What do you call . . . - Page 2

dahermit · July 2, 2021, 06:09 AM

The "irrational" fear of guns may be a misnomer. It should perhaps be called, "non-proportional" fear of guns in that shooting deaths are far behind the numbers of persons who die each year from "medical mistakes" (250,000 as per John Hopkins study), drug over-doses, auto accidents, etc. The difference is that those deaths are not sensationalized by the media as are shooting deaths.

However, there are some people who have an "irrational" fear of guns just as there are those who jump on a kitchen chair and scream when they see a mouse. "Mouse deaths" last year = zero.

ligonierbill · July 2, 2021, 06:45 AM

I used to work in an industry that had to deal with people's fears, rational or not. Researchers have found that people tend to fear what they perceive as out of their control, especially if it is unfamiliar to them. Many folks feel safer in their car than on an airliner, though statistically it's far more dangerous. That's somewhat irrational, as you are not in control of that semi in the other lane, but it's human nature to feel that way. And driving is familiar. Most of us don't see that several tons of pickup closing on us at a combined 120 mph a few feet to our left as a threat. And most of us don't see that pistol on the other guy's hip as an immediate threat either. The pickup driver could flick his wheel and kill us quicker than the guy could draw his gun, but we all know which one most folks would identify as the bigger danger.

When my brother passed away, I was called to his house to retrieve a few guns from a spare room. His wife was afraid to enter the room, let alone touch them, as though they were snakes waiting to get her. (And just try convincing someone they shouldn't be afraid of snakes!) We can work on familiarizing people with guns and their common use, but few perspectives will be changed.

51cskipper · July 2, 2021, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Hoplophobia. Pronounced pretty much like it looks.

If you suffer from this you are hoplophobic.

" Hoplos " for short

**44 AMP** · July 2, 2021, 12:26 PM

Quote:

"Mouse deaths" last year = zero.

I disagree, I killed several mice personally last year and saw my cats kill even more.

Human death, caused by mice? probably zero, if you leave out disease...

July 2, 2021, 06:09 AM	#26
dahermit Senior Member Join Date: October 28, 2006 Location: South Central Michigan...near Posts: 6,501	The "irrational" fear of guns may be a misnomer. It should perhaps be called, "non-proportional" fear of guns in that shooting deaths are far behind the numbers of persons who die each year from "medical mistakes" (250,000 as per John Hopkins study), drug over-doses, auto accidents, etc. The difference is that those deaths are not sensationalized by the media as are shooting deaths. However, there are some people who have an "irrational" fear of guns just as there are those who jump on a kitchen chair and scream when they see a mouse. "Mouse deaths" last year = zero.

July 2, 2021, 06:45 AM	#27
ligonierbill Senior Member Join Date: May 20, 2007 Posts: 2,456	I used to work in an industry that had to deal with people's fears, rational or not. Researchers have found that people tend to fear what they perceive as out of their control, especially if it is unfamiliar to them. Many folks feel safer in their car than on an airliner, though statistically it's far more dangerous. That's somewhat irrational, as you are not in control of that semi in the other lane, but it's human nature to feel that way. And driving is familiar. Most of us don't see that several tons of pickup closing on us at a combined 120 mph a few feet to our left as a threat. And most of us don't see that pistol on the other guy's hip as an immediate threat either. The pickup driver could flick his wheel and kill us quicker than the guy could draw his gun, but we all know which one most folks would identify as the bigger danger. When my brother passed away, I was called to his house to retrieve a few guns from a spare room. His wife was afraid to enter the room, let alone touch them, as though they were snakes waiting to get her. (And just try convincing someone they shouldn't be afraid of snakes!) We can work on familiarizing people with guns and their common use, but few perspectives will be changed.