So Joe quote known troll, drug dealer, and criminal gun owner MikeB302000 on his blog.
I’ll just encourage you read the quote, and go back and read all of the comments leading to it. Essentially this is a question I asked Mike back when we were on more friendly terms, and his dark history was still unknown to me. “What would I need to show you to get you to change your mind on gun control?”
Mike has repeatedly stated that there is nothing that will sway him. Its a religion. This is a religion held by most anti-rights activists. Joan Peterson made it equally as clear.
Hell Mike just linked this video:
Debunked Joyce studies, and vigorous assertion is all this “Brian” brings to the table. He’s declared the pro-freedom side wrong BECAUSE THEY ARE WRONG! In their mind, no further proof is needed. They have blind faith that banning guns is good, and no matter what facts are presented, they will not belive that private ownership of firearms could EVER be good. Further no matter how spurious or unethical a study that comes up, they will cling to it like the flotsam of a sinking ship.
Now the purpose of this post is NOT about those anti-rights cultists, but about the big picture. The anti-rights cultists ARE useful, they’re good for oppositional research, seeing what might be coming down the pike for proposed laws, and to see what talking points they’re attempting to use to mislead the public. Its the work of people like Joan Peterson, as well as the usual suspects in the national legislature, as well as local gun-banners to see that blanket confiscation is their end goal, and through that “Universal background checks” are the first step in that grand scheme.
Still what will NEVER happen is getting them to change their mind. Life is not a Hollywood movie, and while Walt Kowalski from Gran Torino learned to overcome his racial bigotry and self-loathing on the silver screen. In real life Walt would have died alone in a hospital bed consumed with racial hatred.
They say “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” for a reason. Cliches are mostly true things, and the same goes with these bigots.
Still not everybody who has a fear or hatred for freedom is a cultist. I should know, I used to be one of them. Still my desire to ban private guns was not a strong one, because I lacked the faith they have. So even though my conversion was in the early days of the internet, if it happened today I wouldn’t be running an anti-gun blog.
Think about it, did I start a pro-gun blog BEFORE I had examined countless quantum of data, and learned large amounts about guns and how they worked? No! While I had some remaining doubts, overall what got me to start publicly speaking about gun rights was my confidence that I was on the right track.
So while we have no ground to win with the common faces on gun control, there are countless people who are concerned about the issue who CAN be swayed. The big factor is they aren’t going to broadcast themselves in the open.
The battlefield for gun rights will not be on forums, or blogs, but at the water cooler, in the locker room, or around the dinner table.
We need to be out there! We’re pro-freedom, and we’re not ashamed of it. Also we need to understand that just because somebody may speak favorably for gun control does NOT mean they’re a cultist, and instead need to be given respect and patience…even when they won’t reciprocate the same to you.
Don’t get frustrated, if we were losing we’d be able to buy ammo, magazines, and guns right now!
Weer’d,
Another use for the bigoted antis like MikeB is to show just how rigid and unthinking they really are. Look at the analogy of “chlid pron” (deliberate misspelling) that I used on this blog — the analogy that got ME banned from his site.
He believed in shared responsibility; that gun owners were responsible for the criminal actions of others because ‘the flow of guns’. Yet how did he react when I applied that logic to HIS computer, HIS camera and that despicable criminal act? Vehement denial. No refutation of the logic, no counter argument. Just that I couldn’t do that on his blog — guess logic is a banning word there.
Pointing out that type of rigidity and mindset is useful in converting those who have not made up their mind. It is helpful to point out how they are unwilling to consider the facts, evidence and information presented.
The battlefield for gun rights will not be on forums, or blogs, but at the water cooler, in the locker room, or around the dinner table.
Hone your argument on the blogs, the forums and the websites. It will make you more effective when you talk to your friends and family in person.
And if facts, statistics, logic doesn’t work; invite them out to the range. Just make sure to take your camera to capture their new shooter grin.
I am pro-gun. However, I have always said that my opinion on firearms could be changed if I was shown PROOF that individual ownership of firearms is a net loss to society. I wouldn’t LIKE it, but I would be willing to change. So far, all that I have ever seen from the anti is ill-conceived BS google studies, emotional ranting about dead kids*, and lies. While what I have seen from the pro-gun crowd is well thought out arguments along with some hard statistics that don’t seem to be fudged TOO much (and some BS crap from there too).
I’ll keep my guns thank you. And I’ll fight to keep them as long as I am able.
s
* Sorry, I’m a self-admitted callous asshole. The recent school shootings proves their point about as well as “gee, it sure is hot today” proves the existence of global warming. Yes, Sandy Hook was sad. I have kids that are around that same age, and my gut reaction was to DO SOMETHING to make sure they were safe. However, I don’t for a second believe that punishing 80 million gun owners who DIDN’T shoot up a school for the actions of ONE asshole who did would make my kids any safer.
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