Incidence of hoplophobia?

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I am a retired Army guy with a background of Infantry and EOD. I spent more than my share of time working with different special operations units. Of course there, everyone is armed and nobody really gives a hoot what kind of knife you've got. Back in '05 I was sent help out an undermanned Airforce unit here stateside. The bomb guys didn't really give me a second look as i had worked with them before, but the rest of the people in that Squadron went apey when i carried a machete or tomahawk around the building. The commander of the Squadron was a major. About my second week there he called me to the office and did his best to explain to me that I was exhibiting inappropriate behavior the Airfoce didn't appreciate it's NCOs being so aggressive.

I of course gave him all the dues and courtesy due his position and rank and then blew him off. After i finished the TDY, i found out he had called my boss. Evidently he told the major that he should be happy that I hadn't killed anyone while I was there.

It's amazing though how afraid people are of anything that could be considered a weapon. Especially knives, one of the oldest tools in human inventory.
 
I write all the hoplophobia off as the 'pussification' of today's urban male. JMO. ;)
 
I write all the hoplophobia off as the 'pussification' of today's urban male. JMO. ;)

I agree. Tori Amos said that things are getting desperate when all the boys can't be men...
 
I was doing some volunteer work and in the midst of a group of about 15 people I didn't know, a guy quite loudly asked "Is that a weapon?" I had no idea what he was talking and somewhat stood there dumbfounded. I even did the whole look-behind-me-and-see-if-there's-someone-else thing. He pointed at me and asked me again. Still confused, I of course said no. He then said, "What's that in your pocket?"

Long story short: Guy makes a big scene because he noticed the pocket clip of the Kershaw Shallot. (Later that day, I was using things like power tools and other much more dangerous "weapons")
 
Barteaux-Machete-24L-BEN-_i_bmw160072.jpg

Machetes are cool & useful.
 
I've spent a lot of time arguing with anti-gun folks, but never really met too many anti-knife people here in Oklahoma (fortunately). Its ironic because statistically as killers, knives aren't even very effective (also true of guns) when compared to things like automobiles, STDs, backyard pools, and starvation/disease in places that could use spare change to help fight those things (and most of the anti-knife people I know have not done anything to prevent that sort of thing).
 
She kept arguing that landscapers should never, ever use machetes because they are "a big knife."

Also, this just in,

House cats are small felines.
Apples are a type of fruit.
Books are bound sheets of paper.
And cars are a form of transportation.

I'm sorry, you friend is not a hoplophobe, at least that isn't her main problem.
To put it gently she lacks the ability to reason clearly. To put it more casually she is as dumb as a bag of rocks.

This kind of thing is fairly common, the phrase 'big knife' means something specific and unfavorable TO HER. We can tell because she thinks that simply putting it in this category makes her whole argumetn for her. She has not, and maybe can not reason on her own to see if it actually does. She has probably never consciously thought about it herself.

People frequently do two things (a) hold views without thinking about WHY. and (b) give things labels without thinking about what the label actually means.

Sometimes people like this can be reached through the use of patient leading questions. You will never get through just by telling them the truth, your only slim hope is to help them work through it themselves.

In my religion gambling is frowned upon (Greed, depriving others). I once had a mother get very concerned when I taught her boys how to play poker. I like poker, interesting combo of statistics and psychology.

"Hey, that's gambling."
"What? No we're just playing a card game."
"But it's poker right, isn't that gambling?"
"Well what is gambling exactly, like if you looked it up in the dictionary?"
"ummm betting money on things."
"Aha! Well, we're not playing for money, or anything else of value, therefore we are not gambling."
 
Also, this just in,

House cats are small felines.
Apples are a type of fruit.
Books are bound sheets of paper.
And cars are a form of transportation.

I'm sorry, you friend is not a hoplophobe, at least that isn't her main problem.
To put it gently she lacks the ability to reason clearly. To put it more casually she is as dumb as a bag of rocks.

This kind of thing is fairly common, the phrase 'big knife' means something specific and unfavorable TO HER. We can tell because she thinks that simply putting it in this category makes her whole argumetn for her. She has not, and maybe can not reason on her own to see if it actually does. She has probably never consciously thought about it herself.

People frequently do two things (a) hold views without thinking about WHY. and (b) give things labels without thinking about what the label actually means.

Sometimes people like this can be reached through the use of patient leading questions. You will never get through just by telling them the truth, your only slim hope is to help them work through it themselves.

In my religion gambling is frowned upon (Greed, depriving others). I once had a mother get very concerned when I taught her boys how to play poker. I like poker, interesting combo of statistics and psychology.

"Hey, that's gambling."
"What? No we're just playing a card game."
"But it's poker right, isn't that gambling?"
"Well what is gambling exactly, like if you looked it up in the dictionary?"
"ummm betting money on things."
"Aha! Well, we're not playing for money, or anything else of value, therefore we are not gambling."

Well done.
 
I guess I'll be the guy (dick?) to say that hoplophobia isn't a fear of knives. It's a fear of firearms or people armed with them. Aichmophobia is the fear of pointy/sharp objects. I believe that both are caused by people not being educated about what they fear. Most people fear the unknown or unfamiliar. A bit of knowledge or wisdom can take the fear right out of someone.
 
I guess I'll be the guy (dick?) to say that hoplophobia isn't a fear of knives. It's a fear of firearms or people armed with them. Aichmophobia is the fear of pointy/sharp objects. I believe that both are caused by people not being educated about what they fear. Most people fear the unknown or unfamiliar. A bit of knowledge or wisdom can take the fear right out of someone.

I can agree with this. I can use my own mother as an example. She used to be naive of guns and didn't want anything to do with them. I took her to the range with me and my father, and told her to take a few shots. She sat down and did it and actually liked it. She adopted the "hey this isn't so bad" attitude towards shooting, and saw that it was really fun and wasn't something to be scared of or fear. The same attitude can probably be applied towards those who are afraid of knives. Show them how useful a knife can be, and just because it is big or scary looking doesn't mean that it is not useful.
 
I guess I'll be the guy (dick?) to say that hoplophobia isn't a fear of knives. It's a fear of firearms or people armed with them. Aichmophobia is the fear of pointy/sharp objects. I believe that both are caused by people not being educated about what they fear. Most people fear the unknown or unfamiliar. A bit of knowledge or wisdom can take the fear right out of someone.

I could be wrong, but i thought hoplophobia is the fear of armed men, coming from the Greek word, "hoplite" <---hope i spelled it right.
"
 
Colonel Cooper coined the word in the early 60's to describe the fear of firearms, because he got sick and tired of everyone saying "gun-grabber". Few outside the weapons aficionado community have heard of it, some use it to encompass anything deadly possessing a mind of its own, but Jeff meant guns. It is however reasonable to presume that no one is going to take away your birthday for using the word to describe the irrational fear of knives as well.
 
I still think that 'pussification' is a more all encompassing and fitting term.:p
 
Ever notice how some folks seem to take pride in their inability to fend for themselves? How they are so sure of their own superiority over someone who kills, butchers and cooks their own meat? How sure they are that there will always be someone to do all the dirty work so they dont have to? I saw a human interest story a month ago about a husband and wife on a hike. Punctuated by pictures of the two against a forest background. A weather change came on them but they decided to push on. Coming back down it got too cold to go on so they sat down and waited and the wife froze to death. Surrounded by trees the husband could not build a shelter or start a fire and lost his wife. THAT to me is pussification. A trapped hiker cutting his hand off with a multitool is not. I have no time for folks that refuse to believe they will never need anything but an iphone to be safe.
 
Ever notice how some folks seem to take pride in their inability to fend for themselves? How they are so sure of their own superiority over someone who kills, butchers and cooks their own meat? How sure they are that there will always be someone to do all the dirty work so they dont have to? I saw a human interest story a month ago about a husband and wife on a hike. Punctuated by pictures of the two against a forest background. A weather change came on them but they decided to push on. Coming back down it got too cold to go on so they sat down and waited and the wife froze to death. Surrounded by trees the husband could not build a shelter or start a fire and lost his wife. THAT to me is pussification. A trapped hiker cutting his hand off with a multitool is not. I have no time for folks that refuse to believe they will never need anything but an iphone to be safe.

Good post.That's a damn shame that guy couldn't build a fire & shelter for himself & his wife.
 
Id be interested to know what people here consider pusification..

To me, pussification is not allowing Scouts to carry a folder in the field; a young man that can't shoot a .22 when he is 14; an elementary school kid that doesn't have a slip joint on him in grade 5; not saying 'Merry Christmas' or 'Happy Hanukkah' for fear of offending someone; people that won't cowboy the %*#! up and help someone in an emergency; a Doctor's waiting room filled with people 'texting' on their Blackberries; aw nuts, I could carry on all day, but I am sure you get the point.
 
Pussification is happening all around us. When Little League teams don't keep score, everybody is a whinner! When I can't carry a tool, in public, like a knife, because too many people are afraid, watched too much TV, News, and movies. When you can't tell someone that you disagree with them, and they can't deal with it emotionally, happens in the real world, and on web forums.
 
I find an answer that most sheeple understand, is "when was the last time you tried to open a CD or anything in a plastic clam pack?" I carry between 4 and 6 knives on me every day, all different. Somedays I use them all, somedays I don't.

Knives and guns kill people just like pencils cause misspelled words.


-Xander

Actually pencils can be quite deadly weapons. I wonder when the idiots will try to ban them???

Rich
 
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