Guns Of Christmas Future
Clearly, there’s a lot of anger in America right now. Much of it justified, as some can afford shower curtain rings that would dwarf others’ weekly wages (and the latter are the ones who are lucky enough to have jobs). When you take this fact, combine it with the Orwellian “Newspeak” so pervasive in our media (which David Neiwert has written so articulately about ), and multiply that by the NRA’s mission to fight for the rights of criminals, the mentally ill and even terrorists to have access to guns , you have a toxic stew, ready to erupt. Scene: Panama City, Florida. A school board meeting is interrupted by a man with a criminal record of assault (with a gun) waving a gun, and furious that his wife lost her job, his benefits have run out and the board members were unwilling to raise sales taxes so she and others like her wouldn’t be fired (it should be noted that reports are still sketchy, so not all of what he says about his wife and himself during the 5 minutes when the board members try and talk him down can be confirmed yet). We don’t yet know where he got his gun — but we do know his criminal record and history of mental illness made it illegal for him obtain a gun of any kind. We also know that you can walk into a gun show in many states, such as Virginia, and buy any weapon, no background check necessary . The Governor of Virginia thinks that this is a-ok. No matter that everyone from members of Hezbollah to the Columbine killers to the Pentagon shooter got their guns in this manner. Apparently, to make an omelette, you have to shoot a few eggs. But the gun lobby marches on: Much harm, no foul. The NRA has spent years trying to destroy and delegitimize the ATF , such that nobody has been leading this important law enforcement agency for the past 4 years. Why? Because they try and track where guns come from when they kill people . Crazy. right? And of course we know that we are creating our very own Bonus Army, as millions are filled with despair and anxiety as we give them a pittance while extending tax cuts for people who make Richie Rich look like Oliver Twist. So is this our future? Videos of killers wielding illegal guns and holding innocent people hostage — or worse. Reality TV, gone very, very wrong. Unless/until we decide that gun safety, economic equality, and preventing pundits from inciting riot/slandering whole groups of people on air are reforms worth fighting for. Stay tuned on this one. In the meantime, sadly, I can promise you one thing: Many mini-revolutions such as this will be televised. And it will be ugly.
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on December 16, 2010. Filed under