Sameria Bohanon Section #6 Final Blogpost

 Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History

on Gun Violence in America (42) 

Written by: Kurt Andersen  

Who is Kurt Andersen?

Kurt Andersen is an American writer, specifically, a Novelist radio host essayist and is the author of many New York Times, Best Sellers; in my class we read Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History, and another huge seller Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America: A Recent History. Kurt gave up his radio host show, "Studio 360” after 20 years. Today, he is still focusing on his work with writing and bigger things with New York Times.

Gun Violence in America (42)

Kurt Andersen's book Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History specifically covering Chapter 42 about Gun Violence in America. Kurt Andersen grew up on guns all his childhood life. Furthermore, Chapter 42 deeply emphasized the issues with guns in hands of people that don't use guns for the necessary use. They use them to take their anger out on another innocent person, more details we be spoke about as we continue to unfold the Gun Violence issues in America. Within Kurt Andersen's book they still continue to rise with influence and knowledge today.

Beginning with Kurt's childhood, he began with a cap gun and as he grew, he graduated to BB guns and then at his Summer camp, YMCA and at his great uncle's farm he had a .22 rifle. Kurt had fantasies and an obsession with his guns at a young age and memories with his dad and one of his oldest brothers. With his dad they took an old 3-inch pipe and recreated into an "improvised cherry-bomb-powdered mortar." With one of his oldest brother, his brother would want him to " run across the backyard so he could shoot me with a BB gun from 30 yards and watch me crumple in pain to the ground, which he excitedly said at the time “was just like a movie.”

To continue, as Kurt grew and became an adult, "he still enjoys hunting turkey and shooting skeet," as the text in Fantasyland states, "had him feeling little like Daniel Boone or Lord Grantham." To add briefly, Kurt Andersen stated in Chapter 42 about why people use guns for their reasons. As well as, Kurt means people will put themselves in these fantasy characters and can’t escape until they realize this is real life with true consequences behind your actions. I took a moment to think about that statement, because it’s so much gun violence in the world today, and the actions people commit. The aftermath having strong effect to the individual that this is real life and your actions have serious consequences.

In 1960-1990s,“ Gangsters and wannabe gangsters start holding and firing their handguns sideways, parallel to the ground.” And this further went into how directors wanted the actors to do so as well, appearing to look cool. In these time periods, mandatory to have a license to carry guns in the public was not enforced. As Kurt stated in the chapter, such killers are engaged in role-play and are motivated by our besetting national dream of overnight fame.” Actions as such occur because unhappiness within self, no self love for oneself. Unhappy with their flaws and who they are individually, pushing that angry onto another human being, the world. Committing horrible crimes is their way as Kurt Andersen states, "they will act with that fantasy in their mind so everyone will pay attention to them for the first time," more authority should be reestablished.

Proceeding to additionally information on Gun Violence in America, Kurt Andersen emphasized in his book about the upsetting, heartbreaking incident at Sandy Hooks Elementary School, where a man went to this elementary school and killed 20 first graders and 6 adults in 2012. A man by the name Alex Jones, a radio host, decided to say this event at the elementary school didn’t happened, all the grieving parents were actors and “a staged fantasy.” This was very sad to research and see, when there are grieving families on the news, and he speaks out about a real incident is a "staged fantasy."

Lastly, there were key dates throughout Fantasyland, when gun owning increased in media and the spread in public. In 1960s, directors enforced actors to hold guns certain ways in movies, to look cool. By 1970s, about half of Americans had a gun, and then in 1980 the 2nd amendment guarantees an individual’s right to have a gun only if it bears “some reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well regulated militia.” Finally, September 2017, Only about a quarter of Americans own guns.

Kurt Andersen highlighted so many issues with guns, and opened in-depth information about the Sandy Hooks incident. He believed that the government "cover up" so much and no information to the public and expect citizens to forget. American gun love, abides the law underlying 'American myths' that it all comes from action movies, applying all these emotions dealing with gun weaponry.