Wednesday, August 20, 2014

The police have been shooting tear gas at protesters and terrorizing citizens of Ferguson, isn't this what the NRA has told us to arm ourselves against. Then where is their outrage?

Courtesy of the Daily Beast:  

The National Rifle Association has been warning us about the threat of a heavily-armed and dangerous government crushing dissent for decades. Their leader, Wayne LaPierre, even referred to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms as "jack-booted thugs." 

Their dystopian nightmare sounds exactly like what’s happening in Ferguson, Missouri. 

Yet somehow, the NRA seems to have missed the whole thing with the SWAT teams and the tank-like vehicles and the snipers and the LRAD sound cannon and the tear gas and the rubber bullets being trained on unarmed Americans. Not a peep from LaPierre on this extended assault on citizens of Ferguson, at least that I can find. 

If I were suspicious of their motives--and I am--I might point out that when I visited their 9 acres of militarized gun-fun also known as their convention in Indianapolis, I saw fewer black faces than in your average episode of The Dukes of Hazzard. I'd also point out that LaPierre blows just about every tune he knows on his dog whistle, when warning his membership of the horrors confronting them during this period when violent crime has fallen to its lowest level in a generation: 

"We don't trust government, because government itself has proven unworthy of our trust. We trust ourselves and we trust what we know in our hearts to be right. We trust our freedom. In this uncertain world, surrounded by lies and corruption everywhere you look, there is no greater freedom than the right to survive and protect our families with all the rifles, shotguns, and handguns we want. We know in the world that surrounds us there are terrorists and there are home invaders, drug cartels, carjackers, knockout gamers, and rapers, and haters, and campus killers, airport killers, shopping mall killers and killers who scheme to destroy our country with massive storms of violence against our power grids or vicious waves of chemicals or disease that could collapse our society that sustains us all."

Besides making you wonder who spiked his drink with goofballs, what jumps out about that friendly little harangue? Who do you think LaPierre's speech is meant for when he mentions "terrorists" and "drug cartels" and "carjackers" and "knockout gamers?" 

Valid point.

When the protestors at the Bundy Ranch  were pointing semi-automatic weapons at federal agents and threatening them with violence, the NRA, and just about every conservative in the country, were rushing to stand with them and heralded the importance of the 2nd Amendment in keeping us safe from government overreach.

But the people of Ferguson have just had one of their own gunned down in the streets, have been subjected to tear gas, and now have the National Guard patrolling their streets, and the NRA says nothing?

You know if I were a cynic, I might just think that the NRA believes the 2nd Amendment only applies to people with the right color skin.

You know, if I were a cynic.

P.S. By the way I in NO way think that encouraging the people of Ferguson to take up arms against the police is a good idea, which of course is the same way I felt about the Bundy Ranch standoff.

All I am doing is pointing out the hypocrisy of an organization that on the one hand seems intent on instigating a shootout with law enforcement when the antagonists are white, but clams up when the antagonists are not quite so white.

18 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:22 PM

    So are you trying to insinuate that the NRA is possibly racist? C'mon Man! I mean if you go back and look at the all the pictures of the militias at the Bundy ranch you will find a large number of African American. I have pictures up now. Let's see. There's wuh................, Umm. Must not be the right pictures.

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  2. Anonymous12:24 PM

    Right on Gryph

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  3. Anonymous12:25 PM

    I agree with the post. Just think about flipping the circumstances. If that was an African American up on the overpass pointing a weapon at Federal Agents, Fox News would probably said he belonged to the Black Panthers. And if the crowds in Ferguson were white, Fox would not have the Police Chief on the air, they would have protesters on and would be screaming their support for them. Someone needs to media ambush LaPierre and ask why he hasn't criticized the actions of the police against mostly peaceful protesters.

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  4. Anonymous12:25 PM

    THIS motherfucking, power mad, despicable ASSHOLE should lose his job!

    Veteran Cop: 'If You Don't Want To Get Shot,' Shut Up -- Even If We're Violating Your Rights

    Sunil Dutta, a 17-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department and professor of homeland security at Colorado Tech University, has a suggestion for victims of police violence searching for someone to blame: Look in the mirror.

    In a column published Tuesday in The Washington Post titled, "I’m a cop. If you don’t want to get hurt, don’t challenge me," Dutta responds to mounting criticism of the policing tactics on display in Ferguson, Missouri, amid the hyper-militarization of law enforcement and accusations that officers have violated the First Amendment rights of both demonstrators and journalists covering the events. In a particularly telling passage, Dutta argues that citizens could deter police brutality if they were simply more cooperative, even when they're unjustly targeted.

    "Even though it might sound harsh and impolitic, here is the bottom line: if you don’t want to get shot, tased, pepper-sprayed, struck with a baton or thrown to the ground, just do what I tell you," he writes. "Don’t argue with me, don’t call me names, don’t tell me that I can’t stop you, don’t say I’m a racist pig, don’t threaten that you’ll sue me and take away my badge. Don’t scream at me that you pay my salary, and don’t even think of aggressively walking towards me. Most field stops are complete in minutes. How difficult is it to cooperate for that long?"

    It's worth noting that arguing with a cop and even verbally abusing one, as well as asking for a badge number, are not illegal actions, though they have been known to lead to punishment or arrest. Dutta goes on to admit that police officers aren't perfect and some have been known to be corrupt bullies, but he says your best bet is to swallow your pride, stay quiet and submit to any unlawful actions by police.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/19/sunil-dutta-police-washington-post_n_5692266.html

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous3:30 PM

      Hard to believe a cop with that kind of opinion would let a black 6 foot plus male near enough to him so that he could his gun could be grabbed at or become involved in something "physical". Particularly on a sunny day in an empty street.

      Clearly Officer Darren Wilson wasn't a smart badass cop like Dutta. Too bad Mike Brown wasn't lucky enough to encounter Dutta who would have handled the whole situation perfectly. NOT.

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  5. Anonymous12:28 PM

    If people don't want militarized police in the US, then there needs to be limits on weapons and magazine sizes offered to the public.

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    1. Anonymous4:14 PM

      Totally agree, 12:28.

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  6. Anonymous12:30 PM

    Holy crap. Go to MSNBC and clink on the link to "Pro-gun movement reaches new low"This summer a federal judge lifted the ban on open carry of guns in DC. DC was able to get a ninety day stay but it runs out at the end of October. So right around the 2014 elections you could have a bunch of open carry nuts wandering around the White House, the Captial, forign embassies, etc. That is just great. Thanks, NRA.

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  7. London Bridges1:11 PM

    The NRA's chief lawyer confessed to and was convicted of committing murder.
    http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/07/robert-dowlut-nra-murder-mystery
    a highly qualified NRA member!

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  8. Anonymous1:15 PM

    Spot on. We live in a very racist society. When I hear 2nd Amendment crap, I hear racism in all its sickness. How these people don’t feel deep shame eludes me.

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  9. Anonymous1:28 PM

    If the citizens of Ferguson were world-famous for their gun nuttery, do you suppose those heroes in their bullet-proof camo with all their military weapons would still be lining up to shoot at them night after night? Course not.

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  10. Oh yeah, how great would things go if African-American citizens suddenly decided to dress up like patriots in their tricorne hats and patriot sashes and parade around draped in all the ordnance the Second Amendment guarantees. Cops don't bother that kind of demonstration much.

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  11. Anonymous2:13 PM

    They are truly cowards when you get right do to it.

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  12. Anonymous3:16 PM

    Isn't it amazing how a citizen defending themselves against jack-booted thugs mysteriously transforms into a 'vicious black thug who got what he deserved'? What could possibly be the differentiating factor?

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  13. Anonymous3:30 PM

    The NRA (board member Nugent) has made clear blacks are subhuman. The NRA is not going to support blacks even if they agree with their stand.

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  14. Anonymous3:35 PM

    OT

    Comment from a Ferguson, MO resident to a journalist today:

    "They don't have my son's school open, but the damn liquor store is open."

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  15. You are not the only one to see 'ALL' of whats going on here in #StLouis.

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  16. Anonymous7:45 PM

    Interesting article on HuffPost that states that scientists can show proof that racism is a form of stupidity. Intelligent people have suspected this for years, but now the science backs this up. Yes Sarah, science can prove you and your NRA ammosexual buddies are as truly stupid as you appear.

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