When people are saying stuff like this:
"We have the chance to fight this battle at the ballot box before we have to resort to the bullet box... That's the beauty of our Second Amendment rights."...then we have a real problem in this country. Somebody will eventually resort to the bullet box...and how fast we have forgotten that people already have.
But it's just words, right? It's totally unfair to point out that there's a relationship between advocating violence against the government and people shooting and killing cops, Holocaust Museum security guards, and abortion doctors in order to try to effect changes in government policy, right?
So, I'm reading the commenter in the linked thread. I saw it earlier, meant to comment, but was too tired and wanted to nap, so there you are.
ReplyDeleteNow, I'm saying this as someone who would like to own a gun and would love to learn to shoot once I have the resources to do so. I also say this as someone who is edging the crazy part of the left, who fully expects there to be war or at least a LOT of violence in near future. (The crazy part is not expecting it, but that some of it will be justifiable).
That all said... no. No, it's not about gun owners, it's about rightwing assholes with guns and the belief that they have a right to be Old White Fuckers.
Not only that, he's fucking arguing that it won't be the right-wing crazies who start shit, it's the people who TALK about right-wing crazies.
Stop talking about them and they'll go away? Right?
No. They will NOT go away if you stop talking about them.
No. They will NOT go away if you start ignoring them.
No. They will NOT go away if we pretend they don't exist.
These fuckers are fully capable of justifying their own existence even if we refuse to acknowledge their existance... probably even moreso if we refuse to notice and don't call them out on their bigoted, hateful, paranoid BULLSHIT.
You don't stop bullying by ignoring the bullies and hoping they goes away.
You don't treat cancer by ignoring it and hoping it goes away.
You fucking acknowledge the problem, confront it, and treat it.
The problem isn't gun owners as a whole.
The problem is that there is a good, solid segment of gun owners who seem to honestly believe that the scary negro is going to personally come and take their guns and then fag them up the butt.
The problem is that there is a good, solid segment of gun owners who would love nothing more than to bully, abuse, and kill brown people, gays, and non-christians (among others) because they're not like them.
Nobody's asking for the destruction of second amendment rights (however they may be interpeted). However, we need to deal with the crazies with guns. We must acknowledge they exist, of which then we can work to defuse the violence before it starts.
Only if we stop talking about it, and ignore it in hopes that it'll stop is when it will get worse...
For example, some idiot going about how they won't start the revolution, but if (read: when) it starts it's Huntin' Season, y'all! That, and acting as if it will be those who worry about right-wing violence being the ones to kick things off, as opposed to those who want to commit violence for the right-wing.
So yeah, bullshit. Pure, unadulterated bullshit.