Book Details

In "Basic Pistol: Living and Dying by the Gun in America," sociologist Harel Shapira immerses himself in the world of firearms training to understand the culture surrounding gun ownership in the United States. Over ten years, he attends numerous classes at Tactical Training, a firearms school in rural Texas, where students are taught that everyday activities, like grocery shopping, could escalate into violent confrontations. The curriculum emphasizes the necessity of always carrying a gun and being prepared to use it, fostering a mindset rooted in constant vigilance and self-defense. Shapira's ethnographic study reveals how these training programs instill a worldview characterized by racial fears, aggressive masculinity, and an entitlement to violence, suggesting that such education in violence poses a threat to the very foundations of democracy.