I remember watching All in the Family as a kid. My liberal mother loved the show. She saw Archie as a figure of fun, and rightfully so. The show dissed conservatives even as it gave voice to their beliefs. As it does above, with the “laughable” suggestion that Alabama Governor George Wallace might not have been disabled by an assassination attempt if he’d had a “rod” to shoot Arthur Bremer. What’s intriguing about that clip: Lionel’s reply to what “his people” think about guns. “Depends who’s holding it.” Someone was thinking outside the box there. Here’s Archie’s gun control editorial . . .
Archie’s rant begins powerfully. The Queens’ resident reveals himself as a “veteran of the big war” in a matter-of-fact way. His initial argument makes perfect sense: asserting that gun control was key to the Communist’s power grab. And then Archie’s off, linking American gun control to a conspiracy by “international bankers,” code for Jews.
You’d think that the show’s producer, a Connecticut Jew who flew 52 combat missions during World War II, would hesitate to connect Bunker’s belief in armed self-defense as a bulwark against Communism with thinly veiled anti-Semitism. Especially as Bunker synched with blacks on the issue (as above). Nope.
Norman Lear (now 91) adheres to the stopped clock theory of conservatives: even when they’re right they’re wrong. They’re not right for the right reasons. In other words, they’re stupid. Like many Jews taught to value education above all else, Lear looked down on those who lacked a liberal (in the traditional sense) education. His progressivism is nothing more or less than paternalism.
That’s why Lear couldn’t let Archie make a sensible point about gun control without revealing him as an ignoramus. Or, more charitably, a lovable loser. Same thing with the bit about arming passengers against skyjackers. Lear’s writers undermined Archie’s “common sense” approach to the horrific terrorism through reductio ad absurdum. Passing out pistols and collecting them at the other end. Geddit? Well the California studio audience did.
Gun rights conservative Archie Bunker endeared himself to middle America because he was one of them. His appeal was as much as a testament to Carroll O’Connor’s acting ability as it was to the writers’ understanding of the conservative mindset. Right thinking viewers knew well enough when Archie went over the top, but they were right there with him. Even though the liberals always got the last laugh. (You could tell when Archie’s rants got a little too righteous; a malapropism would cut him off at the rhetorical knees.)
Even when the All in the Family, its spin-off and ancestors finished their run, Lear kept the progressive flame burning. In 1981, Lear founded People for the American Way, dedicated to “making the promise of America real for every American: Equality. Freedom of speech. Freedom of religion. The right to seek justice in a court of law. The right to cast a vote that counts.” But not the right to keep and bear arms. An America that “respects diversity, nurtures creativity and combats hatred and bigotry.” But not the right to keep and bear arms.
Watching YouTube clips of All in the Family, the program doesn’t seem as dated as Lear’s other, equally liberal-minded productions (e.g. Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Maude). Archie Bunker had something that Lear’s other comically accomplished, perfectly cast characters lacked: gravitas.
O’Connor’s Archie was a working stiff and a combat vet. Right or wrong, he’d earned the right to his opinions. You could imagine an Army rifle in Archie’s closet, exactly where it should be. Just as you can imagine a current vet’s AR-15 in his gun safe, right where it should be. And while Archie was portrayed as a racist, anti-Semite and idiot. But, as BDub says below, you could always count on him to do the right thing. Which is why my mother loved him. [h/t DrVino]
Hmm I’d suggest an AR they were around then maybe a thompson or if all else fails the ma duece everyone wants their ma when the SHTF
Is he considering going back to England? I so, jail for Piers. Hope he ends up with a 300 lb (dont know the metric conversion) cell mate that insists on knocking all his teeth out because he doesn’t like do chance them dragging along his c*** while he’s slamming his head between his legs by his hair.
Seriously though, aren’t we tired of concerning ourselves with this fellow?
Thoughtful. When you think you know enough to tell all other people whats good for them its time to look within and check your ego and true motives. That takes intellectual rigor and humility that some progressives never achieve.
“When you think you know enough to tell all other people whats good for them its time to look within and check your ego and true motives.”
A very true and powerful statement. A memorable sentiment to be used during a Presidential debate.
What a shame RF. You are a relatively smart guy but you resort to Jimmy Kimmel ridicule on a subject you know next to nothing about. Hmmm…what did you call Kimmel? “JERK”
Han shot first.
seiko 009
m41a pulse rifle
“Get off of my porch….Get off of my property” – Old lady character from Any Which Way But Loose to the biker gang
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hhynDWNsCOA
idk. id rather have a semi 32 or 380 i think…..
Ok showing my age here….Someone has to post Archie’s editorial re-butal to the guy on the news…yes later in the show they let Archie on TV…it’s funny
Would not mind a Obregon pistol for my collection.
Sooo close, but congrats to RLC2 if he claims it! You had a good one.
Anti-gun pigs like Bowes are the most dangerous of creatures. Libtard (democrat) cops.
Unfortunately, this video backs up the antis’ contention that we can all rely on the cops to be there when we need them, and therefore no one but the police need guns.
THIS does not occur in America. If it did, how much lower would the crime rate be?
I seem to recall that during WWII the Britts prayed daily for more Americans with guns. PM is poor student of his own history. OR maybe he can’t come to grips with the fact that Americans with guns kicked their asses, then we turned around and saved their asses…
Respect for your grief. I’m sure that your mother was a wonderful person. But how did she protect the kids in her care? By dying first so she didn’t have to watch them die?
I respect your mothers courage. She died riding to the sound of the guns. But she died empty handed. She may not have been a Marine, but she deserved the right to have a fighting chance like any Marine.
Kind of depends on your goals doesn’t it? I mean, I’d love training on defensive handgun use but there’s not really a training center/site anywhere near here so its’ moot for me since I can’t take several days off for the class and travel time.
For basic stuff–helping me put bullets on target at the range, working on my basic rifle technique, I know a guy that did 12 years in the military that teaches some CHL courses. He was squad marksman so I imagine he knows how to use a rifle tooa nd I plan to approach him about teaching me to shoot one decently.
There was article written in the 1990s, I can’t remember by whom, that pointed out that those who oppose armed self defense are moral cowards. His argument was that by refusing to take responsibility for your own safety you expect someone else to put their life on the line for you. No one has an obligation to do that if you are unwilling to risk your own life first. I have a policy that if you deny my right to self defense I will not even call 911 for you. I am not going risk my life or the life of a police officer for you.
People who oppose armed self defense as choice (how many of them proclaim that they are pro-choice?) are actually resentful that you are willing to defend yourself. They are jealous that you won’t be a victim and they will. In the age of enforced egalitarianism it just isn’t fair that you will survive and they won’t.
And Ms. Lafferty many people who are not marines respond to natural and man made disasters with courage and ingenuity. You read about these people everyday in the newspaper.
This really isn’t that much of a cause for celebration. There are a LOT more guns on the “recently removed” list. Can’t even sell a Ruger SR22 anymore, except by private transfer.
Basically the msnufacturers just aren’t having the certifications renewed. Problably not eorth the trouble.
If you live in CA get what you can now.
I kinda like the low profile box idea. I have a steel box with a Simplex pushbutton lock bolted to my nightstand. (Yeah, I know, a burglar could smash the stand and take the box. A risk with any secure container that isn’s sunk in 6 feet of rebar concrete.) I have seen a couple of videos from a security conference that showed how [relatively] easily these small electronic lock boxes can be defeated, including those with fingerprint readers. So I lean toward the Simplex lock-type box. I had used one of the flat single pistol boxes for flying until there was a nearly successful attempt to pry it open after it was checked in. Now I use a box with padlocks.
(Oh, did anyone notice the kippah (yarmulke) on the man who took the safe into his car? Just curious.)
Well, they’d be effective at close range without being provocative. By that I mean, if they all had rifles, someone could object or be concerned because it could be construed as 10k foreigners with arms that could be used for military purpose, e.g. invade, take and hold territory.
On an unrelated note, that’s a great photo, and there’s more if you click on it and follow the link.
Armenians taking in Azerbaijanis? Who thought that would happen? Have they no knowledge of history or even recent events?
Let’s clear up a few things about the roster.
1. The roster was originally intended to assure that handguns were “drop safe” and reliable. For a (hefty) fee, manufacturers could submit guns to an independent agency that tested reliability and drop safety. Over time, the requirements imposed were expanded to include a loaded chamber indicator, manual safeties, and a magazine lock for semi-automatics. This is why many firearms are not sold in California, as they do not have the required features. There is a limited “grandfathering, allowing new models of the same design to be certified (e.g. Colt 1911s), but complete redesigns, such as the Glock Gen 4 need to comply with current standards. Requirements for revolvers, as far as I know, have no requirements other than drop safety and reliability.
2. The roster does not apply to private sales, nor to C&R handguns. It does apply to sales through FFLs, so guns purchased through Gun Broker or Guns America must be on the roster to be transferred here.
3. The microstamping law, enacted in 2007 and declared effective by the DOJ in March 2013, applies only to semi-auto pistols, and further applies only to pistols not already on the roster or undergoing safety testing. No new pistols have been added to the roster since July, and it appears unlikely that any will be added until the microstamping law is repealed or declared invalid.
4. Once on the roster, a handgun may remain on the roster until the manufacturer allows the (annual) registration to expire. The renewal fee is somewhere around $2000 per model. Manufacturers tend to keep guns on the roster as long as they are still being manufactured, but after manufacture ceases and stocks are exhausted, there is no point in maintaining registration. The DOJ does NOT “decertify” rostered firearms.
22LR is meant to be a basic, simple, fun caliber. There’s nothing “tactical” or “battle ready” about it.
So keep it simple with its optics also. A high-quality fixed 4x or 6x scope complements a 22LR rifle perfectly.