White male gun owners who have lost, or fear losing, their economic footing tend to feel morally and emotionally attached to their guns, according to a Baylor University study.
This segment of the population also is most likely to say that violence against the United States government is sometimes justified, reported researchers F. Carson Mencken, Ph.D., and Paul Froese, Ph.D., professors of sociology in Baylor’s College of Arts & Sciences.
“This speaks to the belief in some ‘dark state’ within the government which needs fighting,” Froese said.
“What’s paradoxical is that white male gun owners in the U.S. see themselves as hyper-patriotic, but they are the first to say, ‘If the government impedes me, I have the moral and almost patriotic right to fight back.’”
In contrast, nonwhite gun owners who have faced or may be coping with financially difficult times do not place as much importance on the gun, researchers found. They also are much less likely to approve of violence against the federal government even if they feel high levels of economic stress.
And that my friends is why domestic terrorism is far more concerning than anything that may come at us from a foreign land.
White men, heavily armed, and terrified that they are losing their place of prominence in society, are essentially a powder keg just waiting for a spark to set them off.
They may have believed that by voting Donald Trump into office that they would no longer have to worry about women, minorities, and immigrants negatively impacting their ability to find work, but when they discover that nothing of consequence has changed they may become even more radicalized and potentially dangerous.
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