If you have done but 5 minutes of online discussion about guns, you have met somebody like this:
Long ago I used to get upset at the shallowness of individuals like this. But I figured out soon enough that their prejudices and ignorance were an amazing advantage to our cause. As long as they keep believing we are sub-humans incapable of rational thought, they will continue to make the mistake of underestimating us. And I like that.
The Liberals have admitted (not without a lot of teeth gnashing) that the NRA and gun owners helped Trump. Even Bloomberg’s The Trace said that “The NRA Placed Big Bets on the 2016 Election, and Won Almost All of Them” yet, you do not see them changing tactics or understanding because they went straight for the money as excuse when we damn well know that although money helps, it is not the determining factor. But that billionaire Bloomberg and Co. still go back to the same script reflects that they cannot break their own narrative. And I am fine with that.
The other advantage we already discussed in this blog is that they cannot seem to be able to discuss guns without going straight for the personal attacks. Let Them. We know damn well that words do not hurt, but small pieces of lead traveling at 85o fps or more do inflict heavy damage. Let them call you whatever names they want, let them generalize and group us into whatever their filthy imaginations can com up with. You see, those who are in the fence or maybe have not thought about guns probably know gun owners and after reading stuff like in the screen capture will end up thinking: You know? Joe next door is a gun owner, I have seen the NRA sticker in his car and he is the farthest thing from what those guys are saying!” And right there we might have won a supporter or at least we denied the Opposition one.
So, keep engaging them but be polite, you don’t need to respond in kind. Offer well grounded data like the FBI stats and be smart about it. Hell, if you are good, troll them a little so they can be triggered into a good foaming at the mouth. Do whatever is necessary to keep them within their actual (and losing) narrative.
Because when the Enemy is making a mistake, you do not correct them.
“Because when the Enemy is making a mistake, you do not correct them.”
Yep!
The one term they’ve thrown around that I’ve become quite endeared to is “ammosexual”.
But to the spirit of this post, I agree 100%. Let them continue to act in the immature manner they do. It’s not working and in almost all cases, is having the exact opposite effect. You can’t insult someone into adopting your position.
I’ve made the argument (even here, IIRC) that the biggest single victory the gun rights movement ever achieved was the liberalization of CCW laws. Most antigun propaganda is based on the view of gun owners as somehow subhuman: either toothless, uneducated rural hicks or urban gangsters and ‘vigilantes’. But with the rise of CCW, gun owners went from being “them” to being “us”- that guy you work with, your niece who works a lot of night shifts, your son’s Cub Scout pack leader. You know these people, they’re not gangsters or toothless inbreds! They’re just normal folks, just like you are… and you begin to wonder if maybe the guy who’s calling your niece a “toothless moron” might just have no idea what he’s talking about.
After that, not only did the demonization of gun owners start to fail but it became actively counterproductive, as nobody likes it when some stranger from NYC starts calling badmouthing their friends and relatives.
Sir, you get a cookie.
Many thanks. Just one, please; I’m already overweight.
True, though: the shift of identification from “just rural hunters … and criminals!” to “pretty near anyone” has been monumental in the public image of RKBA and goes far to explain how the only places where gun control can get any serious traction is in states where there is no Shall Issue.
DaveP is right. One of the big things that showed me that gun rights were a positive thing, and that the gun controllers were wrong (and liars) was shall issue in MN.
All I heard before was,
Blood! In! The! Streets!
Gunfights over parking spaces.
Road Rage Massacres!
Wild, wild west shootouts!
Amazingly, Shall Issue passed, and Nothing Happened!
No shootouts, no bloodshed.
Hundreds of thousands were carrying, and everyone was safe.
Finally, Just like Bill Clinton was the driving force for many 2A people, Barack Obama was the driver for me, and many of my friends and family.
I used to have a cutting from my local newspaper (the XXXXBoro News and Fishwrap) editorial section explaining how, even if CCW did in fact reduce violent crime, it STILL shouldn’t be allowed because it isn’t something that civilized people do.
Roll that one through your head for a moment. The *official* stance of the second-largest newspaper in the state was that EVEN IF Shall Issue CCW reduced robberies, rapes, and murders, it STILL shouldn’t be allowed… because it’s not CIVILIZED to prevent victimization.
Seriously, that was one of the two things that went furthest towards opening my eyes to the nature of the beast.
Holy cow! I will have to remember that! As Miggy would say, “that is why we win!”