20 dead in Orlando gay club shooting

[Thumpalumpacus]

I don't even think it's that sort of culture.  I think it's a subculture that has been steeped in Gary Cooper, John Wayne, and Clint Eastwood, which views a sidearm as a solution -- which it is only very rarely.

And, of course, the public failed to understand that, in those films, those were meant to be fairly extreme situations and even then, in quite a few cases, they're actually called out on being too extreme.

Just watch this scene from The Searchers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rzu68c2GJSc


and maybe this one for good measure, where he may not be condemned by the characters, but it's clear he's not meant to be the good guy he's cracked up to be:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5hT5FLMUBg

TL;DR. People take ideas from things they like and disregard the rest, even if it's crucial to understanding it.

Or watch The Shootist. The overarching theme of the movie is the futility of violence as a solution ... and yet how the social admiration that comes to tough guys gets handed down, only to complete the circle.