Saturday, August 16, 2008

Gradualism And Reset Buttons

It's a perennial gunboard topic and has lately been shaking up the gun-blogosphere: the (supposed) conflict between the working-within-the-system folks who seek better gunlaws and the-system-is-broken folks who stand in opposition to any gun laws and send harsh letters to editors.

One bunch is painted as trimmers, effete compromisers, Zumbos in the making; the other as nutjobs with basement bunkers, stockpiling arms, ammunition, food, water and gold[1] who "scare the white people"[2] and "set us back."[3]

Aw, yah, gee, we'd all like to be a credit to our species but let us get some stuff clear:

- There's no getting the gun-fearing weenies of the world to not be scared of and by you once you admit to owning guns. No matter how engraved, antique and/or sporting they are. No matter what license or permit you have. Yes yes, you can wear a suit and speak softly and that does get you into more offices, but if the people inside that office are askeert of guns, you are unlikely to change that fear no matter how reasonable, rational and well-groomed you are.

- Efforts to change gun laws for the better have, in fact, been working in recent years.

- Efforts to change the culture for the better proceed slowly and require everybody's effort, including our self-appointed coal-mine canaries.

- Admitting that you Have A Plan or that you would Stand Your Ground Against Gun-Grabbers just gets you on various and sundry lists. This is small taters if you already are list-worthy by havin' a lot of NFA weapons or bein' otherwise highly visible, especially in places like NJ, CA, MA and IL that track firearm ownership more closely than other States, but there are some who would benefit -- if they think Real Trouble™ is coming -- by layin' low until it's happening. The nail that sticks up does get hammered down when hammer time comes along; this is a valuable public service for the nails that were just pretendin' to lie flush.[4] However, it relegates your own personal role in the fighting to a footnote listing the first casualities. Some individuals would consider that a tactical error.

- Other things being equal, if you were hopin' to have grandkids (or stick around to spoil the ones you've already got), legislatures and courtrooms are better tools for change than street-fighting. Please go read up on the various resistance groups in wartime; while they are brave, often inspiring, fight hard and occasionally win, A) it usually takes outside help and B) the survival rate is wretched even compared to uniformed combatants in the same war. A dead lion trumps a live snake -- but a live lion's even better.


It's not simple or easy. It's not quick. The level of JBTery is not especially high and is unlikely to escalate rapidly, which means any would-be armed resistor is not Mao's "fish in the sea" amongst the general population but more like a fish outta water. Hearts and minds must be won -- not only in the halls of power but right on your street, one at a time. Sometimes a strongly-worded Letter To The Editor works. Sometimes bein' Jane Ordinary helps ("Why, look, she shoots and she's never eaten even one baby!"). Sometimes a nice suit and gentle persuasion does the trick.

Let's try 'em all -- and try to stop takin' aim at the others in our ranks. The enemy is over there.
__________________
1. I'm all for stockpiling the first four, any big city is days away from hunger if the wheels stop and hungry people are no respecters of private property. As for the last, you gonna eat that stuff cold, smoke it or use it for a pillow?
2. Scruuue yoooo: some of 'em scare me and I ain't that white. Some of the bore-from-within crowd scare me, too, and both groups in usually the same way: Rule Two, dammit! A real danger beats airy-fairy yak about if we should write about shooting the bastids or just vote 'em to the curb.
3. When MSM and gungrabbers alike use "NRA" as a codeword for "scarybad gunnies," it's a bit hard to figure what constitues a "setback."
4. Carl Drega is way more symptom than hero. A lotta folks seem to miss that distinction.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellently said. Wish I'd written it.

Oh, and spot on about gold. Alcohol and ammo, in that order, would be my bet for the most popular forms of wampum When The Revolution Comes.

Anonymous said...

Yup, I agree. To paraphrase a quote I read once,"...gold may not get you ammo, but ammo will always get you gold." In the event of a total breakdown, we are all pretty much screwed anyway; it would just be a matter of degree and time.

Frank W. James said...

The question is how this does this relate to the coming Presidential election?

Both of the front runners are gun grabbers; one out in the open and the other a closet type.

All The Best,
Frank W. James

Roberta X said...

You mean there's mainstrean politcos runnin' for Prez who aren't gun-grabbers?

Closest we have is Bob Barr and his feet are clay, too. A bit more likely to stay bought; a lot more likely to lose. Still probably my best bet, I keep getting closer to voting Pachyderm and then I get reminded of that lower-numbered Amendment and how their guy feels about it.

Frank W. James said...

Yealpe. I agree with ya on all counts. I'm going to do my best for "None Of The Above".

All The Best,
Frank W. James

Anonymous said...

I prefer the eyes open mouth shut boy scout stance. and do what you can where you can.

John B said...

If ya don't vote for a lizard the wrong lizard will get in....

The Farmer said...

Wow, Carl Drega. Haven't heard that name in a while. As I recall his beef, like the Browns we had here in NH, was about his tax bill (town) not so much a 2A or gun and ammo stockpiling deal.

Agree with the Boy Scout motto. Having a plan is never a bad thing, plus now you can blame ready.gov for promoting "paranoia."

Personally, I stockpile the first four too. The power has gone out for up to 3 weeks (in January) and we've had road washouts that lasted a over a week.You really know what's missing when the generator is sputtering for gas or you need to have friends meet you a two mile walk away because your car isn't a tracked vehicle

Assrot said...

I imagine that with my collection of C&R guns that I am probably on every list in the country.

Beings I have an FFL, the BATFE can show up at my house and demand to see my guns and my bound book without any search warrant or any prior notice.

I always stand up for the pro-gun, pro-2nd Amendment folks no matter what. I have yet to have a problem with any of the BATFE folks or any other law enforcement agency. The civilian anti-gunners can kiss my ass. I don't really care what they think.

I completely agree that the anti-gunners are generally the ones that are truly the lunatic fringe even though they blame us pro-gunners as being such.

I have found that what keeps me out of trouble is that while I may completely disagree with what the anti-gun crowd says and believes, I know that there is no reasoning with them.

Any time I speak with these kind of folks be they civilian or some kind of law enforcement agency, I just state my case calmly and clearly one time. I don't argue, hurl insults nor get involved in name calling.

After I have had my say calmly, one time my response to them is "I have nothing further to say."

The less you talk to an LEO, the better off you are. Don't take my word for it. Take a look at the following two videos by a prominent Professor of Law and a well seasoned, well experienced LEO.

Why you should never talk to the police part 1


Why you should never talk to the police part 2

I have always been well prepared and well trained for a SHTF situation. I have trained all my kids, grandkids and other family members the same way.

I think that if the Liberal Elitist politicians and the anti-gun lunatic fringe continue in the manner they have for the past 50 years or so that another civil war is a very good possibility.

I'm probably too old for it to happen in my life time but I am well prepared if it happens. If I'm dead and gone, my kids and the rest of my younger family members are also well prepared and have a good plan in place that we discuss and practice regularly.

Molon Labe,
Joe