Guns and Guilt

The only human desire more universal than the urge to put on a show is the urge to get paid for it. That’s true today and it was true in the Old West. Actresses such as Lily Langtree and Maude Adams were highly paid for their talent. They played to sell-outs houses in Denver and San Francisco. Of course they weren’t the only form of entertainment. The gun was an integral part of pioneer entertainment. Today there is widespread disapproval of firearms, but during the early 1860s through the late 1880s, even the most gentle families saw nothing immoral in allowing their children to play with guns. In the Old West it was almost a rite of puberty to give a boy his own gun, and marksmanship with a rifle and revolver was considered a highly desirable preparation for manhood. Watching displays of marksmanship was a popular form of entertainment then. Buffalo Bill Cody capitalized on that and made it the hallmark of his traveling shows. Of course people then and now seem to be drawn more to the bad guys with guns who put on a show robbing banks and freight wagons. Westerners would have paid anything to get a glimpse of Jesse James or Billy the Kid. The resulting culture gave the products of Remington, Colt and Winchester every bit the prestige of, and popularity even greater than, those of Walt Whitman or Mark Twain – especially among boys. I don’t think things have changed much. The bad guys still get a lot of attention. Few kids in the late 1900s pretended to be Mark Twain, but many of them pretended to be Billy the Kid. It’s interesting – it can take decades to become an overnight success, and only moments to be considered a lifetime failure. Maybe outlaws and professional victims attract an audience because they lack guilt for any of the bad they did. Most people can’t fathom living with themselves if they robbed a bank, held up a stage, shot and killed people, or falsely accused someone of a crime that cost an innocent man his life. It’s fascinating to watch someone who can feel everything except guilt. Nothing shakes them. They never remember the people they destroyed. I think the only thing that keeps the people who destroyed my brother awake at night is puzzlement over why their professional victim act hasn’t landed them a television show. No guilt and we can’t look away. We pay fairly hefty cable bills to watch shows featuring individuals who seemingly have no capacity to feel guilt – shows like Toddlers and Tiaras, Housewife of Wherever, and Bridezilla. Reality TV has made it easy for bad people to become stars. I would venture to say that if Billy the Kid was alive today some producer would have a weekly series about the reckless youth. They’d make excuses for his behavior and probably broadcast a real shooting or two. The network execs would say to one another, “Now that’s must see TV.”