Why?

[n8swag]

So, why does our current society view knife carriers in such a negative light?

A knife is a tool... some people have misused tools and therefore have put the tools in a bad light? What are your thoughts on this?

ex. I wore a knife to physical therapy in my pocket and my pt saw it and had a heart attack. I think our modern society for the most part views knives as weapons and not tools. Anyone agree with me?
Not hatin, just wondering what your opinion is. . .

 

[OrdnanceBubbaUSMC]

A lot of people are brought up being fed various flavors of fear, doubt, regret, and being reliant on big brother so they have these issues.

 

[RevDevil]

So, why does our current society view knife carriers in such a negative light?

A knife is a tool... some people have misused tools and therefore have put the tools in a bad light? What are your thoughts on this?

ex. I wore a knife to physical therapy in my pocket and my pt saw it and had a heart attack. I think our modern society for the most part views knives as weapons and not tools. Anyone agree with me?
Not hatin, just wondering what your opinion is. . .

This topic can easily veer off course into political discussion. The reason I think your physical therapist may have flipped out over a knife is because in an evironment like that, there really is no need for one. Not everyone is a knife nut, not everyone wants, needs or uses a knife in their day to day. People are different.

 

[powernoodle]

So, why does our current society view knife carriers in such a negative light?

The short answer:

1 - many people have a pervasive belief that they are weak, victimized and oppressed, which is usually brought about by poor parenting
2 - their response is to attack or otherwise seek revenge on those who they perceive as their superiors, their oppressors or any person or institution they believe is "winning" at life. They believe that something "unfair" must have resulted in them being weak and victimized, while someone else is strong and "winning".
3 - to them, a knife is objective evidence that the other person is in some respects "superior", because the knife allows the knife owner to impose his will on the weak. And as they believe it is "unfair" for someone else to be superior, they feel morally justified in creating workplace environments, social morays and statutes of law which prevent other persons from carrying knives. After all, its only "fair" that the oppressor be made weak and oppressed.

Notice that I said "belief" and "perceive" and "feel", because this worldview is purely subjective and emotional. Those who feel weak and victimized are not in actually objectively weak and victimized, and those who they believe are "superior" or "stronger" or "better" are not actually so. Its all about perception and emotion.

 

[Fanglekai]

The short answer:

1 - many people have a pervasive belief that they are weak, victimized and oppressed, which is usually brought about by poor parenting
2 - their response is to attack or otherwise seek revenge on those who they perceive as their superiors, their oppressors or any person or institution they believe is "winning" at life. They believe that something "unfair" must have resulted in them being weak and victimized, while someone else is strong and "winning".
3 - to them, a knife is objective evidence that the other person is in some respects "superior", because the knife allows the knife owner to impose his will on the weak. And as they believe it is "unfair" for someone else to be superior, they feel morally justified in creating workplace environments, social morays and statutes of law which prevent other persons from carrying knives. After all, its only "fair" that the oppressor be made weak and oppressed.

Notice that I said "belief" and "perceive" and "feel", because this worldview is purely subjective and emotional. Those who feel weak and victimized are not in actually objectively weak and victimized, and those who they believe are "superior" or "stronger" or "better" are not actually so. Its all about perception and emotion.

I don't think it has anything to do with parenting, feeling like a victim, or anything related to superiority.

I think it's more along these lines:
Most people have no need to carry a knife. I carry a knife every day and most days there's not much I really need to use it for. The same is true for most people: they don't do anything on a day to day basis that requires a knife. Since there's no need for most people to carry a knife, those that don't carry one don't see why those that do choose to do so.

Then you have the transition of knife from tool to weapon. Kitchen knives are still seen as tools because people are familiar with that scenario. Seeing a farmer or a boy scout with a knife is familiar and also falls under "knife as tool". Since most people don't have any use for a knife in an urban environment the knife is seen as a weapon, not a tool, because there is no apparent use for a knife other than to stab someone.

Add to this the "tactical" designs that have run rampant. Did grandpa carry a rajah II or a ZT301 on the farm? Nope. Tactical knives are designed to be used as weapons. That seems to be what tactical aims for anyway.Try using a slipjoint in place of a huge tactical folder and you'll probably get a different response from people. Traditional slipjoints don't tend to look very threatening and they are certainly not designed for urban tacticool mall ninja combat scenarios.

 

[GRIM 62]

Good statement powernoodle,I think you nailed it.

 

[powernoodle]

I don't think it has anything to do with parenting, feeling like a victim, or anything related to superiority. . . . Most people have no need to carry a knife.

But even if most people don't need an EDC knife, that doesn't explain why many of those people completely despise my knife.

I don't carry an iPod or lipstick (strike that - I don't carry an iPod), but I don't poop my pants and throw a hissy fit when I see someone who does. I don't enact anti-iPod legislation, or create and promote workplace policies to ban the iPod. I don't b*tch at people when I see an iPod in their pocket. I just don't carry an iPod. But my parents never dropped me on my head when I was a baby (well, maybe once), so I don't hate other people's inanimate objects.

Good statement powernoodle,I think you nailed it.

Agreeing with Powernoodle is always wise.

 

[clockman]

Powernoodle your posts usually have some humor in them....some more than others. I enjoy reading them a lot!

 

[Jaytaylor]

I don't think it has anything to do with parenting, feeling like a victim, or anything related to superiority.

I think it's more along these lines:
Most people have no need to carry a knife. I carry a knife every day and most days there's not much I really need to use it for. The same is true for most people: they don't do anything on a day to day basis that requires a knife. Since there's no need for most people to carry a knife, those that don't carry one don't see why those that do choose to do so.

Then you have the transition of knife from tool to weapon. Kitchen knives are still seen as tools because people are familiar with that scenario. Seeing a farmer or a boy scout with a knife is familiar and also falls under "knife as tool". Since most people don't have any use for a knife in an urban environment the knife is seen as a weapon, not a tool, because there is no apparent use for a knife other than to stab someone.

Add to this the "tactical" designs that have run rampant. Did grandpa carry a rajah II or a ZT301 on the farm? Nope. Tactical knives are designed to be used as weapons. That seems to be what tactical aims for anyway.Try using a slipjoint in place of a huge tactical folder and you'll probably get a different response from people. Traditional slipjoints don't tend to look very threatening and they are certainly not designed for urban tacticool mall ninja combat scenarios.

This ^^^^^

 

[Jesse B.]

I think urbanization--among many elements of social change in recent decades and the last 100-odd years--have contributed to a more intolerant view of knives. We now have generations of people whose only exposure to knives outside the kitchen or the dinner table comes in the form of their depiction as weapons onscreen. Pocket knives which used to be handed down to children as a rite of passage are now often kept from them out of fear they'll become the objects of lawsuits or zero-tolerance policies.

As an analogy, my father grew up in the woods in the 1930's. There's a great picture of him at age 8 wearing a pistol he used to hunt small game. If that picture was contemporary his father would probably be arrested, Child Protective Services would swoop in, and he'd receive mandatory counseling twice a week.

 

[Tim616]

I agree with power noodle.

 

[hank_rearden]

So, why does our current society view knife carriers in such a negative light?

A knife is a tool... some people have misused tools and therefore have put the tools in a bad light? What are your thoughts on this?

ex. I wore a knife to physical therapy in my pocket and my pt saw it and had a heart attack. I think our modern society for the most part views knives as weapons and not tools. Anyone agree with me?
Not hatin, just wondering what your opinion is. . .

he/she fainted at the sight of your sexy body.

 

[Goosey]

What powernoodle said. Nobody in a city or suburb actually has a dire need to carry one. Someone asked me once why I didn't just rip open cardboard packages like everyone else.

Plus the fact that kids stab each other all the time at bar closing hour.

 

[richard thurman]

If any body should hate knifes it should be me. I just got out of the army and I tried to give a person a ride home. I was working for a day labor company. on the way home something went wrong with my truck and we got out he stabbed me 6 times. 4 in the back 2 in the front. I got away and they flew my to a hospital and saved my life. do you know what I did for fun?? I started selling knifes. the person stabbed me not the knife but alot of people just dont look at it like that.

 

[Scrazy]

Since knives aren't as common as they used to be, people get surprised when they are exposed to something that they aren't used to. Most people view carrying knives as something "different" and they get uncomfortable about it.

 

[BladeChick777]

This Subject Pops Up More Often Than A Woman With PMS. That's Pretty Damn Often.

Anyways, Who Cares What People Think?
I Think It All Has To Do With Perception.
People May Freak Out When They See Your Knife Because They See It As Dangerous And As A Weapon.
Simply: They Are Afraid.

The World Has Marked Knives Off As Weapons Because:
1.) People Have Misused Their Tools.
2.) Knives Are OBVIOUSLY Capable Of Hurting Someone.(Though We Know Nails, Hammers, Screwdrivers, Drinking Glasses, A Spoon, A Lighter, Or Even An Extention Cord Could Be Used As A Weapon, It's NOT Obvious To Other People.)
3.) Terrorists Carry Guns/Knives And We Have Laws Against Both.(There Are No Laws Against Nails, Hammers, Screwdrivers, Drinking Glasses, Spoons, Lighters, And Extention Cords.)

But... I Carry A Knife All Day Every Day Everywhere I Go.
Some People Are Okay With It, Others Aren't.

I've Carried My Knives To Physical Therapy ALL THE TIME And My PT's Have Never Freaked Out, But I Live On A Not So Good Side Of Town, They're Probably Used To Seeing MUCH Worse. Lol.

But, Ya Know, Carry Your Knife, Use It As It's Meant To Be Used, Don't Pull It When You're Around Certain People Or Places, Deem When You Feel It's "Appropriate".

Like In A Doctors Office, Some Of Them Will Not React Well To A Knife.
In That Case - Carry It Concealed - Do NOT Pull It Out.
Or Just Leave It In Your Car Until Your Done.

 

[Coyote3855]

Could be a bicoastal thing. It my part of the country, you're considered a little odd if you don't carry a knife. I work for an engineering firm where most everyone carries a good sized folding knife clipped to a pocket. We're professionals, dealing with clients and the general public. No one "freaks out" or has a "heart attack."

 

[Jesse B.]

^Yea, you can't underestimate the impact of population size and density on how people tend to view knives.

 

[OvalmanPA]

So, why does our current society view knife carriers in such a negative light?

Substitute "knife" for gun and we have the same discussion about another inanimate object. Most of the same things said above can also be used with the person carrying a gun.

Sheeple is what I like it refer it to.......... They've been "taught" to fear an object whether that object is being held/used/on their person by a "good" guy or a "bad" one.

 

[P2P]

The short answer:

1 - many people have a pervasive belief that they are weak, victimized and oppressed, which is usually brought about by poor parenting
2 - their response is to attack or otherwise seek revenge on those who they perceive as their superiors, their oppressors or any person or institution they believe is "winning" at life. They believe that something "unfair" must have resulted in them being weak and victimized, while someone else is strong and "winning".
3 - to them, a knife is objective evidence that the other person is in some respects "superior", because the knife allows the knife owner to impose his will on the weak. And as they believe it is "unfair" for someone else to be superior, they feel morally justified in creating workplace environments, social morays and statutes of law which prevent other persons from carrying knives. After all, its only "fair" that the oppressor be made weak and oppressed.

Notice that I said "belief" and "perceive" and "feel", because this worldview is purely subjective and emotional. Those who feel weak and victimized are not in actually objectively weak and victimized, and those who they believe are "superior" or "stronger" or "better" are not actually so. Its all about perception and emotion.

Good read. I felt like a repost.