This is a macro shot of a 9mm Glock ball hitting bulletproof plexiglass, fired by a Texas cop. Deborah Bay shot a few of these violent specimens — riffle buckshot, shotgun slugs, magnum bullets. She thinks this is pretty.
I was intrigued by the psychological tension created between the jewel-like beauty and the inherent destructiveness of the fragmented projectiles in the plexiglass. Many of the images resemble exploding galaxies, and visions of intergalactic bling sublimate the horror of bullets meeting muscle and bone.
In the state of Texas with its “51 million firearms — two guns for every man, woman and child,” it’s also horrifying.
When Santorum is buying his three-year-old daughter a lifetime membership to the NRA and kids get shot for wearing hoodies, it’s unsettling.
But sure, these bullets look nice embedded in the glass, sprouting cracks, cracking off rainbow-hued fragments… as if they weren’t made to splatter flesh.
Gun owner disagrees with weapons porn. "Beautiful" eh? All I see is what appears to be a piece of plastic, with some white ridges and coils and a metallic disfigured lump. Nothing "beautiful.." there, and not even as profound as a captured instant when a pebble hits a body of water. To show the TRUE power and result of a weapons projectile in photographs, one need go no further than the latest images from Afghanistan or today's newspaper in (pick a city, sheesh so much violence these days)
Why is owning a gun horrifying? There are perfectly acceptable reasons for owning weapons. They may not fit your lifestyle but that doesn't mean it is inappropriate for others.