I
have an occasional interest in anthropology. It can be intensely
interesting to learn of different cultures and how they processed the
world around them. Which is the primary reason I read editorials by
folk like Marc Thiessen, a fellow at the American Enterprise
Institute.
After
numerous showers, he has my begrudging respect. It takes a master
magician (or illusionist as they prefer to be called nowadays) slash
linguist to turn logic inside-out as expertly as Mr. Thiessen has.
In
Thiessen's piece, he lauds the actions of Stephen Willeford, who by
sheer coincidence happened to be across the street from a church that
was under attack by a shooter armed with an assault rifle. Willeford
was able to wound the attacker, who subsequently took off in his
vehicle. Willeford gave chase, wherein the shooter crashed and then
killed himself.
Which
is all good and laudable. I wouldn't dream of pointing a finger at
Mr. Willeford, who is obviously a hero.
Where
Thiessen goes off the rails is that he implies this is how every mass
shooting could end if we would just leave the NRA alone and arm every
citizen of the United States. Kindly disregard the fact that this
occurred in a sparsely-populated rural area and that this kind of
conclusion is the exception and not the rule.
Above
all, disregard what put an assault rifle in the shooter's hands in the first
place.
Thiessen hides behind the hoary, old argument that “When companies (boycott
the NRA), they are not boycotting lobbyists in Washington; they are
boycotting upstanding citizens such as Willeford.”
Wow.
Really?
Because
when I advocate for a boycott of the NRA, their
lobbyists are at the very center of that boycott. As are NRA policy-makers
and the unfortunate influence they have over our spineless and
self-serving elected representation.
As
is the NRA's indefensible refusal to back any kind of gun control
measure whatsoever—no matter how marginal the effects to the
law-abiding rank-and-file.
That
is the NRA I'm boycotting.
I'm
boycotting the NRA that doesn't want to outlaw bump stocks. That
doesn't want universal background checks. That fights the
implementation of smart gun technology. That doesn't want to close
the gun show loophole. That doesn't want to raise the minimum age at
which people can buy assault weapons.
And
most heinously of all, the NRA that doesn't want to ban those assault
weapons.
Because
everything is fine just the way it is.
I
am boycotting the NRA that wants to extend state-specific concealed
carry rights nationwide, which I'm pretty sure flies in the face of
Republican's default fall-back position when they want to duck a
decision on a controversial issue.
I
am boycotting the NRA that plainly and obnoxiously and without a
shred of conscience manipulates a population through fear, because
fear is good for business.
I
am boycotting the NRA that has convinced generations of hunters that
people like me don't care about them or their rights. Which must be
the reason every piece of proposed gun reform legislation uses language like
'common sense' and 'sensible' and 'responsible' when describing
their highly-specific reform.
I
am boycotting the NRA that selfishly advances the argument that our
gun problem isn't an epidemic which threatens public safety, but an
infringement of gun owner's constitutional rights.
Will
someone—anyone—please tell me when and where gun-owner's rights
have been infringed upon? Exactly when did their right to keep and bear arms disappear?
Thiessen,
I (in your words) demonize the NRA because they relentlessly and unswervingly fight
to make the greatest number of guns available to the greatest number
of people. Every day. Every week. Every month
You
write that criticism “makes it harder to reach bipartisan agreement
on solutions that could improve public safety without threatening the
fundamental constitutional right of Americans to keep and bear arms.”
Hmmm.
Because
aside from letting the NRA do whatever the hell it wants, I didn't
know there was a bipartisan agreement to be had! Will you
please leave a comment on this blog and tell me what the NRA is
willing to compromise on? Because I am very, very eager to hear it.
I'll
admit the NRA isn't the only entity responsible for the carnage which
has become an almost daily occurrence in what is supposedly the
end-all and be-all of human existence. Gun violence is complex; the
net result of many things.
But
when the house is on fire the first thing you do is put the out the
fire.
Debating
how or when the fire started can wait. As can the one on how to best fireproof the house.
Turning
the United States into the O.K. Corral isn't the answer, as any
upstanding, law-abiding NRA member should know. Especially after all those NRA-sponsored gun safety classes.
We must unplug the NRA.
We must unplug the NRA.
