During the Presidential campaign there were all sorts of stories floating around about how some of Trump’s supporters were planning armed insurrection if it turned out that their candidate was somehow cheated out of his rightful prize. And even The New York Times ran a story based on some interviews with Trump loyalists, none of whom actually said that they would lead an armed revolt (which even to verbally promote such nonsense happens to be a federal crime) but they knew other people who were ready to take their guns into the streets.
Luckily we were saved from a revolutionary situation because Shlump actually won. But in the aftermath of his victory, while the guy who really understands the ‘common man’ lines up an Executive management team which represents the billionaire class, we are now being treated to the opposite of the ‘Trump loss equals armed revolt’ crap with stories about how people who consider themselves targets of Shlump-o’s fascist-populist message are arming themselves in response to the impending warfare that will sooner or later break out.
This latest effort to sensationalize every aspect of political news and commentary was the handiwork of NBC, which ran a story about how ‘fearful minorities’ (read: African-Americans) were ‘buying up guns,’ the reportage based entirely on interviews with a black lady who lives in Alpharetta, GA, a black gun-shop owner in Virginia and the guy who heads something called the National African American Gun Association, which just happens to be occasionally featured on the Breitbart website (where else?) because of the group’s strong support for 2nd-Amendment ‘rights.’
This idea that African-Americans should become gun owners predates the 2016 campaign, reflecting an attempt by the gun industry to reach out to new markets, in particular women, Hispanics and blacks. The problem is that none of these demographics have ever shown any serious inclination to join Gun-nut Nation, and while noisemakers like Dana Loesch (for the women segment) and Colion Noir (for the African-American segment) push their stupidly-contrived videos on the NRA website and YouTube, they are basically speaking for themselves. The FBI, under statute, does not maintain or release data on the racial breakdown of NICS-background checks (my request for such information was politely refused last year) and anecdotal evidence is anecdotal but it’s not evidence. What we do know from the latest Pew survey is that roughly one out of five African-American and Hispanic households contain guns, so there’s plenty of room for growth.
But let’s assume for the moment that even with the shallowness of the reportage, the NBC story about how minorities are streaming into gun shops is true. You would think this would be a salutary news event for Gun-nut Nation, given how the gun industry has tried to promote the ownership of its products to non-white groups. But judging from a Breitbart story based on the NBC report, the enthusiasm is less than real. Because the problem that Gun-nut Nation now faces is to find a way to promote the idea of minority gun ownership while, at the same time minimizing (or simply lying about) the reason why African-Americans are buying guns. And the reason is very simple: the incoming President of the United States has made it clear that minority communities can expect little, if any protection from a federal government whose Chief Executive pollutes the digital airwaves daily with a mixture of racism, appeals to violence and outright scorn.
If, as the NBC story suggests, minorities are considering gun ownership out of fear of what an unbridled racism promoted by Donald Shlump might bring, this also creates an important turning-point for the gun violence prevention (GVP) community as well. Because the one thing we know is that defending yourself or your community by going around armed basically does nothing except create circumstances and situations in which more gun violence occurs. I’m not denying the reality of a palpable sense of fear created by the shenanigans of Jerk Trump. But sticking a gun in your pocket will only make it worse.
Blacks once acquired arms to defend themselves against the KKK. The lynchings went on anyway. It was Ronald Rayguns who signed the Mulford Act in California after the Black Panthers had the audacity to exercise their 2A rights.
I fear that half a century of progress in civil rights and social equality is circling the bowl. Arming one’s self may keep some loser from accosting you but it does nothing to turn the clock back to a time before this horrid election. Indeed, the idea that arms will solve the rot that we saw surface this year is a sign of political failure on a grand scale. More guns don’t make for a polite society. More guns makes for a society that thinks the solution is a gun, regardless of the problem.
Can I steal your last line khal, right to the point?
All yours, Peter.
Love the conversation. However, I am not clear on your position. Is there an overall assumption that Americans of African descent do not have a true affinity for guns? I am one who has multiple guns, am highly trained and teach my children and community to love the outdoors, and the importance of our 2A rights. All with being from inner city Trenton NJ. We know violence only begets violence. However, should non-traditional groups shy away from protection, and a growing affinity? Just want to make sure I am not misconstruing your point above. Thanks.
Exactly what I was going to say. I believe violence breeds more violence, but if only one group of the population owns guns, guess what? those who do not will not be able to protect themselves in case God forbids a civil war starts… I have guns now, because I have the right to, and I want to make sure my family is protected as much as possible.
Reblogged this on Mister Journalism: "Reading, Sharing, Discussing, Learning".
In all honestly, I’m for gun control, but If I where a member of a Muslim community in the United States right now.. i would make sure everyone owned a gun.