even more political
Dec. 24th, 2012 11:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brushwolfPeople are being pretty dogmatic about this stuff. And it's sort of the American hot button issue, the thing which is 'way bigger than every other big distraction from issues about fiscal inequality and what results from that. Why that is I don't know; a more viciously bitter and well educated liberal could probably tell you why.
But my biggest opinion is basically that it's a distraction, a smokescreen, and we consistently fall for it.
Why should Joe Conservative realize that the current system is viciously, almost murderously classist, and that unless he's among the privileged few he too is a victim, when he can be distracted by worries about liberals taking his guns? This, by the way, is a hot button issue for me. I am still at some level a hick from Georgia, and it pisses me off that my fellow southerners are always that easily suckered to ignore the real issues and screw themselves over. This has been true about oh no Black people, it's true about abortion and Queer marriage, it's true about gun control. Some rich people spout the right dogma and we fall right into place like good little products of the Georgia/Alabama/Mississippi/whatever public school system.
I'm sure as soon as it becomes about spending more on police, regulations, weapons and jails and especially given some sort of racist gloss a lot of conservatives will be all for gun control 'cause these guys are never actually small government.
And why should Joe Liberal on the opposite side of the fence, offer pressure to resolve the fiscal inequity which haunts this country when he too can be distracted, this time with saving precious precious lives from the crazed gun toting fanatics whom, our ever-sensationalist media assure us, lurk around every corner? Don't pay attention to environmental issues or the manufactured fiscal cliff issue, not when you can worry about guns. And yep, we predictably fall right into place like obedient little upper middle class privileged white lefties.
And, I worry, as soon as you start talking about security, it becomes like the TSA or tasers or making sure the OPD has an armored car they can roll out against unarmed protesters or whatever; some authority will get an expanded ability to stomp rights with impunity, some corporation will make tons of money off it, and by the way, anyone who really wants to kill people will still try it. I've seen enough police to know that policemen eagerly rush towards making themselves the big heroes of the day in at least their eyes; I've heard enough about government agency politics to know that federal employees can do not particularly efficient things when it means career advancement and better budgets come out of the deal; these aren't healthy set ups for keeping firearms out of the wrong hands.
And that's my main objection to gun control, not the "well if everyone were packing then nobody would ever successfully harm people ever" rhetoric that the 2nd Amendment types always seem to spout. Which again, is bullshit. The sidearm has not yet been built which only shoots gun-wielding lunatics, grants fantastic discernment in big crowds of panicked people, and offers unbiased and wise judgment about who's dangerous. Last year we had a kid shot by someone with a gun because he was dangerous looking, which apparently means he was a Black kid wearing a hoodie. And we're supposed to just forget about that?
Yet another personal hot button here is the media; these guys were silent for years, and now that it's a big ticket sensationalist item where they feel safe having an opinion, suddenly they are all desperately concerned gun control advocates? Look. The same media who told us the police were the good guys during the WTO riots and during Occupy, the same media who told us that the Tea Party was an exciting and legit thing but constantly tried to avoid mentioning OWS, the same media who tell us this constant stream of right wing apologist bullshit and big human interest sensationalism, are now the same guys who are telling us that we need more gun control and we need it now.
So my cynical view of how this is going to play out is that there's going to be something, Obama's going to sign it into law, and the right wingers are going to slam him for it, and it's not going to actually solve any problems, but it'll look effective. Meanwhile anything could come out of the fiscal cliff thing but nobody's going to be looking that direction, eh? Aside from a few whiny liberals, but who cares about them, look, Apple's releasing a new iProduct! Oooh!
Yeah. Uh mer i ca. I love my country, but that doesn't mean I don't hate how we act sometimes.
But my biggest opinion is basically that it's a distraction, a smokescreen, and we consistently fall for it.
Why should Joe Conservative realize that the current system is viciously, almost murderously classist, and that unless he's among the privileged few he too is a victim, when he can be distracted by worries about liberals taking his guns? This, by the way, is a hot button issue for me. I am still at some level a hick from Georgia, and it pisses me off that my fellow southerners are always that easily suckered to ignore the real issues and screw themselves over. This has been true about oh no Black people, it's true about abortion and Queer marriage, it's true about gun control. Some rich people spout the right dogma and we fall right into place like good little products of the Georgia/Alabama/Mississippi/whatever public school system.
I'm sure as soon as it becomes about spending more on police, regulations, weapons and jails and especially given some sort of racist gloss a lot of conservatives will be all for gun control 'cause these guys are never actually small government.
And why should Joe Liberal on the opposite side of the fence, offer pressure to resolve the fiscal inequity which haunts this country when he too can be distracted, this time with saving precious precious lives from the crazed gun toting fanatics whom, our ever-sensationalist media assure us, lurk around every corner? Don't pay attention to environmental issues or the manufactured fiscal cliff issue, not when you can worry about guns. And yep, we predictably fall right into place like obedient little upper middle class privileged white lefties.
And, I worry, as soon as you start talking about security, it becomes like the TSA or tasers or making sure the OPD has an armored car they can roll out against unarmed protesters or whatever; some authority will get an expanded ability to stomp rights with impunity, some corporation will make tons of money off it, and by the way, anyone who really wants to kill people will still try it. I've seen enough police to know that policemen eagerly rush towards making themselves the big heroes of the day in at least their eyes; I've heard enough about government agency politics to know that federal employees can do not particularly efficient things when it means career advancement and better budgets come out of the deal; these aren't healthy set ups for keeping firearms out of the wrong hands.
And that's my main objection to gun control, not the "well if everyone were packing then nobody would ever successfully harm people ever" rhetoric that the 2nd Amendment types always seem to spout. Which again, is bullshit. The sidearm has not yet been built which only shoots gun-wielding lunatics, grants fantastic discernment in big crowds of panicked people, and offers unbiased and wise judgment about who's dangerous. Last year we had a kid shot by someone with a gun because he was dangerous looking, which apparently means he was a Black kid wearing a hoodie. And we're supposed to just forget about that?
Yet another personal hot button here is the media; these guys were silent for years, and now that it's a big ticket sensationalist item where they feel safe having an opinion, suddenly they are all desperately concerned gun control advocates? Look. The same media who told us the police were the good guys during the WTO riots and during Occupy, the same media who told us that the Tea Party was an exciting and legit thing but constantly tried to avoid mentioning OWS, the same media who tell us this constant stream of right wing apologist bullshit and big human interest sensationalism, are now the same guys who are telling us that we need more gun control and we need it now.
So my cynical view of how this is going to play out is that there's going to be something, Obama's going to sign it into law, and the right wingers are going to slam him for it, and it's not going to actually solve any problems, but it'll look effective. Meanwhile anything could come out of the fiscal cliff thing but nobody's going to be looking that direction, eh? Aside from a few whiny liberals, but who cares about them, look, Apple's releasing a new iProduct! Oooh!
Yeah. Uh mer i ca. I love my country, but that doesn't mean I don't hate how we act sometimes.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-12-27 09:12 pm (UTC)Ignorance. People are led to believe that guns equal power. Which they can, under certain circumstances. But all in all, they're rather useless for meaningful social change. In reality, guns are a crutch. Basically, the belief is that so long as people remained armed they will have the magical ability to protect themselves--but that's not true. There are far more insidious threats than some idiot trying to break into your house or mug you, they just aren't as visible. Brainless frogs and all.