
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1ltte
Keason: ùffalgnr tnooung on ';un uontrol: A. <1>Keason</t> clebate Page15 ot'17
MichaelL Krauss(mlvauss@gmu.edu)
is a professorof law at
GeorgeMason Uníversíty.
Abigail A. Kohn
Consideredtogether,thesethreerepliesneatlydemonstrate why
.What
the gun debateis at a standstill. is a patent
truismto one
sideis an obviousfalsehoodto the other.WendvKaminer
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Ãsasorr:ùrargnr ùnoormg on I iun Uontrol: A <l>Keason</r> debate Page16of 17
couldn't-theytakethis opportunityto
activelyseekout and
promotelegitimate
li9l"l:.-o".¿uÉ"e pro gramsandpolicies?
Whetherone chooses to labeltneÈo'stonGunprojectan
experiment_in gu1 g.ontol or not, the fact ,.*uinr,tt
programsubsranrially utìiri,
reducedgun-relaredft iid; Ëärtorr,
at leastwhile it waswelr-fi.rndeã anJoperational.The bottom
line is that it greatlyimprove¿propi.;,
lives.Is Kaminerthe
only onewilling to recógnizettris
fointZ
s,o
ryes,of course,shootersshourdremainvigilant againstthe
obviousprejudiceevidencedio piur".
rit. sã, ri""?îrääl ør.r"
politicianswill try (again)to enåct
uitot"o andunenforceable
laws banninghandguns.And shooters
shouldaddressthe
profoundlyproblematicpoliciesof
corporationslike pizzaHut.
But equallyimportant,shootersrt ouiã
openlyapplaud
li:å11-r jnd policies un genuinelytupãuiäãir"au"i"g
vrotence'Imaginehow_ry
empowering it *ouù
sayto their critics:..Well,no, I donitsupportbe for.rrãoi.rr ro
a banon
lilo*lt primarilyU"ruurrirJo*ni'*orL. However,
support I do
[ProjectX or programy] becauseit has¿.-ãri.t*ulv
reducedgun-rerared violeãcei"é;;;;i crime-riddenciries
acrossthe U.S. I reservemy support
for policies tnul äniUy
reducecrimeandviorenc..;'rniåroutäË.
rh.ú;ü;îäLr¿
bargainif both sidesarew'ling to.o-pro-ise
reducegun viorence:shootersîouiJ andwork to
r,ipportreasonabre and
effectiveprograms,andgun.;r"l;ã;ocates
the goal of disarmingthe-Ameri;ã;p"opf". would give up
ffi
http:// www.reason.com,/0
505/fe.ak.straight.shtml
-'--
s/tt/2006
:.'
i l
JoanBurbick
of English and American Studies
_Department
WashingtonStateUniversity-
Pullman,W A 99164-5020
.l
"engagingin the business"of selling firearms andwho hasthe right to sell, exchangeor
i
show that disavowedtheseFirst Amendmentclaimsby stating that"agun itself is not
I
l
i
I speech,"' eventhoughthe plaintiff claimedthat becausepolitical messageswere
I
ì ' , inscribedon specificrifles sold at gun shows,the gun canbecomeitself a form of
l
i
i
speech.uOn this level, the gun show presentsus with a momentin our culture in which
I
)
I
l specific commoditiesare representedas capableof speech.Not the human voice or its
i
I
I
product of the industriala.ge,canvoice politics. In this way, the gun show and its
cultural
history are crucial for us to understandhow and why gunsand even gun showshave
With the industrial age,coflrmodities,as Karl Marx pointed out in the nineteenth-
Hence,the gun was seenas an object in a political economyin which they were not only
and animals.
Americansboth here and abroadas he fought with his Rough Ridersin Cuba,shot Iions
in Afüca, and sailedthe Amazon in Brazil often with a husty Winchesterby his side to
which the companylvas gratefully indebted,using his endorsementin many of their sales
promotionst'
must be preparedto engagein war at a moment's notice, and to this endrifle practice
the turn of the centurywho could claim out-right the rhetoric of the citizen-soldier,
the potentialbuyer could look inside a mutoscopeand watch two men shootat t¿rgets
that flew throughthe air, a breathtakingpiece of invention that would soonbe replace
d
by action westerns.Thesewere displaysonly, however. He could look, he could touch,
of industry andbrought in what Benjamin calledthe hell of the new. Time ceasedto
exist. History was reducedto advertisingcopy, and identity crafted to fit industry.
l--",
Disturbedby the trend,he imaginedthe woman'sbody a mannequin,cotpse,
or clothing
rack for the diqplayofeach season'snew goods.'u
Likewise, the male consumerat the turn of the centuryfound himself adri ftin a
and find solacein the woods and fields beyondindustry's reach. Illustrations in Shooting
and FÌshing showedlawyers dreamingaboutthe woods and young men pausingin front
surplusfirearmsenteringthe market and more money to collect. After World War II,
firearms collecting took off with specialbooks on what and how to collect, including an
commemoratedthe war hero who fought for his country and who perpetuatedhis military
preparedness
while a civilian no longerunder command.
men at the gun showsneededto get on with their lives. They were stuck. Others
Still othersjust sat in silencebehind a few rifles and stacksof ammunition,closeto tables
The fetish had begunto loseits power to protect and legitimatewhite national
America socialrelations. A new form of legitimacy was requiredto realign the gun,
with the moral authority of the individual to buy and own weapons,provided, of course,
Walking the aislesof gun showsfor ten years,I haveheardthis political language
repeatedlike a mantrato hold off both accusationand betrayal. In this way, the Second
individuals to justify both their gun ownershipand their defianceof how violence was
systemicin the United Statesandperpetuatedby thosewho professto uphold the law. Its
10
rhetoric was lacedwith the righteousstanceof the law-abiding citizenwho upheld a form
As one gun rights organizertold me, the civil rights movementneededa strong
Even worse,civil rights had createda disturbancein party politics with moderate
Republicanssplitting their own pafty. In the early 1970s,it was essentialto "reversethe
flow in the pipes."" Groupslike the Young Americansfor Freedom,the John Birch
Society,the Institute for LegislativeAction at the NRA, and the Gun Ownersof America
helpedto reversethe flow by giving the gun a political voice that hasnot stopped
Constitutionallaw.
11
our basiclibertiesare not formal bodiesof police or military. They are not mercenaries
hired to preserveand defendthe rights of free men and \¡/omen. The guardiansof civil
militias haggling over federalconhol until the Mexican Revolution and'World War I
proclaimedthe right to act like citizen soldier in the frantic military hunt for pancho
Villa
in 1916.'oForgottenwere the function of civil representativegovernmentto checkthe
regulation.
Constitutionhad restoredthe gun owner to his rightful place in the American mythos.
finally found its political voice. What followed was a continualstruggleto let this voice
ring throughoutthe land, a voice that spokein repeatedarticlesand speechesof crime and
and lawyersdumping criminals on the streetandnot the social will and infrastructure
The gun inscribedwith the NRA insignia doesattemptto qpeak,and it has sought
making it easierfor licenseddealersto sell away from their place of business,gun shows
their huntingbuddies." As a major gun show organizertold me, the FopA was an
show was a form ofpolitical expression,thoughone that was fragile and endangered.He
worried that the young men who were into military-style guns and their love of the
act of resistanceto the authority of the stateand its regulatorypowers. The regulations
were perceivedas threatsby liberalsand the left to control their lives. purchasinga gun
meantthat you could defy the brand of politics you despised.At a time when accessto
speech' Gun showsare not merely compensationfor the loss of accessto political power
always withholds effectivepolitical power. Like pulling the trigger of a gun, the
not the practice of civil government. The praiseof republicanvirtue basedon communal
14
duty is replacedby the din of the cashregister. The vigilant citizenworkingto prorecr
1
'j
and extendthe full rangeof rights underthe law to all citizensis replacedby the
) vigilante-as-cittzen,a militia onto himself, under commandof his private vision of moral
of lethal force, especiallythe individual hero who fights crime from his living room and
This voice of the gun grantslethal force to the individual in his isolation from
hand abovethe headmimics and defiesthe black power salute. It reassuresthe patriots
femi-nazi. The list is long and enemiesare generatedanew every hour to challengethe
right of the law-abidingman to buy, own, and brandishthe gun. The gun finally speaks
'
Tom Diaz, Making a Killing: TheBusinessof Gunsin America (New york: The New
Press,
!99?).p.49. Diaz writesthat the "ATF estimatesabouttwo thousandof these
shows,"while the National Associationof Arms Shows,estimates"more than five
thousandayeat." Seealso, "GLTNLANDuSA: A state-by-stateRanking of Gun
Shows,
Gun Retailers,Machine Guns,and Gun Manufacturers,"Violence policytenter, 2000.
'over
the last four yearsI have attendedgun showsin washington, Idaho,Nevada,
I llilg ir, Wisconsin,Michi gan,and pennsylv ania.
'william
J.Yizzard, shots in theDark: ihe policy, politics, and symbolismof Gun
ffD: Rowman
9!:ttr?1.(La\rym, puú.,Inc.,2000),pp.tZZ_tZS."
& Littleflreld
_Nordyke v King,
u. s. 9'r'circuit
courtof Appeals, February'lg
,2003.seealso,David
B. Kopel, writes that gul shows"are placeswhire Americansproperly exercisetheir
First and SecondAmendmentrights," online at http://www.cat-.org,last accessed
Juneg,
2005.
'Nordyke
v. King,,p.2223.
" Nordykev. King, p.2224.
'
David Mclellan, Karl Marx: SelectedWritings(New York: Oxford University press,
2 0 0 0 )p, . 4 7 3 .
'Quoted
in William Pietz,"Fetishismand Materialism," in Emily Apter and V/illiam
Pietz,eds.,Fetishismas Cultural Discourse(Ithaca: Cornell UniverÄitypress,1993),p.
t23.
'William
Hosley,Colt TheMakingof a Legend(Amherst: Universityof Massachusetrs
Press,1996),pp. 66-97.
'"
R. L. wilson andGregÀ4artin,
Bufølo Bill's wild west:An AmericanLegend(New
York: RandomHouse:1998),p. 68 andHaroldF. V/illiamson,WinchesrcrlTh"ilun That
(o^nth9WestQ{ewYork:A. S.BarnesandCo.,Inc.,l952),pp.lg5-gg.
" Seetheessay,"Readingthe West:CulturalandHistori.uín*tg1ound," in
Bill Brown,
ed.,Readingthe West:An Anthologtof Dime Westerns @oston:BedfordBooks,lggT),
t6
pp' 1-40' Also, ChristineBold, Setlingthe Wíld Vlest; Popular Fiction, I860-1960
l (Bloomington:IndianaUniversity Press,11987)and Richard Slotkin, TheFatal
Envíronment:TheMyth of the Frontier in theAge of Industrialization, 1800-Igg0
(^Middletown : WesleyanUniversity press,1985).
" For an interestingdiscussionof Rooseveltas á cowboy-soldier,seeSarahWatts,Rough
Rider in the WhiteHouse: TheodoreRooseveltand the Þolitics of Desire (Chicago:
University of ChicagoPress,2003),pp. lZ3-192.
" For a discussion_of thltift. games,seeRussellS. Gilmore, "'Another Branch of Manly
sport': AmericanRifle Games,1840-1900,"in Gunsin America:A Reader,eds.,JanE.
Dizard, RobertMerrill Muth, and stephenp. Andrews,Jr. CNewyork: New york
U:riversityPress,1999),pp.105-121
'l
!?n, Cooper,TheRxe-of the National Guard; TheEvolution of theAmerican Militia,
1865-1920(Lincoln: Universityof NebraskaPress,lggT),pp. eilOl. For addirional
discussionsof white manhoodand fraternalgroupsat the-ium of the century,seeMary
Ann Clawson, ConstructingB rotherhood: Ctass, Gender,and Fraternalis miprinceton:
PrincetonUniversity-Press,1989)and Dana Nelson,National Manhood: Ca)ttattst
Ctllzlnship and the ImagínedFraternity of Wite Men (Durham: Duke Univìrsity press,
1998).
" Daniel JustinHerman,Hunting and theAmerican Imagination (washington:
SmithsonianInstitutionPress,2001).
'u
Walter Benjamin,TheArcadesPío¡ect(Cambridge:The Belknap hess of Harvard
UniversityPress,l9g9), pp. 62-100.
" Anon., "Third Annual Sportsmen'sExposition," Shooting
and Fishing: A Journal of
-See
theRfle, Gun,and Rod 21, no.22 (March 18, 1897):445. alsothe illustrarionsfor
1896.
o
Seemy discussionof the nervesand its relationshipto mental labor, in Healing the
\erybl19: T!9 Language of Health and the curture of Nationatisrz (New york:
CambridgeUniversity Press,1994).
" The term fetish was originally usedin the
study of religion, eqpeciallythe study by
Europeansofreligions inAfrica and Egypt. In tire ninetãenthcentury,both Marx
and
Freud usedthe term, fetish, to identify symptomsreqpectivelyof the and the
þsyche
political economy. For Freud,the fetish wãs iilogical but resolvedthe conftict
for the
son of the mother's lack of a penis. The fetish was a substitutefor the matemalpenis
that
madethe fear of castrationcontrollableand the sexualpleasurederived from wo?nen
possible,henceit was both a protectionagainstcastratiänand homosexuality.
With
Marx, commoditiesactedlike fetishesin ihat they seemedto convey life while hiding
theirmeans ofproduction basedon humanlabor. The social charaCterof labor that
establishesrelationsbetweenhumansassumesthe form of a relation betweenthinls.
Hencethe utility of a commodity is not mysterious,but its value is, needinginterpìetation
to uncoverits secretsof productionand exchange,and its dependenceupotisociai
processes.My useof the term has alsobeeninfluencedby Roland Barthes
and Slavoj
Vo"kthough I do notretain all the implications of their analysis. Like Barthes,I seethe
fetish as a processthat plaçs5onto a thing a network of discursivepractices. As Zizek
points out the market and massmedia,henceadvertising,are dialeðtically connected,
and
the fetish is alwaysalreadypart of anetwork of discursivemeaninginseparablefrom this
dialectic. Further,the fetish is usedto resolveconflict superficiall! and-obscurethe
analysisof qpecificdiscoursesthat would lead to ie lack õf meaning. See,Sigmund
T7
August24,2005