November 26, 2003
Black Man with a Gun. Maybe he could teach these guys about gun safety.
All in all he seems a reasonable advocate of gun ownership rights and the fight against racism.
From the site:
Some have been conditioned to fear the black man, the "Negro" or a male of African descent. When you add the word "GUN" to it -- you can make a headline. We can’t make our neighborhoods safer with our head in the sand and waiting for the "MAN" to protect us. I don't agree with the NAACP on gun control. We can’t get different outcomes doing the same old things.
[from the site:]
A gun has as many uses as a pair of woman’s shoes.
He's right. They each have one use: a gun is used to shoot and destroy things; shoes are made to cover women's feet.
"You can have my Manolo Blahniks (sp) when you pry them off of my cold, dead feet."
I was driving through Texas some months ago listening to a talk radio DJ (Texas talk radio is an amazing thing) Unfortunately, I cannot remember his name, but he was a New York lawyer whose show was essentially answering the gun law questions of real T-for-Texas types. One such question came from a truck driver whose route routinely took him through, as he stated it, "neighborhoods where no white boy should be". His problem was that Texas state law forbids him from having a gun in his commerical vehicle. His proposed solution was to carry a flare gun, which is categorized differently. Anyway, The host gently reminded him that the neighborhood of which he speak was probably more dangerous for blacks than for whites given the slower 911 response to black queries and the more common instigation of investigation following black on white crime.
Thisis a huge issue, worth raising. Blanchard is a wacko though, and the assertion that "All the laws on the books haven’t prevented the murder of one child to date" is not only jive, but an insult to those that have died because of our presently lax law. Additionally, the only result of a increase in gun ownership in the population will be an increase in accidental shootings.
Oh, and the Talk Show DJ's answer was that he didn't know if using a flare gun to threaten potential criminals, but promised to have a rep from the Highway Patrol in to "answer some of these sticky questions".
P.S. some of the articles he links to make an interesting read.
I'm really hoping that as a country we can step out of the guns = safety and guns = liberty paradigms sooner rather than later.
Guns do not make us safer. More guns in homes mean more people get shot dead. Guns do not make us free. Someone else has more firepower than you do. Your government has more firepower than you do. And so what? Eventually we run out of people to kill and then what? Is anything solved? Are we any closer to resolving big issues? It seems to me the only issue solved is who has the most firepower.
From the site: “While some [guns] are made for just styling, others are for work, play, or sports.”
My Translation: While some [guns] are made just add more commercial value to my killing, others are for killing at work, some are for killing at home, even some are used for killing for sport (or at least practicing for killing).
My disagreement is this: even though his arguments are better constructed than the average gun advocate, he does not mention that the purpose of guns is to kill (or to immobilize I suppose). He is arguing that we need guns to survive, when what we really need is order, fairness and civility in society. He does not propose any solutions, just digs his heels into the ground and refuses to move.
As a kid, my summer camp had the usual activities, plus BB guns and rifles- BBs for the little kids, rifles for the 12+ crowd. I had the reputation of being absolutely the worst shot in the entire camp. On the BB range (in the basement of the chapel, no less) other kids would wind up with extra holes in their targets, while mine would show no signs of having been shot at whatsoever. When I got old enough to graduate to rifles, the camp counselors saw me coming and said "oh, ummm, say, wouldn't you rather go to crafts instead?"
When it comes to self defense, I'll stick with the bit of karate I know, and my dog, if he happens to be around. Neither one will be taken away and used against me. In any case, if you look for things to be fearful of, you'll find them, whether or not they are really there. I don't want to live that way.
I've never held a gun, let alone fired one. That's my personal choice. I don't put myself in positions where someone might suggest that a gun would keep me safe.
Although I can't stand Mike Moore, I appreciate a lot of the points he made in "Bowling For Columbine" - particularly the main point that US society is a fearful one, leading people to mistakenly believe that they need a gun to protect themselves when they don't. Statements such as "The police aren't obligated to protect you" only add to the fear unnecessarily.
I guess in summary I'm saying that I don't like guns, I'm not about to preach to other people about my dislike but I do think this guy is adding to the fear.
I don't know where in DC this fellow lives, but I do know that there are areas there where I'd want one, in spite of my feelings that they cause more problems than they solve.
On the other hand, "People that openly blame mechanical devices for crime, low self-esteem poverty, and drug abuse will have a hard time with me. I stand in defiance of people that have admittedly lost all common sense when they know:..."
I think those of us who are gun-shy would think he's putting the cart before the horse. I, at least, blame crime and the rest of it for the feeling that one needs a gun to be safe in some places. Most of the places I've lived in the US made me feel safe enough to not even have to lock my door, but that has to be because I don't live in either a poverty-stricken or a rich neighborhood. Yes, I'm white, and probably priveleged, but I've never blamed mechanical devices for causing the problems he's talking about.
And:
"1. All the laws on the books haven’t prevented the murder of one child to date "
Well, I have no more references than he does, but I have to disagree. Laws against slavery, child labor, enviornmental hazards, etc., have to have saved a least a couple of children.
2. "The Ten Commandants says “Thou shall not Murder”
The translation I've always read says "Thou shalt not kill." That's a much broader proscription. It probably covers not killing someone who threatens you.
"3. Murders happened before the invention of gunpowder "
True, but this doesn't seem like a great arguement for facilitating more murders.
"4. Gun are machines that cannot operate without humans "
Then the problem is humans with access to guns?
"5. That politicians lie "
Well, probably. But how is that connected to the gun thing?
"6. That the people that push for more gun control have bodyguards, police escorts and don’t live in your neighborhood."
This is an over the top statement, though it's true to some small extent. I've never had a police escort or body guard, but I still think that control is a good thing.
"7. That we do things illegally because no one has taken the time to educate you "
I'm not sure what he's getting at. Are the people who haven't been educated "we" or "you". If it's "we" (the people in his community who go outside the law) that's a bad thing but what education should be provided? If it's "you" (not in his community) It's not clear to me how educating "you" would help "us" stop illegality. And, I'd probably want a gun under his circumstances if he's in a really bad local.
"8. That the media lies "
And...?
"9. Somebody in your family (a veteran, a cop, and a grandparent) owned a gun and you are still here. (ownership doesn’t increase your chances of death) "
Yeah, my grandfather owned a 22 rifle, which he passed down to my mother. I used it to pretend to go after rabbits at one point, but could never shoot them. My nephew owned a pistol of some sort, which he used to threaten his children when his drug paranoia led him to believe that the DARE program in their school was directed at his meth use. He didn't kill them, but it was freaking scarey, and it lost him his family. There's a fine line between having a gun around for protection against the bad guys, and having one to prove how tough you are.
"10. If you are suicidal, you don’t need a gun to do it. "
So what?
"11. Criminals don’t obey gun laws"
That's one of the things tha makes them criminals. Should law abiding citizens use that excuse?
"12. Common sense isn’t as common as it used to be "
What?
I'know I've nattered along too long, but I really can't see why this guy is any more an example of a gun safety guru than the KKK guy.
I really can't see why this guy is any more an example of a gun safety guru than the KKK guy.
It was more tongue in cheek than anything. However, he seems to have more GUN sense, i.e. if I shoot upward, something comes down, than the KKK people.
As for common sense? I think his writings are clear enough on that as everyone else has pointed out.
well said, path
... school...
>P
SHOO!
I need to find out how this turns out.
Out.
Out.
getting d i z z y /clunk
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