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The NRA's Accidental Brush with Sanity
The group blames an unnamed and lowly staffer for accidentally criticizing Texan gun advocates for hanging out at restaurants while brandishing assault weapons.
Jun 22, 2014
Whoa, that was close. The National Rifle Association nearly shot itself in the foot recently with a common-sense editorial it posted online.
The group of rootin'-tootin', bullet-spittin', doctrinaire, guns-everywhere extremists finally saw something involving firearms that even it considered too extreme. In Texas (naturally), worshippers of the glorious gun god have taken to shouting out their ideological absolutism in coffee shops, museums, chain restaurants, and other public places by having a dozen or more of their ilk walk in together with shotguns, assault rifles and other weaponry strapped onto them.
"Any gun, anywhere," is their message, expressed in an unsubtle, don't-mess-with-us swagger.
"Scary," exclaimed the NRA editorial, calling the macho show counterproductive to the cause of gun rights, adding that such peacocking is downright "weird." That is, of course, a sane response.
But sanity isn't comfortable turf for gun dogmatists. The NRA soon got hit with a barrage of fire from its own ranks, plus an explosion of rage from gun groups that are -- believe it or not -- even gunnier than the NRA.
So the big, bad, never-surrender rifle organization quickly threw in the towel. It recanted its momentary lapse into sanity, and cravenly blamed some unnamed lowly staffer for the ideological impurity.
The upshot is you can expect to see newly sanctioned NRA gun strutters parading into cafes near you. But let me ask this: How would those strutters react if a band of African-Americans or Latinos were to stride into one of their cafes, armed to the teeth?
I'm with the president on this one: "There's no reason," he said, "why on the street today a citizen should be carrying loaded weapons."
Oh, that wasn't Barack Obama. It was Ronald Reagan, in 1967 -- back when he served as the governor of California.
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
This column was distributed by OtherWords.
Jim Hightower
Jim Hightower is a national radio commentator, writer, public speaker, and author of the books "Swim Against The Current: Even A Dead Fish Can Go With The Flow" (2008) and "There's Nothing in the Middle of the Road But Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos: A Work of Political Subversion" (1998). Hightower has spent three decades battling the Powers That Be on behalf of the Powers That Ought To Be - consumers, working families, environmentalists, small businesses, and just-plain-folks.
Whoa, that was close. The National Rifle Association nearly shot itself in the foot recently with a common-sense editorial it posted online.
The group of rootin'-tootin', bullet-spittin', doctrinaire, guns-everywhere extremists finally saw something involving firearms that even it considered too extreme. In Texas (naturally), worshippers of the glorious gun god have taken to shouting out their ideological absolutism in coffee shops, museums, chain restaurants, and other public places by having a dozen or more of their ilk walk in together with shotguns, assault rifles and other weaponry strapped onto them.
"Any gun, anywhere," is their message, expressed in an unsubtle, don't-mess-with-us swagger.
"Scary," exclaimed the NRA editorial, calling the macho show counterproductive to the cause of gun rights, adding that such peacocking is downright "weird." That is, of course, a sane response.
But sanity isn't comfortable turf for gun dogmatists. The NRA soon got hit with a barrage of fire from its own ranks, plus an explosion of rage from gun groups that are -- believe it or not -- even gunnier than the NRA.
So the big, bad, never-surrender rifle organization quickly threw in the towel. It recanted its momentary lapse into sanity, and cravenly blamed some unnamed lowly staffer for the ideological impurity.
The upshot is you can expect to see newly sanctioned NRA gun strutters parading into cafes near you. But let me ask this: How would those strutters react if a band of African-Americans or Latinos were to stride into one of their cafes, armed to the teeth?
I'm with the president on this one: "There's no reason," he said, "why on the street today a citizen should be carrying loaded weapons."
Oh, that wasn't Barack Obama. It was Ronald Reagan, in 1967 -- back when he served as the governor of California.
Jim Hightower
Jim Hightower is a national radio commentator, writer, public speaker, and author of the books "Swim Against The Current: Even A Dead Fish Can Go With The Flow" (2008) and "There's Nothing in the Middle of the Road But Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos: A Work of Political Subversion" (1998). Hightower has spent three decades battling the Powers That Be on behalf of the Powers That Ought To Be - consumers, working families, environmentalists, small businesses, and just-plain-folks.
Whoa, that was close. The National Rifle Association nearly shot itself in the foot recently with a common-sense editorial it posted online.
The group of rootin'-tootin', bullet-spittin', doctrinaire, guns-everywhere extremists finally saw something involving firearms that even it considered too extreme. In Texas (naturally), worshippers of the glorious gun god have taken to shouting out their ideological absolutism in coffee shops, museums, chain restaurants, and other public places by having a dozen or more of their ilk walk in together with shotguns, assault rifles and other weaponry strapped onto them.
"Any gun, anywhere," is their message, expressed in an unsubtle, don't-mess-with-us swagger.
"Scary," exclaimed the NRA editorial, calling the macho show counterproductive to the cause of gun rights, adding that such peacocking is downright "weird." That is, of course, a sane response.
But sanity isn't comfortable turf for gun dogmatists. The NRA soon got hit with a barrage of fire from its own ranks, plus an explosion of rage from gun groups that are -- believe it or not -- even gunnier than the NRA.
So the big, bad, never-surrender rifle organization quickly threw in the towel. It recanted its momentary lapse into sanity, and cravenly blamed some unnamed lowly staffer for the ideological impurity.
The upshot is you can expect to see newly sanctioned NRA gun strutters parading into cafes near you. But let me ask this: How would those strutters react if a band of African-Americans or Latinos were to stride into one of their cafes, armed to the teeth?
I'm with the president on this one: "There's no reason," he said, "why on the street today a citizen should be carrying loaded weapons."
Oh, that wasn't Barack Obama. It was Ronald Reagan, in 1967 -- back when he served as the governor of California.
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