Tbh i dont understand this. Probably because im european plus im tired but i cant figure it out.
To give you a slightly more serious answer, there’s a trope in America of the girl friend’s dad doing something to “subtly intimidate” the boy friend by casually cleaning a gun or having one within sight the first time they meet. The implication of course is supposed to be something along the lines of “I’ve got this and if you try anything funny with my daughter, I’ll use it on you”
It’s dumb but I’ve also known more than a few people who have experienced this first hand.
Yeah, I went to senior prom with my friend. I didn’t have a license or a car yet, so my aunt drove us there in her baseball team van, and she was gonna drive us both home too. Suuuper romantic. Her dad met us there, pulled me aside to show me his little pocket knife and threatened to castrate me. I just laughed at him. We were both virgins, so far as I knew. While in hindsight she had a crush on me, I was way too awkward, nerdy, religious, and oblivious to realize. Sex never even crossed my mind as a possibility.
Dad shows a gun to show OP he’s a badass. Op doesn’t realize and shows his gun.
Common American culture is that you’re supposed to show your gun on the third date with the family, not the first. You’re also supposed to have a Mexican standoff when you walk into the house, with dad aiming at you, you’re aiming at dad, dog aims at GF, etc. And if he’s lucky, they have a rousing game of Russian roulette before tapas.
Totally understandable if you didn’t know. Just basic 2A knowledge every American learns about during elementary school.
I guess this is where the concept of the “nuclear family” comes from then? After the initial courtship hostilities, the escalation of the arms race is inevitable.
Thanks for explaining the culture, they never show real America in the movies