Here’s my logic regarding mass shootings because this seems to be the logic of a huge swath of the unwashed masses:
I’ve never been shot.
No one has ever even taken a potshot at me—unless you count the guys on the bank of the Green River shooting at fish in the eddy as I approached from upstream in my raft.
I don’t know anyone who has been shot by a mass shooter, or any kind of shooter.
I don’t know anyone who has been present at a mass shooting. Or, at least, I am not aware of anyone I know having been present at a mass shooting.
Therefore, it’s all a lie. One big hoax. Crisis actors everywhere you turn. The mainstream media trying to make us believe our guns and our love affair with guns might just be a problem for civil society.
Which, of course, is the never-never land that only Alex Jones followers, and all of his knock-off’s followers, live in.
Last week, before I escaped into the wilderness, or into the world without non-stop blather, I heard or read some jackass going on about “constitutional carry” rights. Even throughout my temper tantrums over rowing into chinook winds, the combination of those two words as they relate to guns gnawed at me.
Prepare for blasphemy!
First of all, our fallible founders did not intend for every Tom, Dick, Harry and Margrethe to be armed and dangerous and have unlimited access to an arsenal of weaponry.
I don’t think they were delirious when they penned the Constitution. After all, they made sure the ruling class could maintain power for eternity by banning certain citizens from voting (until only recently) and creating the clusterfuck known as the Electoral College.
Secondly, even if our fallible founders DID intend for their fellow Americans to brandish weapons whether they were trained to do so or not, and wrote it into our nation’s holy document - it’s time for the adults in the room to put down their collective foot and categorically state that our fallible founders were WRONG!
I hate how easily the reactionaries in our midst gain the high ground with all of these hot-button issues when - in reality - a vast majority of us are in opposition of their stance. There are hundreds of examples but the ones that readily come to my mind are: the Healthy Skies Initiative, the Death Tax, the Right-to-Work laws, Obamacare and now they want to convince us that banning folks from strutting about the local mall, or your State Capitol grounds, or at the Pride Day parade with more, or as much, firepower as the machine gun nests looking down on Normandy Beach during the landing in WWII is somehow intruding on their constitutional rights - “constitutional carry”, my ass.
(The Healthy Skies Initiative had a lot to do with clearing the way for more clear cutting and pollution. The Death Tax, of course, is the way the right refers to the Estate Tax which affects a minuscule portion of the population, has been a generous and welcome source of revenue for decades and is favored by Bill Gates, Sr and other multi-billionaires. The Right-to-Work laws are a cover for union-busting and maintaining low wages. Obamacare was their pejorative for the Affordable Care Act, which applied correctly, did way more good than harm.)
Your typical American rube loved the ACA, but despised Obamacare. That’s how these things go when you have dedicated networks to disseminate propaganda to the masses. That’s how these things go when everyone from the reactionary party parrots the exact same talking points ad infinitum. That’s how these things go when you simplify your message to a bumper sticker slogan after thousands of hours of focus groups. That’s how these things go when ‘dark money’ infiltrates every crack, crevice and corner of your political ecosystem.
Remember how they convinced the inattentive and gullible that Obamacare included Death Panels for your grandma?
Well, “constitutional carry” is madness and bullshit and needs to die on the vine.
The Constitution was not handed down to humans by some mythical deity. It should not be the last word. The authors were fallible. It is fallible. It has amendments for a reason. Things change.
Gun nuts—just to be clear—I’m not talking about pistols and guns that can be easily concealed. I’ll compromise on those.
Weapons of war, long guns, rifles, guns that cannot be easily concealed, whatever the hell you want to call them, have no place in civil society. Washington State legislators on the progressive end of the spectrum want to ban the open carry of weapons within such and such feet of the Capitol grounds, but I would go farther and say there is absolutely no public space where it should be allowed. In my world, if you are caught strolling about downtown Snohomish, Washington, with your military grade, manhood-compensation weapon slung over your shoulder, you’ll be arrested and have your cherished 2nd Amendment rights revoked.
In my world, if you’ve been charged with domestic abuse, domestic violence or cruelty to animals, and found guilty by a jury of your peers or a judge, you’ll have your cherished 2nd Amendment rights revoked.
In my world, if your written up for road rage, cyber-stalking, a public disturbance involving yelling at employees, public servants or the like, you can kiss your 2nd Amendments rights good bye.
In my world, if you want to play soldier, join the military.
Of course, all of this comes down to law enforcement and law enforcement officers and that topic is a whole other ball of wax. . .
Self explanatory.
Also, if you are interested in conservation, wolves, bison, wild areas or positive stories, this 20 minute film called True Wild is for you. Enjoy!
Thanks for reading! - JLM