Firearms enthusiasts. Hardcore video gamers. They sound like two completely different groups of people, but both have one thing in common: everyone else thinks theyâre crazy.
Thatâs one of the key take-aways from a great piece over on the Escapist, written by a man who is both a gamer and a gun lover, a games writer and a member of the National Rifle Association.
âShooting is fun; gaming is stimulating. Not quite what youâd expect to hear, and certainly not what many anti-gun and gaming advocates would lead you to believeâ writes Russ Pitts. âIn fact, most people who neither shoot nor play games assume that people who engage in those activities do so for the opposite reasons, and the mere suggestion that gamers might also own guns brings to mind the horrific images of the shootings at Columbine, perpetrated by two boys who were videogamers and firearm fanatics.â
âYet in talking with the gunners and gamers, it becomes clear that these are not members of the lunatic fringe. In fact, those who are most serious about gaming and gunning are probably the least dangerous people youâll ever meet, and less likely to harm themselves or others than âcasualâ hobbyists â i.e., people looking for a combat rifle on Google so they can âpwn noobsâ â.
While the kind of gun ownership advocated by those in the article may not sit well with those outside the US (or inside and anti-gun), the other stuff â like gamers and their instant fascination with Modern Warfare 2âs Bushmaster ACR weapon â is good reading.
Gunners and Gamers [Escapist]
