Remember...
• They don't hate "assault rifles."
• They don't hate "Saturday night specials."
• They don't hate "sniper rifles."
• They don't hate "handguns that spray death."
• They don't hate 3-D printed guns.
• They don't hate "easily concealable pistols."
• They don't hate "cop killer bullets."
• They don't hate magazines that take more than 10 rounds.
• They don't hate $100,000 shotguns...
THEY HATE US!
This from Forbes, The Life of a Beretta Man: Why Gun Control Measures Misunderstand America;
This large and growing part of American gun culture has many other icons they understand and cherish. Grown men shoot in Cowboy Action competitions and so own six-guns and more. Americans hunt for deer and waterfowl and more and have firearms that fit these various categories. They see guns not as negative things, but as positive things, as works of art, family heirlooms and mechanical wonders that can stop a stronger person from raping, robbing or killing them. They see guns as a responsibility and an ultimate sign of freedom. There are a growing number of these people—more than 100 million Americans now own guns—and they resent it when politicians treat them as criminals because they want to shoot recreationally and to protect themselves and their families.
This is a big enough part of voting America to change elections. President Barack Obama’s time in the Ivy Leagues and then in inner-city Chicago didn’t teach him about this part of American culture. The same goes for Attorney General Eric Holder, who spent much of his time in Washington, D.C. Only people without this understanding could have made the mistake that became the Fast and Furious gun-running scandal that was run by the U.S. government. Only people like O’Malley, Obama and Holder could misunderstand America enough to think they can get away with treating law-abiding American gun owners like criminals.
Here's another from Dan Baum, writing in Harpers:
Gun control will be back, though. Not because bans are sensible policy (see: Prohibition, alcohol; and Drugs, War on), but because guns are a perfect stand-in for one of the fundamental, irresolvable, and recurring questions we face: To what extent should Americans live as a collective, or as a nation of rugged individuals?
We have the same fight over health care, welfare, environmental regulations, and a hundred other issues. The firearm, though, is the ultimate emblem of individual sovereignty, so if you’re inclined that direction, protecting “gun rights” is essential. And if you’re by nature a collectivist, the firearm is the abhorrent idol on the enemy’s altar. This is why no amount of bleating about crime statistics ever seems to change anybody’s mind, on either side.
I've said for years we're in the middle of a great culture war, a war for the heart and soul of America. The cascading scandals are simply more dominoes falling, hopefully opening the eyes of more people (and, heck, maybe even the MSM...though that's certainly a reach). We need to "mind our knitting" and remember who our enemies are!
They do HATE us... three gun bills have mysteriously come back in Maine.. They are trying to wear us down. To lure us into complacancy, to make us think we won.. then to spring the trap again... and again... and again... I am really starting to get VERY mad. Use that to keep up the fight.. its the only way. Use that to punish in 2014.. no excuses.. blue most be stomped. no one can stay home. Join or die. We must hang together, or surely.........
ReplyDeleteYes! Rugged individualism vs. the Dependancy ethic. The former built this great nation. The latter will surely destroy it.
ReplyDeleteRandall
This is why no amount of bleating about crime statistics ever seems to change anybody’s mind, on either side
ReplyDeleteBecause it isn't now and never has been about CRIME.
'Fighting crime' is the false banner of reasonable bullshit.
"100 million gun owners" and Bwhore (according to CNN) got approximately 59.9 million out of 118 million votes TOTAL.
When the question is asked, "How did we get this clown?", we gun owners only have ourselves to blame.
Yeah, the other guy sucked. Well so does this one...on a WHOLE BUNCH of levels. And we knew it going in.
You're right Michael, it IS a culture war. One we will lose if we sit on our asses.