(This article originally appeared at jpfo.org and is reprinted here with permission.)
By Neil Smith
Less than a hundred years ago, there were laws in many states and localities — not just southern ones, by any means — maliciously written, passed, and enforced for no other reason than to make living just as difficult as it could be for black people, and to make voting, traveling, and doing everyday business in any normal manner all but impossible. Such restrictions were popularly known as “Jim Crow” laws, named for yet another ugly epithet that white bigots reserved for black people. Where I went to high school, for example, there was a nearby town with official signs at the city limits warning black people — in the rudest imaginable terms — not to be there once the sun had gone down . . .
In 1961, an extraordinarily courageous white journalist named John Howard Griffin, had his skin color medically altered and made other cosmetic changes for several weeks, in order to experience the way ordinary black people were forced to live. The simple acts of moving from one city to another, complying with the segregationist policies of bus companies, of trying to find a place to eat, or a decent place to sleep became nightmarishly complicated — if you happened to be black. For some, America was the land of the free and the home of the brave. For others, it was more like living in a bad movie about Nazi Germany.
Griffin wrote a series of magazine articles about what he’d seen and done, later combining them into an amazing book called Black Like Me, which finally became a movie with James Whitmore. As a budding libertarian, there were aspects of the left wing civil rights movement I didn’t like and openly opposed, but the idea that some Americans could be routinely treated the way Griffin described made my blood boil, and deepened my natural loathing for the authority that made it possible.
Rex Stout has overweight, agoraphobic detective Nero Wolfe tell a group of black men who have come to consult with him that had he been born black in such circumstances, he would be in prison, by now, or dead.
Today, Jim Crow laws are making a comeback, and they aren’t just for black people any more. In many cases the same individuals — or their children — who once played a large and commendable part in ending this form of tyranny based on the color of a person’s skin, are now revealed to harbor prejudices of their own, which they are energetically and enthusiastically imposing on others they perceive as their moral and social inferiors. And it doesn’t look any better on them than it did on fat white southern sheriffs wearing mirrored sunglasses.
Understand that, for some long-range planners in what might be called the victim disarmament industry, anti-gun laws have strategic significance.They are opening bids in a worldwide effort, hammered out by environmental fascists and eugenics fanatics, mostly under the auspices of the United Nations, to disarm and enslave entire peoples, and to engineer a new Holocaust, reducing the Earth’s human population by 90 percent, to what they believe is lovely Mother Gaia’s “carrying capacity”. It’s very hard to do that to people who are adequately armed.
For others, though, the new Jim Crow laws are being passed merely as harassment, designed to make life difficult, if not impossible, for members of an American culture of freedom and independence that the self-appointed elite have always hated, loathed, and despised — and seen themselves at war with. They know that none of these laws will have any effect on crime. They are intent on committing cultural genocide.
Yet the 14th Amendment was passed expressly so black people would be free to exercise the unalienable individual, civil, Constitutional, and human right to obtain, own, and carry weapons. In the name of racial equality, then, if nothing else, I demand the same right for myself.
Charles Schumer, Harry Reid, Barack Obama, Caroline McCarthy, John Hickenlooper, Diane Feinstein, Rahm Emanuel, Diana DeGette, Michael Bloomberg, Joseph Biden: every one of these tax-fattened parasites, and the rest of their ilk might as well be wearing bed-sheets and burning crosses on the lawns of Productive Class gun-owners across the land. They can always count on the “embedded” media to help with the lynchings.
Like the bigots they are, professional gun-grabbers continue to stereotype gun owners as ignorant, impoverished rednecks, when every survey shows we are racially and ethnically mixed, better-educated, and more profitably employed than the average American. If I had a nickel for every doctor I’ve met at the shooting range, or every PhD I know who owns and uses guns, or every black or Asian individual I’ve seen enjoying gun shows, I wouldn’t have to worry about collecting royalties.
Any early 20th century bigot could give you plenty of reasons — entirely unsupported by real data or logic — why black people (or the Chinese, Jews, or Catholics) were lacking in intelligence and moral character, and were not to be trusted, but must be denied basic freedoms the bigots themselves enjoyed. New York City’s Sullivan Act was passed by Irish politicians (who themselves had been discriminated against only a generation earlier) to keep Italians from obtaining guns.
Today’s anti-gunners, mostly “progressive” Democrats, imagine that everybody else shares their larcenous nature and infantile lack of impulse-control. They are extremely violent by nature (as they have demonstrated on countless occasions like the so-called “Million Mom March”), can’t trust themselves or their children with the means of self-defense, and assume everyone else is as untrustworthy as they are.To avoid being identified as the sick, twisted bigots that they are, they attempt to force the focus onto inanimate objects, rather than on the people whom they’re attempting to strip of the means of self-defense.
They demonize handguns they say are too small or too inexpensive (depriving poor people of the means of self-defense), identifying them as “Saturday Night Specials”, originally a very nasty racist insult.
They demonize modern high-capacity magazines which can defend an individual man or woman — and their family — from an entire gang of thugs.
They demonize semiautomatic weapons as if they were some new, diabolical development, but which were marketed more than a century ago.
They demonize trivial features of a weapon, like its shape, color, or the material it’s made from, or the presence of a pistol grip or bayonet lug which reflect certain historical interests and aesthetic preferences, and have nothing whatever to do with the operation of the firearm.
They demonize certain “assault rifle” cartridges, ignorantly characterizing them as being especially powerful, when they are, in fact, far less powerful than many of the most common deer hunting cartridges.
They demonize the standard military rifle of the nation, carried by hundreds of thousands of young soldiers, and adapted to civilian use.
At the same time, they and their pet media adamantly refuse to acknowledge the historic fact that the Second Amendment — and the weapons it sanctions — was written, above all, to protect the country from stupid, evil, irrational, power-hungry monsters exactly like them.
Perhaps the victim-disarmers have forgotten that the American Revolution began with a British attempt to confiscate the firearms and ammunition of a people they mistakenly regarded as subjects, but whom frontier life had hardened into tough, self-reliant, sovereign individuals. Perhaps the same brilliant “strategists” who told them that Iraq and Afghanistan would be a “cake-walk” are telling them now that the descendents of these pioneers will be just as easy to overcome.
Every member of the victim disarmament conspiracy must be made to understand clearly that he or she will eventually and inevitably be punished — under due process of law — for the crime of endangering “the security of a free state” which clearly constitutes an act of treason.
Equally, we must get America out of the U.N. and the U.N. out of America. This is an organization openly dedicated to the suppression of individual rights and to mass-murder on an absolutely unprecedented scale.
We must be resolved — and we must demand the same resolve from the Republicans and the NRA — not to be satisfied merely with fending off this or that newly-proposed law, as we have been over the past several decades. That’s the “strategy”, both cowardly and stupid, that brought us to the ugly mess we find ourselves in now. The entire structure of federal, state, and local gun law must be obliterated. That’s what the Constitution mandates; we must be content with nothing less.
Award-winning author and lecturer L. Neil Smith, a fifty-year veteran of the American freedom movement, has written over 30 liberty-oriented books. He is the publisher and senior columnist of The Libertarian Enterprise, now in its 17th year online. He is also Senior Editorial Consultant to Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership.
Visit the Neil Smith archive on JPFO.
This bill is excellent news. But it is a message that our nation is dividing into two sharply opposed sides. Those of us who believe in a libertarian philosophy clearly have a lot more work to do across the whole of the country–not just about guns, but about many issues.
KUDOS, Alabama… it’s good news to hear that Alabamans transporting a handgun by car no longer have to have it welded to the outside of the vehicle!!!
Still, the most likely result of you having a firearm in your home is injury to yourself or one of your family. All the braggadocio, and wild west bragging will not change that fact. For each time that someone defends themselves or their family, there are 43 instances of family members being injured or killed. It is just a question of odds and how silly and fearful you are.
I would hope there are going to be people collecting signatures on street corners in Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs
What. A. Hypocrite. Let’s forget for a moment that Snoop was instrumental in the rise of Gangster Rap (back when it was actually gangster), and that, in all likelihood, he’s busted a few caps in a few asses. Instead, I wonder if either Snoop or Drake apply their “no guns allowed” policy to their security. My guess would be no.
Looks like Gun COntrol is DOA in the Senate Tom Colburn will have no record keeping in the bill Schumer demands it. So no bill will be passing any time this year.
In terms of day time shooting self defense ect. No there not needed or any advantage. At night they are helpful in low light. So depends on your situation they can help alot or in the day be near worthless.
Very funny stuff. It would be even funnier if it wasn’t true.
Yep, even WITHOUT the molle, that there bag is not so “covert” if we can all see it. Another silly marketing tag.
He Has not had a #1 album in a long time. Last #1 on the R&B charts was on Dec, 2000-Last Meal. Last #1 on Both the US and R&B chart was Da Game Is to be Sold, Not to be Told-August 1998. 6 albums have been released since, not one making it to #1 on any of the charts, even though some have gotten gold and platinum status. Last gold being The Blue Carpet-November, 2006.. Hypocrite? yeah, considering most of his money has been made with violent lyrics, glorifying gats. Guns are in the news and he has changed his moniker, what a better time to make an attempt at capitalizing on it, just business. Reincarnated drops on April 23………….
This bigotry ended FIFTY YEARS AGO and is now practiced by blacks like Al Sharpton, “Rev” Wright, Jesse Jackson, and the NAACP!
“Affirmative Action” is a prime example.
According to the author-because 300 women get victimized with a gun for every 1 that defends herself with one is a valid reason to not carry a gun(apples and oranges). So now women are to be demonized for defending themselves…..I guess when Ms. Arnold gets approached by a rapist-she will just accept the fact that she is to be raped, after all “what needs to happen is a change of attitude to the crime…” that’s all good as each person should make their own choices. The fact that she CHOOSES to be a victim is no reason for American women not to be proactive in self-defense.
I hate people that are stupid with stats. First a woman is 40times more like to be killed with a firearm if she tries to defend herself, then at hearing in Co she is 80times more likely to be killed and now it is 300times more likely (without any sourcing of course, can’t source a lie). What next, one million times? The truth according to the DoJ bureau of justices statics is people who use guns to defend themselves against violent crime are only injured in 1 out of 5 events. Those who do nothing or use another form of defense are injured in half of violent crimes. In the real world the facts show that guns are your best defense.
Good article, and other possible reasons for statistical disparities:
1. Rape is an under reported crime. Women are more likely to be attacked by someone they know, such as a male friend.
2. States like N.Dakota have high rates most likely due to
Back in 1961, there was sign outside of the town of Harrison AR. it read, “…Ni_ _er don’t let the sun set on your a$$…” Thirty years prior, the good people of Harrison hanged some black men. I know neither the cause nor the reason. The good, kind, liberal we must deal with today, is of the same mentality as was their predecessors
of this past century. I fear we are going to see the same type of laws passed, as what the NAZI’s passed in order to deal with the “…Jewish problem…”
Ripple effects should last a while, since many who see it for the first time will try to grab it all. Expect a long time before it gets ‘normal’.
CCI SV is still $100/500 on gunbroker. The real market price will be on there for a while, while some get lucky and find it in stores, those with jobs and other commitments will have to buy at market price.
“Many a reporter has accidentally written about semi-automatic revolvers or committed other minor factual errors. ”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mateba_Autorevolver
…just sayin’.
The author is spot on.
He says “we need a plan” and then, knowing or not, he gives it to us.
I recently retired from large multi-national corporation where I served as a marketing manager. When I went to work for company X I had absolutely no marketing experience. But they hired me because I had a very high level of expertise in the use of the high tech products they wanted to sell.
So, I sat at my desk for about two weeks wondering what heck I was doing there. Then, one day thinking I’d probably be fired, I just flat out asked the guy that hired me what it was I was supposed to do.
He just laughed and simply said, “find ways to get people excited about our stuff and make them want it.” “It’s about wining hearts and minds.”
Could it be that simple? I had a great career doing just what he said.
The author suggests that we flood the TV with real ads of real people who escaped death, rape, and who knows what by being prepared to respond and being armed. Could it be that simple?
He couldn’t be more right. We need to in the game of winning hearts and minds, put legs on this and then SUPPORT IT WITH OUR POCKETBOOKS.
I’m in. How can I help?
Gun owners also need to be educated.
The following article – http://www.pressherald.com/news/mainers-not-easy-targets_2013-04-07.html – mentions that, “King’s staff said the roughly 6,000 people who have contacted his office on guns since the Newtown shootings have been about equally divided on the bills”. King is a Senator from Maine, and it is a State with a high rate of gun ownership.
Central NJ(Mercer County) LGS had all the major pistol calibers in stock, but was limiting customers to 1 box per caliber. They had .22LR(limit 5 boxes of 50) and some Russkie 7.62 x 39. Very brisk trade…
PTSD has been around for quite awhile. It has been called being shell shocked. Only since, I believe, Vietnam has the name been changed to the acronym PTSD. Feinstein is an idiot and all that follow her are too.
14′ midterms will tell the tale. If the people have learned nothing and voted for the libtards (democrats) yet again, then we are all truly skull effed. Remember, all of these state laws that are in place, and the federal laws that are not, are due to the control (or lack of) by democrats in certain political bodies.
Liberalism is a mental disorder.
Been thinking of switching to .40 too, just b/c the ammo is still fairly easy to find. 45 hasn’t been too bad to find, but .380 and 9mm are 1 or 2 box limits here in the KC area in the last few weeks. A month ago there were no limits at a few stores. Should have stocked up then I guess… Tula and Herters 7.62×39 have been about 8 or 9 bucks for a box of 20, but readily available with few limits…
Stop voting effing libtard (democrat) you morons. For those that did not vote libtard, you have my sympathy. Elections have consequences.
Gun muggles. Heh heh.
That’s almost the right question. Yes, “What next?” but not when / after the next media-catalyst event. The time is now, and the goal is framing the conversation before it starts.
This is a PR game. The time to do PR is before you need it.
The problem isn’t the hair-trigger deluge of legislation and emo-stampede pieces, just waiting for the call to arms. (See what I did there?) The problem is the assumptions built into the culture before it happened. Guns are for thugs. Guns are fetish-objects for OFWGs. Guns cause violence, are involved in most violence, and have no protective or non-violent uses. “The authorities” are always there and never screw up. Blah, blah, blah.
We aren’t just pushing back against the orchestrated stampede but against a host of (flawed) arguments and (wrong) assumptions about the world established before it started. Fix that.
“What next?” is now. Do everything suggested in the article. Do everything suggested in the comments. But, do it starting now, in a steady, relentless, omnipresent drumbeat of small, calm, reasoned facts and images.
The hardest part is going to be staying out of the mud – since they’ve cast gun folk as “other” and deranged, first stay calm. There’s a Jackie Robinson movie bio movie coming out soon. To change baseball (and in part the US) he had to be a good enough player. He also had to keep his cool, all the time, every time. (Can I say “keep his cool?”) He refuted the haters’ claims by being talented, by being calm, and by being there.
Get them out of their heads and into reality. For the advocates it won’t matter, but we don’t need to convince them. Convince the essentially reasonable low-experience citizen, and the frothing provocateurs will look like what they are.
– Report every DGU.
– Write a letter to the editor about every DGU they misreport. Be calm. Be positive about the good stuff the citizen did. Don’t bother slamming the boneheads.
– Get involved with groups or organizations that have positive experiences with guns: scouting, vets, shooting orgs, reenactors, hunters.
– Invite friends along to places where there may be guns. *Not* where guns are the subject, at first.
– Insist on a line, or a word or mention of the gun part of the good stuff in every article, announcement, press release, brochure, blog post, where guns are *also* there. It’s about normalizing the normal.
For example, in my area there’s a week-long crafts / reenactment festival that also includes black powder shooting. That last never makes the press write-ups and is barely on the published event schedule. A simple, “Hey, we’re here, too. How about a mention?” would help. (Way more effective than calling them – press, for example – on their bigotry. Make them carry the argument of why they choose to exclude you.)
– Speak up as not a gun owner, first. I, myself don’t own a gun. Yet, I think the spasms and flailing around this topic are ridiculous & disingenuous and the policies harmful. Being not a “gun guy” first reframes the argument from “those crazy gun guys” to “normal folks who have a different opinion about guns.”
– Notice and re-use quick, well-crafted *and perfectly accurate* points that reframe the question. “The evil NRA, the powerful and nefarious lobbying group that dominates congress in the name of a batshit tiny minority” is how they have been portrayed for years. (Decades?) A quick riposte might be: “Well, the xx million or so American gun owners who never shot anyone might need a lobbying organization, given the repeated attempts to turn them into criminals.”
Here’s another: “I think it’s lovely that whats-his-name who lives and works behind armed security has come around to allowing our kids the same protection in school. Too bad he had to bad mouth the guys who first proposed it. Of course, I expect to be able to protect my kids just as well when they’re home. I’m certain whats-his-name agrees.”
– Use and contribute to forums that collect & index useful facts. Facts make great one-liners. The problem is you can’t fume at the ignorance. Drop the fact then move on.
– Always remember, most of the time in a gun-topic “debate” you are playing to the audience. You won’t convince the frothing apparatchik . It’s not an honest debate. So play to the people you can sway – they certainly will.
For example, why did the po-po write and somehow release that particular report after being told that no, they can’t inspect the whole damn house based on an anonymous tip to *child services*? Playing to the galleries, and dirtying up the other guy to discredit what he said … for the audience.
This is a PR game. The time to do PR is before you need it.
All that video is missing is a good old MST3K riff…
Probably my favorite short:
youtube.com/watch?v=_Hh4M4vipAo