Friday, May 27, 2016
Expanding My Worldview: multiple interpretations of global issues and events
It's interesting to hear people from Spain talk about the stereotypes and assumptions they have of Americans. I've heard multiple people speak to us about our election, the candidates, and gun control. Spain and America have complete opposite opinions of guns. Gun control has been a huge global issue lately, especially in America. It's interesting to see that our election and gun control issues are well known globally. When we spoke to the speaker at the European Parliament, he made a joke that "he didn't want to get into an argument with us because in America we use guns." He didn't understand why we would need them. We explained that it's for safety and even recreational sometimes. It was crazy to him that we were allowed to shoot someone if they were trespassing on our personal property. However, in Spain I've seen a multiple body guards standing outside important buildings with huge military guns. They are only a few feet away from locals and literally stand on the sidewalks. It's interesting to hear that personal guns are uncommon but law enforcement carry such huge and extravagant guns. These are two completely different interpretations of global issues happening right now.
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I definitely noticed the strange thing about their negative thoughts on guns but then also seeing the military with the huge machine guns... it was so contradicting! I understand that the military and police have been trained and know how to operate the guns but it just seemed extreme seeing them walk up and down the streets with machine guns knowing the odds were that not a single citizen of the country on the street had one.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you and noticed what you observed as well. It is very interesting to me how Americans and people who live in Spain have such different gun policies. I remember when that speaker from the European Parliament said that joke, and it kind of caught me off guard. For us, it is so common to have guns in our house, but to locals in Spain that is completely foreign. I like that you mentioned the guns the security guards had on them. You're right, those guns were huge. I feel like if I lived in Spain, I would want to have a gun in my house because places like Madrid are not always the safest.
ReplyDeleteI found this interesting as well. The police in Spain walks around with shotguns and assault rifles in hand. I don't get why they would feel so threatened by Americans wanting the right to have guns. It could be that the speaker was just making a joke but I noticed the same reaction from others when it came to the subject of guns.
ReplyDeleteI found this interesting as well. The police in Spain walks around with shotguns and assault rifles in hand. I don't get why they would feel so threatened by Americans wanting the right to have guns. It could be that the speaker was just making a joke but I noticed the same reaction from others when it came to the subject of guns.
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