Poster Child of Fear

[DuneHopper]

The dynamics, and culture of firearm owners is easily debated. Even by gun owners themselves.

The issue here, can even be seen in this forum as well as media, and other Internet sources. All one has to do is look at the Clinton administration in the 1990s, to see a development taking place, this development would lead to producing a terrorist act of fear by our own president at the time. Previously our country would look at other aspects in the world and see fear mongering, by many other countries wishing to influence a worldview.

But something changed after the 1990s, firearms still had existed for hundreds of years prior to the 1990s, however a development to portray citizens as people that should now be feared would become the administrations goal, to paint firearm owners as the poster child of fear. To further demonize this process, an inanimate object, would also be placed alongside firearm owners, connecting the items in a symbiotic birth of fear, with object and Human.

Why is this so important? Because that is what we are facing in our fight for our rights at this time. We are battling the perception of an inanimate object, and the prejudiced view placed on those that own the object. What we have not addressed on this side of the aisle is the prejudice implications that is placed upon us. Placing us as the poster children of fear.

There's nothing else that drives voters better than fear, and that is being accomplished year after year with each presentation of legislation.

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[JadeFox]

Pretty deep stuff Dune. I guess I'm a bit pessimistic because the elites who own this country also own the media. Great insight....any solutions? Tolerance is only for their agenda. I had an interesting conversation over the weekend with a very liberal community family support person who stated in essence that if more restrictive gun laws are imposed and it save just one life, it is worth is. That so many incidents of legal gun ownership save countless lives every year made no impact on her thinking. She is also a big proponent of abortion. When asked if restricting abortion saved even one child's life, wouldn't that be worth it? It was an ugly conversation.

 

[DuneHopper]

Pretty deep stuff Dune. I guess I'm a bit pessimistic because the elites who own this country also own the media. Great insight....any solutions? Tolerance is only for their agenda. I had an interesting conversation over the weekend with a very liberal community family support person who stated in essence that if more restrictive gun laws are imposed and it save just one life, it is worth is. That so many incidents of legal gun ownership save countless lives every year made no impact on her thinking. She is also a big proponent of abortion. When asked if restricting abortion saved even one child's life, wouldn't that be worth it? It was an ugly conversation.

Only solutions I know of, it doesn't seem like we are quite there.....yet.
I do see many on our side seemed to be waking up after a 30 slumber, but may be too late.

Sometimes, one can take a step back and see the world for one it is, a huge struggle to survive and if lucky live to tell about it.
I am not sure if its illness, or if we taught mental illness. The left says people with gun are ill. So are they saying for near 300 years everyone that owned a gun was mentally ill because they were ill. Or is one ill that says lets kill babies, let criminal own guns and not the people. If I lit campfire, and told one to sit on the fire. The one that is mentally ill is the one that will do it to their own peril.
The wise will say GFYS, and walk away, and live another day. It seems the left ignores all human history, yet embraces violence.
That right there shows their ignorance.

 

[Flopsweat]

We need a national ad campaign that addresses the fear mongering in a calm rational manner. As much as I love Dana Loesch, she probably turns a lot of people off. Case in point, I momentarily forgot her name so I looked up "angry nra lady". Her name was the first two words of the first result returned. Great gal with a fierce determination to resist, but we need a more mother-earth personality to talk people down from the mountain of fear the opposition has dumped on our nation. Well, it's a mountain of something... And we apparently need someone other than the NRA. They are getting nothing done on the west coast. I would donate serious money to a set of TV and Internet ads run for the next 5 years if they were in that sort of format. Like nice new rifle kind of money.

 

[saxon]

comes a time when "if your gonna shoot, shoot, don't talk" - tuco

since the 90s were has talking got us? gun bans parts bans etc etc etc and as in that other thread "buts we don't need to look so angry like the imposters do"
"they have to be a plant" ...... no just people getting tired of running from state seeing gun rights banned.

 

[L84Cabo]

We need a national ad campaign that addresses the fear mongering in a calm rational manner.

It won't work. Because this isn't a debate. It's a war...it is ABSOLUTELY a war. The Left isn't even trying to hide it anymore. They are openly advocating for the repeal of 2A.

Facts, logic and reason presented in a calm rational manner are useless when the other side's position is based solely on emotion. They also don't care. The Left's mind is already made up and you and I and the big bad evil NRA are red neck, child killing, gun nuts. You cannot have a rational discussion with people who think of you in that manner. There is nothing to discuss and certainly nothing to negotiate. The Left won't stop until 2A has been abolished and ALL guns have been confiscated. That is their goal. And we are at war.

 

[P7M13]

There's nothing else that drives voters better than fear, and that is being accomplished year after year with each presentation of legislation.

Fear, as a motivator, has been around longer than guns. It's easier to point to a group of people, or an object, and make it the scapegoat for a problem, rather than facing the problem directly and attempting to elucidate the root cause.
Unfortunately, we live in a world of myopic, short-term thinkers.
The notion embraced by the left, that outlawing and confiscating guns will reduce crime and cut down on mass shootings, is a fairy tale based on flawed assumptions. However, to get there, it's not hard for them to make the gun an evil thing, and their media dogs happily slobber at the opportunity.

 

[NW Backpacker]

It won't work. Because this isn't a debate. It's a war...it is ABSOLUTELY a war. The Left isn't even trying to hide it anymore. They are openly advocating for the repeal of 2A.

Facts, logic and reason presented in a calm rational manner are useless when the other side's position is based solely on emotion. They also don't care. The Left's mind is already made up and you and I and the big bad evil NRA are red neck, child killing, gun nuts. You cannot have a rational discussion with people who think of you in that manner. There is nothing to discuss and certainly nothing to negotiate. The Left won't stop until 2A has been abolished and ALL guns have been confiscated. That is their goal. And we are at war.

I'd love to see a movie about our current war in Oregon and Washington made by someone like Clint Eastwood, etc. They made a full-length movie about an actual war in Athens, Tennessee after it happened.

 

[Certaindeaf]

We have nothing to fear but ten rounds a month itself.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

As I have repeatedly said :
Any time you do anything firearm related in public view , you can be seen as representing all gun owners in how they think , speak and act.
This also includes when interacting on gun forums such as NWFA....

Please note that I am not saying to :
"Roll over" ...
Be a "doormat" so folks can walk all over you...
Or to not speak your mind and give your views...

I am saying that :
Your interactions with someone about firearms , may influence them or a have a bigger impact than you might realize...

Many people love to generalize and use "blanket statements"...it pays to be careful that you do not become a "useful stereotype" for the anti gun crowd , by your actions or words...

Facts are more useful , in getting a point across than a sappy , snarky comeback or one liner..unfortunately snappy , snarky comebacks and one liners are far more popular...

By all means , feel free to express yourself just do so respectfully and understand that not all will think like you do , nor "come around" to your way of thinking.

As far as our image of 2nd Amendment supporters or gun owners in the general public view...
There are as many images of gun owners as there are grains of sand on a beach.
It all depends on :
Where you are at , some areas of our country are indeed "gun friendly"...others not so much...

Where the media is coming from...
( As in a gun owner , interviewed in American Rifleman Magazine or Guns and Ammo Magazine , will be shown differently than if they were interviewed by Time Magazine or Life Magazine...)

Whether or not the viewer of said image has a "axe to grind" or has a more open mind and less inclined to stick with their preconceived notions...

Just what experience or knowledge the viewer has of guns...Someone who gets all of their gun "knowledge" via the internet , movies /TV , and firearms sales ads , will have a different view of guns and gun owners , then someone who has had a positive shooting experience or a positive encounter with a gun owner...

Our image is as varied as there are members here on our forum... How someone perceives you as a gun owner is on them...but you present yourself as a gun owner is on you...
Andy

 

[arakboss]

I believe one of our big problems is a perception issue. As far as the antis are concerned owners of what they call "assault weapons" are loose cannons that could snap at any moment. How many times have we heard "why does anybody need an assault weapon"?
Then they see us talking about defending our rights to own these weapons with our lives and that reinforces their fears that were nut jobs. In reality most of us are just normal people who happen to value all of our rights including the right to bear arms.

There are definitely those who want to abolish the 2A and then there are those who don't recognize the 2A as anything more than the right of regulated militias to own muskets. But what they all have in common is they depise scary rifles and those who own them.