I profess to be a pacifist, but I enlisted in the Army and I enjoy shooting guns and I'm good at it, and I'm fascinated by military technology. This subjects me to a lot of self-loathing, but what can I do? Oh, and I was a government investigator for 25 years or so.

Much as I'm fascinated by the workings of guns, I don't think I've fired one or touched one since 1973, when I left the Army. But I have to admit that for me, guns are really cool.

But it bothers me that I live in an area where people think guns are essential for protection, and I've done just fine since 1973 without a gun. I'm surrounded by too many people who think they need multiple guns to protect themselves from Government. Their fear of government and their gun purchases were multiplied a hundredfold when the Government was headed by a black man. I thought that frenzy would die down when Trump was elected and these people no longer had something to fear - but they're still buying guns.

I tend to make critical comments about the Gun Culture in the local newspaper, and sometimes I wonder if I'm crazy to do that.

-Joe-