What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear “Wild Wild West”? Is it a movie?
A family event?
Or is it this?
The wild wild west in Southwest Florida? A Collier County woman is worried after a neighbor makes his own gun range in their backyard. The woman tells us she’s concerned about safety and noise with target practice going on close to her home and she wants to know if it’s legal.
Source: http://www.jrn.com/fox4now/news/237702921.html
Yet what’s wild about that image? It’s certainly less wild than jumping out of a plane or doing tricks while skateboarding or rock climbing or hundreds of activities far more dangerous than firing a gun into a target.
Contrary to popular perception, the Old West was much more peaceful than American cities are today. The real culture of violence on the frontier during the latter half of the nineteenth century sprang from the U.S. government’s policies toward the Plains Indians.
Source of Essay: http://www.independent.org/publications/tir/article.asp?a=803
Even The History Channel, infamous for their liberal bias, admits that common anti-gun expressions such as “gunfight at the O.K Corral” wasn’t such a big deal:
5. The famed gunfight at the O.K. Corral wasn’t much of a shootout and didn’t take place at the O.K. Corral.
One of the most famous gunfights in history—the shootout between the three Earp brothers (Morgan, Virgil and Wyatt), Doc Holliday, Billy Claireborne, the two Clanton brothers (Billy and Ike) and the two McLaury brothers (Frank and Tom)—didn’t amount to much. Despite the involvement of eight people, the gunfight only lasted about 30 seconds. Furthermore, the shootout didn’t take place within the O.K. Corral at all. Instead, all the shooting occurred near the current intersection of Third Street and Fremont Street in Tombstone, Arizona, which is behind the corral itself. Bloodshed made up for the brevity, though: three of the lawmen were injured and three of the cowboys killed.
Source: http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-old-west
Hollywood needs to maintain the myth of the “wild west” to sell pictures, and I admit they’re entertaining. Who wants to watch a film about a nice family of farmers growing crops and talking about their lives? That would be like watching Gone with the Wind without the Civil War breaking out. So I can’t blame Hollywood for making a buck, but there’s no excuse for the news media.
If you want to report on a backyard gun range, there’s no need for “Wild Wild West,” “Backyard Gun Range” is good enough.
