Thursday, November 13, 2008
Packing Heat
Forgive me for being fairly off-topic... this has nothing to do with fashion but it does have to do with consumption. I am sure many of you have read that October was a huge month for gun sales and the boom has continued in the wake of Obama's win despite the state of the economy. Apparently Obama said that he believes in "common sense safety measures" in regard to gun control and those inflammatory fighting-words were enough to send weapons enthusiasts on a mad dash to stock their gun cabinets before it's too late. In light of discussion in the readings this week about the amassing of consumer goods as an identity building exercise combined with the body of film writing on guns as extensions of the human body, I am curious about the relationships of many of these firearms buyers to their possessions. Phallus anyone?
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Apocalyptic change, a Copernican shift of one form or another, seems to be on people's minds these days--what with global warming beginning to be taken somewhat seriously, the first black American president (dubbed a "socialist" by some), the arrival of a sequel to the Great Depression, the Great Southern Californian ShakeOut with its apocalyptic imagery (could it really happen here, to us?)... I think Americans are feeling really exposed to the "winds of change" right now, and uncertain whether it's the winds of a "new beginning" (how?) or of the End Times (how do you tell the difference?)... A feeling of over-exposure and uncertainty about whether the Earth [American] really is still the sheltered, privileged Center of the Universe around which everything else orbits... So, yeah, in this context it's no surprise that good old-fashioned American self-reliance is rearing its frightened head as individual Americans go reaching for their fire-arms to feel safe. Although, apparently, roughly the same rush on gun-stores happened when Clinton was elected president so many years ago.
Americans thrown off kilter? Never... Could the Ameri-centric days be over? If so, it would be safe to say that it's about time. However, I worry about this "winds of change" moment in time that we are currently experiencing. Will the stir cause conservatives to lash out and somehow reign in the horrific consequences of liberal regimes?
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