Early this morning, Brownells sent out a Tweet indicating that YouTube had restored their channel. YouTube has had gun owners very upset with them for months now. However, the national media attention drawn by banning Brownells probably caused YouTube and its parent company Google a little too much bad publicity.
As we reported two days ago YouTube canned the Brownells channel without warning or reason.
The gradual, incremental, persistent, unrelenting “other”-ing of guns and those who sell, shoot, broadcast and write about them continues apace. The latest victim: Brownells. Yes, the notoriously radical, fire-breathing Iowa-based retailer has had their YouTube page deleted by the don’t-be-evil types who run YouTube, the Google-owned video platform.
Even the Drudge Report picked up the story:
YOUTUBE Terminates Channel of Firearms Parts Retailer ‘Without Warning’…
Matt Drudge linked to a National Review story on the abrupt termination of the Brownells account.
YouTube suddenly terminated the channel for the firearms parts company Brownells, the company claimed on Saturday.
“Brownells’ YouTube channel has been terminated without warning or notice,” Brownells’ Twitter account stated.
The 80-year-old gun supplies company reached out to followers on social media, asking them to contact Google, which owns YouTube, about the decision.
“If you’re opposed to the attacks on our communitys 1st & 2nd Amendment rights, please contact Google,” Brownells said.
Brownells used their YouTube channel to post instructional videos on how different guns work and how to assemble and maintain firearms.
Obviously, not even anti-gun Google wants this sort of negative publicity to over 24 million people on Drudge alone.
Today, the fine folks at Brownells posted some good news!
#Brownells‘ YouTube account has been restored!
We CANNOT thank you ALL enough for your shares, reposts, retweets and positive comments!
We are beyond proud to have the finest group of customers and supporters anywhere.
Thank you again! 🇺🇸👍#guns #gun pic.twitter.com/joB9QZ5LvV
— Brownells, Inc. (@BrownellsInc) June 11, 2018
We welcome YouTube coming to its don’t-be-evil senses. However, at the same time we know that a rabidly anti-gun bias afflicts the media giant. They will likely continue to de-monetize and silence voices of the gun culture, one at a time. Especially those without the following and clout of Brownells.
Rule #1: Don’t be evil, unless you’re being evil to evil conservative white men, or people that progressives assume are conservative white men…
Except that Google officially dropped that from their code of conduct years ago.
http://fortune.com/2015/10/05/alphabet-google-evil/
They are literally now the Tower of Babel.
“They are literally now the Tower of Babel.”
Google has been my go-to for a ‘quick-n-dirty’ translation of a foreign language for me.
So, yeah – They literally are a metaphoric “Tower of Babel”…
Since you use them to translate rather than confuse languages, and since Google is a virtual site rather than a brick-and-mud ziggurat, then they are literally a figurative metaphorical parable of the antithesis of the Tower of Babel.
This isn’t about race or gender, it’s straight up about prohibitionists being hurt that people want to discuss “impolite” topics on their website. First the come for the gun discussion, then the drug discussion, then anything involving alcohol or fast food. We’re just on the front line.
Also, figure that the lady who tried to shoot up YT’s HQ was the first casualty. What she did was insane and is in no way justifiable, but she was only pushed to that extreme because YT was banning her radical environmentalist channel. Again she had no justification for trying to kill people over it, but the point is that it’s not just us. Prohibitionists dislike everything that makes them uncomfortable, whether it be insane Persian PETA feminists or gun owners. This isn’t a racial or gender issue, we are all in it together.
(and one day, they’ll come for the gays too. For all the cheap talk YT does for gay rights they’d quickly shut down any channel accusing them of collaborating with governments that discriminate against LGBT peoples – we are all in this together)
They’re Regressives. Get you terminology right.
Honestly never looked at Brownell’s on YouTube. NOW I do…happy they’re back.
Same, I subbed as soon as I saw their channel was back.
Thanks YouTube for getting me to pull the trigger on that MCR upper I’ve had my eye on for a while.
I bought what is, by any standard, a ludicrous amount of 45 Super brass. I am always happy when I buy a lot of something and then I go back and see that it is now on backorder. You’re welcome, America.
I always wanted a belt-fed rifle and the M249-S was a bit out of my price range… Now I’ve got one.
I would liked to have gotten the Slide Fire belt fed AR15 they were selling. But I couldn’t afford one. (sad)
The upper is fairly affordable for a belt-fed. $3500 and will work with any AR lower.
On a side note… anybody know an easy way to link 5.56 ammo? Something tells me I’m going to get carpal tunnel from all the linking I need to do this week.
“On a side note… anybody know an easy way to link 5.56 ammo?”
Hire a neighborhood kid?
It’s pretty depressing that we live in a country where something is only restored if enough people complain about it, whatever happened to just doing the right thing? Brownell’s has been around before google was even a semen stain on their mom’s leg that she didn’t wipe off the next morning, and they will be here long after they’re gone.
It’s because society is too polite and docile nowadays. Start holding tyrants accountable and putting them in jail for violating the Constitution would be a good start.
I would rather just dump YouTube and Google all together.
If a new freedom loving platform became more popular to the masses that would be awesome. But as it is, youtube is where EVERYONE is. So for now remaining on YouTube to reach fence sitters or just people who haven’t thought about guns is important.
I can’t help you re YouTube replacements, but I’ve been using DuckDuckGo as a search engine and have been quite happy with overall performance. I no longer use Google search at home at all, and as limited as possible at work.
I have a mixed reaction to this.
If Youtube hadn’t restored Brownell’s channel, it would have provided more impetus toward a non-Youtube solution.
And that’s what we really need.
Good for Brownells. The real question is why people complain about YouTube removing them. If you really want to protest, remove YouTube from your life.
We gun owners are quick to boycott gun makers who slight us (Daniel defense, Springfield armory, etc) but when another company openly makes us an enemy we complain, throw a fit, right letters, until what we want is restored then go straight back to providing them with our business. Makes no sense. Patron, full30, all other hosting services that don’t openly show contempt for us, why don’t they get more of our support. Punish YouTube the capitalist way, support the competition and make them feel it in the pocketbook.
You Tube, I waste to much time watching sport bikes out run badges and guys shoot gunz. Please ban You Tube, my house needs cleaned and I have no self discipline.
I’m glad the big fish are back on. But the little fish are still in danger.
The Brownell’s channel had been restored as of late yesterday(Sunday) afternoon–I know, I checked. And I kept waiting for Brownell’s to Tweet about this but the tweet never came…took until late this morning for them to acknowledge this –this was at least 14h after the channel was restored. Say what you want about YouTube, but Brownell’s definitely benefited from the publicity and they sure took their time to dispelling the outrage. Bottom line is, a corporation is a corporation and whether it’s YouTube pretending to defend the First Amendment or Brownells pretending to defend the Second, you’re a fool to think that they give two shits about your “freedom” or your “rights”…they care about those things only inasmuch as they affect their bottom line. That’s it.
“The Brownell’s channel had been restored as of late yesterday(Sunday) afternoon–I know, I checked. And I kept waiting for Brownell’s to Tweet about this but the tweet never came…took until late this morning for them to acknowledge this…”
Did you note the day of the week and time, perchance?
Perhaps Brownells was CLOSED on a Sunday morning. An awful lot of small business are.
Maybe those who run Brownells woke up Sunday morning and went to church or spent time with their families before turning their phones or computers on to discover their channel was restored?
Maybe? Just MAYBE?
Brownell’s was a trial balloon, the lower level content providers are all vulnerable.
Really, the social justice warriors could care less about the injustice they directed toward Brownells or against People Of The Gun. They made their point, demonstrated their moral superiority, and and can how set back and wait for the next triggering event. Sounds kinda like that 4th grade bully you had to fight doesn’t it?
Brownell’s won’t, but they should file suit.
It would be a nuisance suit (I don’t think they could win), but the claim of harm (lost revenue, damage to reputation, cost to address, etc.) should be enough to give them standing, and the surrounding publicity and cost might encourage Google to settle.
Kick them in the wallet. As often as possible. It’s the only thing they understand.
Just as a stupid question, but did Brownells use to link to the specific items in the video before the ban? Because the current video link to their home page. Now I’m not a marketing genius, but if I had no restrictions imposed by YouTube, I would link to the actual item.
I am sure Google will try to ban them again at some point.
I did a little research the other day about how AT&T and the Bell System was declared a monopoly and split into smaller companies. AT&T hold on the communications market back then wasn’t all that different from Google today. We ought to be asking our representatives in Congress to recognize that Google is a monopoly and take action against them. It would be wonderful to see YouTube be carved out of the Google and made an independent company.
This is not a win! It is a plan by YouTube to harass gun channels until they go away. They deliberately delete then restore channels as a type of constructive discharge (pressuring an employee to quit, rather than firing him). It is a systematic way to make gun channels feel unwelcome and leave on their own.
The gun channels are going to have to create their own internet support network, period. This is segregation plan and simple.
Everyone with a channel is going to have to pitch in and create this new “gun world” on the internet for gun people and gun businesses, to use. This is the Libertarian way if you want to exist in the future.
As a black gun owner who knows history I can say segregation had many great points.
Agreed, not a win. Unless YouTube releases a press release saying they will never harass gun content channels, they have revoked their firearm related community guidelines, the people responsible have been sacked, and here is a $10million for NRA and GOA to demonstrate their change of heart… Then nothing has really changed. They can still delete any content or channel as they please, treat firearm content as risque, obscene, dirty content, hide it, throttle it, defame and punish.
In my view, the following message should go from Brownell’s to U Tube. Take your service and the restoration thereof and stick it where the sun doesn’t shine.