Hip-Hop, Country and the NRA Lifestyle

[Caveman Jim]

Any org that helps protect the 2A and promotes outreach to educate those that have been lied to all these years by the corrupt politicians is a very worthy cause. I salute them all.

 

[MisterLe]

The NRA... should promote itself the way the nation actually exists, not some imagined reality.

So what you're saying is that you won't be happy until all collective NRA media products include: 13% Blacks, 20% Latinos, 6% Asians, 50% women, and 3.6% homosexual, bisexual, and transgender?

 

[Hybrid Slave]

It's just too bad that it seems (too me, anyway) that a political "pied piper" tootin' country, or whatever kind of music, combined with eloquent flag waving (of whatever ideology) psychological manipulation has more influence and appeal to the masses than does an intellectual approach.

But I suppose that has always been the reality all the way back to our known recorded history.

And I suppose that if the overwhelming majority of Americans actually embraced and pursued indepth intellectualism and education more diligently than they did promoting various "life styles" that included waving flags for more war and taxing for military funding for wars around the world, or that included imposing various ideologies (gay, religious, or whatever) upon others', then perhaps the nation wouldn't be swirling down the toilet as it now seems to be, and the 2nd Amendment of the US Constitution, along with the NRA would possibly be praised by all.

 

[PaulB47]

Where politics is concerned, I think intellectualism is overrated. If everybody was smarter, we'd still have tyranny - just smarter tyranny. It depends on worldview more than anything, and I've known some smart people with pretty rotten worldviews.

Anyway I have a problem with the notion of smart people vs dumb people.
http://strike-the-root.com/problem-with-people-are-idiots-meme

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Just what is "the NRA Lifestyle"?
I am in the NRA. My lifestyle choices , my choice of music , outdoor activities , firearms or anything else may or may not be "inline" with or stereotypical of anyone or anything.
I dislike it when people try to "fit me in a box" as it were or try to classify me according to my likes or dislikes.
Andy

 

[No_Regerts]

Being a racial minority, I can say that I am a member of the NRA and it wasnt because of commercials or concerts or any of that. I believe in the US Constitution and its my duty to support organizations that exist to uphold it.

Some of those idiot pop singers and hip hoppers should realize that their fight against censorship would be lost if there were no 2A. Don't believe me? Look at disarmed "democratic" countries like South Korea and see the boot they have on the heads of their celebrities.

 

[Hybrid Slave]

Where politics is concerned, I think intellectualism is overrated. If everybody was smarter, we'd still have tyranny - just smarter tyranny. It depends on worldview more than anything, and I've known some smart people with pretty rotten worldviews.

Anyway I have a problem with the notion of smart people vs dumb people.
http://strike-the-root.com/problem-with-people-are-idiots-meme

Yep. I have to agree with you there. Higher education, intelligence, enlightenment etc.etc. does not necessarily guarantee good morals, or empathy or the use of sound logic in an individual.

One can be an academic and intellectual genius and still be a narcissistic sociopath obsessed with wealth and power, and who is unable to grasp the self destructive nature of such behavior.

 

[Hybrid Slave]

Just what is "the NRA Lifestyle"?
I am in the NRA. My lifestyle choices , my choice of music , outdoor activities , firearms or anything else may or may not be "inline" with or stereotypical of anyone or anything.
I dislike it when people try to "fit me in a box" as it were or try to classify me according to my likes or dislikes.
Andy

Such "classify"(ing) is a very dominant part of the human psyche (and basic animal instinct) that deals with cognitive learning and dissonance. It is the humans' ability to dare to venture beyond this line hard adherence to their own cognitive thinking that has moved us beyond being mere primate like hybrids.

Naturally, some are more skilled than others, where moving beyond stereotypical "flags" is concerned. And in most respects, it is not a question of intelligence level, or the good or bad in a person, but rather simply a measure of one's perspective and experience with such "flags".

All humans do this in some way(s). And in the majority of cases, their assessments of these "flags" will statistically prove to be correct with enough behavioral observation of any particular subject and (particularly) groups of subjects. However, there are always exceptions.

It is our own individual choice whether or not to delve into those risky waters of challenging one's own cognitive thinking, and thereby extending one's hand to the individual who stands behind those "flags", whether those "flags" are being waved consciously or not.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Not sure I understand what you wrote Hybird Slave.
What I was trying to point out was that I dislike it when people assume that because of my choice of being a NRA member , that I am a right wing extremist who fears anything or anyone who thinks different than me , that I own six or more "Full auto high capacity highpowered assault rifles" and that my favorite name is Bubba or any other negative stereotype that makes up much of the media's perception of the NRA.
I also was attempting to point out that any organization runs the risk of alienating its members when it assumes that we all think the same.
Andy

 

[PaulB47]

I was just in Cabela's a couple days ago. That place is always playing country music too. Talk about playing up to the stereotype... Why not try playing some classical music? Would that be so hard?

 

[Caveman Jim]

I was just in Cabela's a couple days ago. That place is always playing country music too. Talk about playing up to the stereotype... Why not try playing some classical music? Would that be so hard?

Paul, if they did that I would have to remove my hearing aids.
I love rock n roll, put another dime in the jukebox baby"!!!!

 

[Hybrid Slave]

Not sure I understand what you wrote Hybird Slave.
What I was trying to point out was that I dislike it when people assume that because of my choice of being a NRA member , that I am a right wing extremist who fears anything or anyone who thinks different than me , that I own six or more "Full auto high capacity highpowered assault rifles" and that my favorite name is Bubba or any other negative stereotype that makes up much of the media's perception of the NRA.
I also was attempting to point out that any organization runs the risk of alienating its members when it assumes that we all think the same.
Andy

I don't like being "put in a box" any more than you do. I have come to accept the fact that it is an instinctive part of the human and primal learning process to do so. Some people are aware of this natural tendency within themselves, and others are not.

Those who are aware of it either try to rise above it by giving every fellow human being a fair shake before casting them off into their various "boxes" or they simply allow their default cognitive settings make blanket judgments.

Personally, I like to keep people guessing. I have long dark hair, and a carrot red beard. During summer I turn reddish brown, and I get a lot of hard looks from people who fit into my own "boxes".

In winter I get ghostly white. Anyone savvy enough of facial structure, and who is observant enough can tell that I am not completely "anglo" or whatever term is used to classify "ethnic" appearance, but yet, I still seem to get many long hard stares, in spite of my maintaining a friendly demeanor everywhere I go.

These people have gone as far as attempting to speak to me in very mutilated Spanish, or asking me if I speak English. One even asked me if I spoke "Mexican", and another asked if I spoke "American" (as if there actually were such languages).

When I go to a bank, or a doctors office or anywhere that I am required to show ID, I am often received rather rudely and coldly until I show my ID that shows my veteran status, and suddenly the whole tune changes. Amazing how a person's facial expression can change in an instant from an "I smell dookie" look, to a wide fake plastic like smile.

I speak "the Queen's English" not an quite like an Englishman,and with no discernible accent but certainly not like an "Amereecun". Sitting in my car, I listen to everything you can think of under the sun, from Blue Grass to Jazz, to head banger to symphony.

I wear plain old 501s and Gap polo shirts, with nothing eye catching or conspicuous or all that distinguishable (at least to me) from any other average "Joe" out their. I make much effort to simply blend in to the public scenery and yet I still get put into "boxes" day after day.

And its by every color and ethnicity that I come across. Fair skinned people's jaws practically hit the floor when I open my mouth and speak better English than they. Spanish speakers look at me with contempt. It was worse when I had short hair and was clean shaven, except that people were a little more friendly.

I apologize for going on so long, but you've raised a point that is extremely valid. But nobody seems to want to acknowledge the fact that we all classify (or stereotype) and we do it to ourselves as well, either consciously or not. Most of us are completely oblivious just how we project ourselves to the world or how the world perceives us. This is what i'm talking about when I refer to "flags".

A most interesting and enlightening social experiment is to have somebody record you for several days, in various situations and settings, while you are completely unaware (if this is possible). I did it, years back, and I was amazed, embarrassed, and humbled.

The funny thing is, with exception to outward appearance, I was not to much different from anyone else in basic behavior. But it certainly became much more apparent what kind of "flags" were being flown, either consciously or not, by myself and everyone else around me. And with that knowledge, it was easier to guess as to which "boxes" I was being placed.

This tendency we all have is at the very primal core of our natures. Until people learn to elevate themselves beyond primal control and learn to control it, I'm afraid that humanity's problems of prejudice and preconceived notions will always plague us.

 

[PaulB47]

Eh, it's just people trying to figure out if you belong to their "tribe" or not. What could be more human?

I used to have a German girlfriend. I was over there near Munich and we were on the train, and we decided to try to figure out just by looking, who were the Germans and who weren't. One nicely-dressed "black" woman got on the train, and we chuckled that she obviously was not. Then she started talking to her companion in perfect Bavarian - obviously she had grown up there. Our jaws kinda dropped...