It came as a surprise to me: those of us who started on Gun Rights via the Internet back on the day of BBS and Usenet are now the Keepers of the Knowledge. How the hell did that happen? Oh yes.. we got old.
The second iteration of the Gun Rights movement was initiated back in the day when you paid for Internet access by the hour, AOL was the coolest kid in the block and this sound was the first thing you heard when you tried to connect to the new electronic frontier. Rec.Guns was the battlefield without the Hague or Geneva Convention rules (basically no rules) and where gun and anti-gun people gathered to fight. It was also the first great accumulation of information available to anybody with a computer and where myths were dispelled and truths brought out.The Silent Majority was not silent anymore and if the Left then would have figured out the amount of damage the Internet would cause to their causes, it would have aborted this baby faster than you could say RU 486.
The problem now is that a new younger generation of gun advocates is coming to the frontlines and although the information is available, it is so much and so all over the place it is hard to track. Enter us, Old Farts With Guns Who Actually Were There, Wrote That and Know What a Bolean Search Means. We were there, we know what to look for and we can share it with them.
It is our responsibility to give what we know to the next generation of fighters. I know it gets old and boring to repeat over and over what we know, but we cannot allow the other side to repeat the wins they had. We do have the advantage that the New Gen is willing, hungry and eager to learn to what we experienced and what we have to say. They understand that history is fundamental in our fight and that they do not know everything about guns, gun rights and the class of adversary we face. What do they have is better weapons: Our fight was to destroy the Old Media monopoly on information and we did so with our Emails and post in Usenet; it was the equivalent of pitting the Mauser versus the M1 Garand and the horse versus the Jeep. Social Networks, podcast (audio and video) and Smartphones with lightning speed texting are the new things, the Shock & Awe, JDAMs and M4s with advanced optics. But all those weapons require ammunition and that is the knowledge we acquired over the years. Our job then is to crank up the mental progressive loader and supply them cartridges on demand and even when they do not want it.
And no, I do not see myself a Yoda. More like Master Po if you ask me. 😉
I would like to say, as part of the new wave.
We’re hopped up on energy drinks, video games, and oversaturation of gun violence from the media. Be patient, be polite, and educate, not evangelize.
A very bad impression will make us run to the Brady Campaign and CSGV and VPC. Bringing us under your wing with patience is key. Giving us the attitude that we don’t know shit and treat us as such is bad.
Just saying.
1) You don’t know shit and I say that because after 20 years of gun stuff, I don’t know 1/5th of the shit out there. The first step in the path of True Knowledge is admitting that your Fecal Recognition & Identification process is sorely lacking.
2) You shall get smacks on the back of the head when deserved. Deal with it. This is not Occupy Wall Street and ask for a free Glock once a year.
3) Cowboy up. The opposition will be 1,000 times nastier that I will ever be.
I didn’t mean to insult, I’m sorry if it came off that way.
I mean to say that alot of us who grew up in the 90s and are now just gaining actual access to firearms come to it exposed to movies, TV, and video games, and may have a rather “eager beaver” attitude or in the case of some, unable to distinguish between fiction and real life or glean much of their info from people like FPSRussia, etc.
A firm (not against beatings if they are needed) steady and patient method of teaching is probably the best way to deflate people of my generation (like myself upon reading this) and honestly to me is better than what I’ve seen in some other gunblogs of people who put down video gamers without attempting to try and at least educate yet at the same time lamenting on crap.
I think I’ll just shut up now and enjoy my lunch.
I understand. If we see you screwing up, we’ll tell you and let you decide.
If you need, ask and we will share.
You don’t know it yet, but you are in the stage of life when you think of yourselves as indestructible. Gods among men. It is normal. This gets cured in two ways: You happen to survive a very nasty encounter or see somebody close to you die. There is a third option which is just maturing with age and I hope is the one you are served with.
Hollywood notwithstanding, there is no such thing as a good gunshot wound. Or a knife wound for that matter.
I fully understand that. Many times I often wonder afterwards “why in bloody hell did I do/buy that”. But in terms of indestructable, I like to believe I’m past that. Always been careful in truly dangerous things (at work and driving, etc) but yeah.
Although I don’t like pain…and my blood being spilled. Hollywood can go suck it because if I ever get shot even through my arse, I’m screaming my lungs out. >_>;;
Our recollections differ. AOL was never “the coolest kid on the block”, and rec.guns was moderated to keep the signal to noise ratio down.
rec.guns mod was barely moderated. they couldn’t keep up with the postings sometimes. Don’t get me wrong, the mods were doing a thankless job.
And AOL was the cool kid. Compuserve was for business types and Prodigy was… for something or another. AOL shot itself in the foot with TOS, shady billing practices and insufferable behavior that comes from being the cool kid in the block.
I got nailed by AOL for $250 one month. I called to complain and they insisted they were correct and that I use the service. I explained to them That I had been out of the country for 2 months, that there is no way I could log in from the hells of South America and that I could provide with documentation. They did not change their position so I cancelled my account and went with Netcom who was offering the incredible deal of $19,95 for 50 hours (IIRC) a month. Shortly after everybody went unlimited.
[…] After a few reflective moments, I hit the ‘net, and hit Miguel’s Gun Free Zone, where I found this discussion of the early days of the internet. […]
Ah AOL that dirty little secret for those of us that started online early…
Not an old gunnie online, but been around the block once. I’m the new guard, but blunt. We all got things to learn that’s why we are here.
OMG! That sound, that was my 120 baud modem, then my 300, then one day I got 1200 baud and I was so high speed. BBS was the best and we had games that went down every night for updating and damn, I didn’t have enough “hit points”. Those were the days. Compuserve was it, for a while. Anyone else have GEnie? Then AOL was the latest and greatest but then became so bloated and diluted, kinda like the way Facebook is going now. I still hear “you’ve got mail” from across the room. 🙂