Commentary:

Before I comment about the "gun-toting" posts, two important points. First, I fully support the right to post whatever you want on social media long as it doesn't violate a platform's guidelines. The way I see it, posting is a form of free speech and it's protected by the First Amendment. Second, I fully support an American citizen's Second Amendment right to bear a firearm.

Regarding the gun photos, one question is, what possesses some people to post photos like this? A second question is, what effect is this having on American society?

Regarding the first question, you might think that it's a way of touting or showing off your personal arsenal of firearms. I suppose if you're really into guns, you might be proud of your collection and you might get some kind of personal satisfaction by putting it on display for all to see. Or again, if you're really into guns, I suppose you might post something like this as a way of having a little "fun" during the holidays by asking Santa to bring ammunition.

Here's some of what Massie said regarding his post in a December 6, 2021 interview with conservative columnist, commentator, author, and radio host Todd Starnes:

So it's a Christmas photo. A lot of people think that's going to be our Christmas card. We actually took a very similar picture holding musical instruments because we like to shoot guns and play music when we get together as a family. And the one that's going on the Christmas card are bluegrass instruments. But just as sort of a hey, wouldn't it be fun to hold the guns instead of the instruments? So we did that and I posted it. And wow, I didn't just kick a hornet's nest. I aggravated every hornet in the world.

It's interesting to note that later in the interview Massie said the following:

They're trying to blame me not only for what happened in Michigan, but for shootings that happened three years ago. And it's just ridiculous...I'm going to double down. I'm never going to delete that picture.

They cannot stand it. The three things they hate Christmas family and guns.

As a side note, Starnes made some very telling statements in this interview as well, so I suggest you read the interview transcript via the source link below.

Source:

Starnes, Todd. (December 6, 2021). "Leftists Hate Christmas, Family and Guns, Rep. Massie Tells Todd Starnes". Todd Starnes. Retrieved 2021-12-28.

I completely accept what Massie said, that to him his post was just having some Christmas fun. And Boebert's follow-up post, I imagine, was just her way of joining in the fun and connecting with a like-minded conservative.

Regarding the post by Greene, I suppose this might have been her way of telling "The Squad" that she really means business (not that she's actually going to shoot them, but that she's going to fight them "tooth and nail" for what she believes in).

Regarding the second question, it's possible you might view the post as hypocritical where "peace on earth and goodwill toward men" is juxtaposed with "but don't mess with us because we are armed and dangerous."

U.S. House Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Democrat-New York) responded to Boebert's Tweet by posting the following on her Twitter account:

Tell me again where Christ said "use the commemoration of my birth to flex violent weapons for personal political gain"?

lol @ all the years Republicans spent on cultural hysteria of society "erasing Christmas and it's meaning" when they're doing that fine all on their own...When you pose in front of a Christmas Tree and can name all those guns but can't name the gifts of the Wise Men

Source:

Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria. (December 6, 2021). "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez | Tweets". Twitter. Retrieved 2021-12-24

Rolling Stone published an article written by Ryan Bort in which he says the following:

The photos are sick representations of the modern GOP, which responds to tragedies — from a pandemic that has killed nearly a million over the course of two years, to a teenager shooting and killing his fellow students over the course of a few minutes — with a middle finger. If they're not raising a middle finger to grieving families, they're pointing one at Democrats.

Source:

Bort, Ryan. (December 8, 2021). "Lauren Boebert Isn't Letting Murdered Teenagers Get in the Way of Trolling Liberals Over Gun Control". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2021-12-24

Massie's statement that liberals "hate Christmas family and guns" is patently false. It's a ridiculous thing to say, and in saying it Massie is only spreading more misinformation and fanning the flames of political division. Statements like this show just how far the political discourse in America is from objective reality. It's not helping, it's dangerous for our democracy, and it has to stop.

I seriously doubt that Massie took into consideration the fact that just four days prior to his post, a shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan left three people dead and eight others injured.

Unfortunately, it's a mentality, a culture, and a perception of guns that many conservatives are entrenched in. They can't, or won't let themselves see that just maybe the American gun culture itself is part of the gun violence problem in America. They refuse to even consider that possibility, and any time the subject comes up, typically after a mass shooting, they cry "foul" and bring up the Second Amendment. If you are deeply immersed in the American gun culture you will probably dismiss what I'm saying. Just remember that "it's hard to see the forest for the trees" when you're so entrenched in your own one-sided way of thinking.

According to an article published by the BBC on April 8, 2021, in 2019 73% of all homicides in America were gun-related and there are about 120 guns for every 100 U.S. residents. Both of these statistics put the U.S. far ahead of all other countries in the world.

Source:

(April 8, 2021). "America's gun culture in charts". BBC. Retrieved 2021-12-29

In a final thought, imagine an alien spacecraft with highly evolved beings observing us from afar. They'd see all of the suffering, all of the injustice, all of the hatred, and all of us humans not being able to get along with each other. Those beings would be shaking theirs heads in disbelief, completely dumbfounded by what's happening on planet earth. For sure they would be telling themselves to stay as far away from our planet as possible so they didn't catch whatever disease that's causing us all to behave this way. Surely they would be thinking that we humans are absolutely insane. And they would be absolutely correct.