I got thinking about this post, as well as elements of this one while I was mowing my lawn.
When it comes to gun control the pro-gun side is all about exposure, Facts (from unbiased sources like the FBI, Police, and the CDC), unity and debate. Meanwhile the anti-freedom side does all it can to stifle debate and use cooked figures from groups like the VPC or Mayors Against Illegal guns, and dehumanize gun owners, while attempting to conflate criminals with lawful citizens who commit no crimes.
For the hardcore anti-rights activists they know better, and quotes like this from Dennis Henigan, formally of the Brady Campaign, or Josh Sugarman currently of the VPC show that they know they are pushing lies, and are just mercenary whores who are willing do say and do anything so long as the check clears. For the various political and celebrity mouthpeices who frequently travel with an armed security detail and/or have an extensive weapons collection, they see it as a class issue. They are rich and famous, so their life is worth more than yours.
Still the professor Tam quotes in the above link isn’t one of them. He’s likely just a guy who because of his education and respect in his university feels pretty confident of his opinion and felt like sharing it….but upon discovery he’s had an adverse reaction to people showing a difference of opinion.
Now there are two ways one can go with this: Forward, by looking deeper into the issue to attempt to sort out the facts and arguments, or backwards by doubling down on the ignorance, or by simply walking away from the topic entirely.
When I was anti-gun and started seeing my first blowback from the pro-gun side I elected to go forward, and here I stand today. I’ve tested the waters so many times, and debated with so many people now I’m extremely confident to say that there is ONLY one way to go when the facts are examined.
But the other way is amazingly common. I have a few coworkers who have some fairly strong anti-gun views. We’ve had a few big discussions, but I know them enough that they won’t take my word for things. I don’t blame them, I’m in so deep, and they’re in so shallow, as well as the fact that I’m heavily invested in guns, that I might appear on the surface as a fanatic, and my claims are so diametrically opposed to what they’ve seen from the media, and what they believe in their hearts that they simply assume I’m lying.
There is a simple solution for that: I send them to the CDC, and to the FBI, and I tell them to look at the numbers for themselves.
Do you think they’ve done that?
Let’s put this another way, if you’re reading this gun blog, that means you’ve probably read a few books on this subject as well. You ever lent somebody who didn’t share your views on guns a book and actually had them read it?
I’ll be AMAZED if anybody claim that and NOT have converted the person to pro-gun, or at least turned the tide.
Let’s face it, if you support a ban on “Assault Weapons” you have NO earthly idea what an “Assault Weapon” is…and you also can’t be bothered to even Google the term and maybe figure it out.
This leads to the 2nd post with the video on the Colorado parade. They found ONE person to speak ill of the pro-gun marchers at the parade…and he didn’t even attend to SEE who was marching and the presentation of the issue.
This is also likely where the “90% Support Universal Background Checks” troupe comes from. First up, I have my doubts that the poll is valid, still of the group that does NOT support the Manchin-Toomey law, most of these people are willing to at LEAST call their representation, speak with friends, colleges and relatives about the law, take new people shooting to educate them, and perform other acts of political activism. For the people who claim to support the bill to the survey….well all but a scarce few of them will do ANYTHING after they hang up the phone with the pollster.
For the people that actually DO anything, the best you can see is maybe a post on a blog or twitter, and when there is opposition they will have expended all of cares WRITING the post, and won’t have anything left to respond. They will simply delete anything they don’t like so they won’t appear a fool.
So yeah, I see “Reasoned Discourse” more of a lifestyle, and it isn’t just on guns. The same people who cover their ears to opposition on guns will do it for EVERYTHING that opposes them…because they have some crappy TV to watch.
