I've been a card carrying leftist going back to the eighth grade. The adjectives have shifted here and there and probably will continue to (anarcho-this, Marxist-that) but I've always been a bleeding heart. There is one thing about the left in this country however that I'll never fucking understand and that's it's knee-jerk affection for all things gun control. For me leftism and gun control have never gone together. I was introduced to the movement by unwavering gun nuts like Karl Marx, Subcomandante Marcos and Huey P. Newton. To me gun rights have always been about empowering the poor against the state. But to most of the self proclaimed left in this country gun control is synonymous with leftism and every time some wack-job goes postal they don't waste any time trying to guilt trip us out of our rights.
With this latest bloodbath in Las Vegas, the cause celebre of the anti-gun left has become bumpstocks. A relatively simple little device that rigs semi-automatic weapons to simulate (key word; SIMULATE) automatic fire. The moment my would-be comrades heard of the existence of this little gizmo their reaction can essentially be summed up as "Ooh! Ban that!" Never mind the fact that bumpstocks are essentially the car hydraulics of the gun world, allowing that semi-auto hoopty to bounce while greatly decreasing its functionability aka accuracy. And never mind the fact that these devices are so easy to jerry-rig that any hillbilly with a tool shed can build one. Is creating more government regulation really going to save anyone or is it just going make the Champagne socialists feel a little better about living in a dangerous world aka democracy?
Most of this gun control shit is little more than self-serving, do-gooder, pussy stroking. The Liberals always harp about the glory days of the Assault Weapons Ban but they all fail to mention that, statistically speaking, that ban didn't do dick. They also often fail to mention that while gun ownership in this country has skyrocketed, gun violence is near an all time low. These mass shootings are the one exception to the rule but their rise can largely be tied to the rise of 24/7 cable news and the failures of white privilege in the age of world trade and constant war. While middle-class white men (the majority of mass shooters) watch their economic security crash along with their once flourishing empire, the terror mills like Fox and CNN have turned mass shooters into celebrities with their non-stop wall to wall coverage. Basically, people shoot up concerts and movie theaters for the same reason they vote for wildcard politicians like Trump, they're scared and pissed and willing to blame anyone but themselves for their sudden lack of total control.
And why shouldn't they resort to insane ultra-violence to solve their problems? That's what their government does. America bombs civilians in a half dozen dirt-poor countries a day and we're surprised when some honky slot-jockey does the same thing with an AR-15? They learned it from you, Uncle Sam, OK!
The mainstream left in this country doesn't like to think about these complexities because they don't come with an easy fix. They also don't come with the added benefits of a gun policy geared towards class warfare. Who are the most vocal gun control nuts but upper middle class cis white metropolitans? The only guns these petite bourgeoisie pricks are at risk of encountering are either in the hands of ethnic youth or the police who hunt them like animals and nobodies asking to disarm the cops in spite of the fact that they're murdering unarmed civilians at a startling rate. The limousine liberals on the coasts fane support for Black Lives Matter but their true sympathies are laid bare by the fact that they openly advocate disarming the poor while keeping the protectors of their privilege armed to the fucking teeth.
The stone cold reality, dearest motherfuckers, is that America is a violent ass country and the reasons behind this violence have far more to do with the people who appose guns (and the state they love) than they do with the people who carry them. If we really want the madness to stop in this country we need to reign in the mad men who run it. Increased and educated gun ownership may not be the solution to this problem but it's a good fucking start.
Peace, Love & Empathy- CH
Soundtrack; Songs influenced by this post.
* Disarm By The Smashing Pumpkins
* Gimme Gimme Gimme By Black Flag
* The Mess Inside By The Mountain Goats
* Me And A Gun By Tori Amos
* Fuck Tha Police By N.W.A.
* What About Us? By Ministry
* Killing In The Name By Rage Against The Machine
* Eat The Rich By Motorhead
* Who We Be By DMX
* Idylls Of The King By The Mountain Goats
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