Hoplophobia – our national illness

In psychology, a phobia is defined as a type of anxiety disorder: an intense, persistent, and irrational fear of a specific object, situation or activity that is disproportionate to the actual danger.

Because they are irrational, phobias are typically not amenable to facts or reason. Someone who is terrified of flying or spiders, for example, is unlikely to overcome that fear by reading facts about how safe they are.

An intense, irrational fear of firearms is known as hoplophobia. The word stems from the Greek word ‘hoplon’ (weapon) and is distinct from a healthy caution around guns.

Many Australians, including quite a few policy makers, politicians and the media, suffer from hoplophobia. Like the fear of flying or spiders, their fear is not founded in knowledge or facts; it is irrational, instinctive, and self-reinforcing.

Australia has never had a strong gun-culture. For the first 190 years of European settlement, guns were tools to remove pests, kill for food, euthanise injured livestock and, rarely, protect property and personal safety.

Unlike Switzerland, Australia is not surrounded by other countries that might be tempted to invade. Unlike the Czechs, Australians have never endured a communist government at the barrel of a gun. And unlike the Americans, we never had a war of independence, a civil war, or a wild west scramble for land in the face of Indian opposition. Each of these three countries has a much stronger gun culture than Australia.

Whenever there is a series of plane crashes, fear of flying increases. It is the same with guns. Australia’s hoplophobia can be traced to five mass shootings.

The first was a gunfight between rival motorcycle gang members at Milperra in 1984. The firearms used were mostly shotguns, with no semi-automatic rifles involved.

Then came Hoddle Street and Queen Street, both in Melbourne in 1987. Of three firearms used in Hoddle Street, one was a semi-automatic rifle. In Queen Street the firearm was originally semi-automatic but had been sawn-off, which meant it had to be cocked between each shot.

The fourth was in 1991 in Strathfield, Sydney. One death and a wounding were from stabbing with a knife; the rest were shot with a semi-automatic rifle.

Then came Port Arthur in 1996, in which 35 people were killed and 23 wounded using semi-automatic rifles. The Prime Minister was John Howard. He had strong views about guns, and famously declared:

“I hate guns. I don’t think people should have guns unless they’re police or in the military or in the security industry. There is no earthly reason for people to have … ordinary citizens should not have weapons. We do not want the American disease imported into Australia.”