“I’ve been writing about the inanity and jackassery of generational stereotyping and youth politics for literally 25 years, going all the way back to when I was a young twentysomething. But, apparently, that argument cannot be made independent of the Parkland kids because, in this moment, they are speaking for all youth and therefore, thanks to the transitive property of generational numinosity, any criticism of young people qua young people is ‘attacking’ the Gun Control Youth League. Never mind that young people are as divided on the issue of gun control as everyone else.” – Jonah Goldberg in The Wisdom of Youth [via nationalreview.com]

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

62 COMMENTS

  1. Calling brain dead teenagers “jackasses” is what keeps Jonah Goldberg in his job? Damn, NR, slide me two grand a week and I’ll fill that column space until the end of time.

    That probably came off as unnecessarily mean, but seriously, who needed a full column to tell us that high schoolers are thick?

    • That’s the style now. High waisted 80’s mom jeans. Acid wash and shoulder pads are creeping in too. 16 year old girls are dressing like middle aged women 40 years ago.

    • Put the black girl front and center.

      Most minorities are not running out to protest against citizens owning guns. It’s usually white people and women. Women and kids are usually the people that are manipulated into coming out to protest against human rights.

    • Cries (literally, those pussies) of disarmement from the demographic who are most (stupidly) coddled, and least likely to take personal responosbility for their own welfare. Yeah, those are the people most, “in the know,” about gun ownership. Those girls can get bent.

  5. I get that TTAG is a theologically diverse crowd, but to those here who do believe in prayer: Is it just me or is it stupidly offensive to proclaim, as in the image, “Thoughts & Prayers Don’t Save Lives”? What about both prayers and action, such as praying for peace but still carrying weapons, etc. Again, I’m not trying to start a religious debate, but just wanted to acknowledge how unbalanced they are being.
    I wouldn’t say “Children don’t matter. We need to save adults’ lives.” even though many more adults are the victims of homicide than children.

    Edit: Actually, including abortion, my last statement was not true. Again though, controversial issue.

    • Prayers don’t save lives & neither do protests. Action is the only thing that counts.

      Also, abortion doesn’t count. It’s not homicide; your bible thumping is showing…

      • Your right abortion is not homicide, it’s Murder. — I had a wonderful time with my grandson yesterday

      • I acknowledged the fact that TTAG readers have different non-firearm political/religious views to specifically address what you just wrote.

      • lol i am pagan, lesbian, very pro gun and very much as anti-federalist as Madison and co. and i consider abortion to be murder so it is not just a “bible thumper” idea.

    • I saw a facebook post mocking the thoughts and prayers comments. My reply went something like this:

      “Hmmmm, I thought Love trumps hate and we were supposed to think nice thoughts and good wishes toward people. Instead I see it’s better to send hateful thoughts and wish death upon people. Thanks for setting me straight.”

      Cue the crickets.

  6. Getting shot makes you just as qualified to legislate firearms policy as getting run over makes you qualified to drive a semi truck

    • They are telling us that YOU need to listen to them because they are the future! And they too stupid and irresponsible to be trusted with a gun until they are 21!…. kind of like the rich people who say they don’t get taxed enough! Or the upper middle class white kid who skipped out on his parrent subsidized $15,000/year education to protest against the “1%”! Or the lady surounded by armed security who screams about the needlessness of guns! ….. Screaming hypocrisy is the mark of stupidity.

  8. Yeah, okay…A large, rabble of kids from a school tragedy…That was orchestrated by the Teachers Union, The DNC, Bloomberg Civilian Disarmament movement, and other Left-Wingers…..I call it a political put up job…If these kids really organized…Then it would be Student/kids Union to Disrupt Schooling vs The Teachers Union….Which of course wouldn’t fly…Because a lot of kids there age are still eating and vaping TIDE PODS….

      • I have started calling these gun control efforts post Parkland what they are, an ambush of our freedoms. All of those groups you mention had laid a trap ready to be sprung at the next opportunity. And Parkland was that opportunity. Nothing they want would have stopped the scumbag that shot up the school. This event was the culmination of multiple failures by the school district, the sheriff’s department, the FBI, and the Obama administration for their program designed to keep these kids who are committing felonies from being arrested.

        All these failures, and what do the ambushers want? They want to add to the 23,000+ gun laws we already have that didn’t do anything to stop this. This is the first mass murder committed by someone under 21 in which they purchased their own long guns. So, we have one (1, uno, ein) mass murder by someone under 21 who purchased their own long gun and we need to punish the hundreds of thousands of responsible people under 21 by not allowing them to purchase any firearm for hunting, plinking, or defense of self and family.

  11. Those paid douches are going to realize, one day, that someone (working for satan) just turned them into the next Jane Fonda.

    F the little sh_t-stain tools.

  12. A paradigm illustration of Saul Alinsky’s “useful idiots”, and in a few years they will rule the United States…or maybe not, since they are likely to hand it over to an openly totalitarian central Government before too long.
    These youngsters are doomed to be useful idiots all their lives…I am not too old to have forgotten the egoism of teenage years, but at least I had an underpinning of what it means to be an American, which saved me in my early twenties.
    The America I grew up in is dead.

    • or maybe not, since they are likely to hand it over to an openly totalitarian central Government before too long.
      I am betting that a lot of the kids will be at either the Soviet Tractor Factory or at the Gulag.

  13. Despite the media propaganda, these leftist dupes do not speak for all young people. My children and grandchildren have all been trained in safe gun handling and our rights under the 2nd Amendment, and we are certainly not alone.

  15. I have been arguing with ignorant preppys and tie-dyed morons about why gun control was evil since I was in middle school in the 90’s. I heard the same arguments then as these useful idiots and paid mouthpieces are making now, and it only shook my faith in democracy, and compelled me to buy as many guns as I could afford as quickly as I could acquire them!

    Later, I served with a guy who was at Columbine and was acquainted with one of the shooters, and he is the most progun guy who you could meet, and always was. Not every teen is some brainwashed, Lefty drone; some of them have IQs above 110, and the schools can’t scrub that out of them without mandatory SSRI medications.

  16. I will denounce these leftard youts with my last breath. You’re on the wrong side. And the whore’s you road in on…

  17. Since an entire generation (and possibly even two generations) of people appear to be almost totally ignorant of History and human nature (but I repeat myself), it is time for us to truly educated them.

    We have to illustrate three simple facts:
    (1) Politicians are NOT altruistic idealogues looking out for the interests of We the People. Rather, politicians seek whatever maximizes their personal gain without concern for the rights and dignity of anyone else.
    (2) Governments cannot possibly provide everything for everyone. That includes personal security.
    (3) Governments invariably end-up enslaving their people in order to exploit, use, and abuse those people for the pleasure of the ruling class.

    If we can drive those three points home, I am optimistic that we can actually REASON with this ignorant generation about the merits of keeping and bearing arms for defense of self and state. Without driving those three points home, there is no basis for considering the merits of keeping and bearing arms.

    • I don’t disagree with your comment. However, deep down I believe it is going to take an actual demonstration; either as a result of massive civil disobedience and a draconian push-back by government or an all out conflict between those who cherish liberty and tyrants. My gut tells me that only then will the genuinely misinformed youth separate themselves from the useful idiots.

  18. And then there is national school walkout day. I work as an SRO and its all the kids are talking about. But they don’t give a rats behind about the cause, its just an excuse to get out of class.

    To be honest, for the ones who do actually have some political motivation, if you want to throw some civil disobedience in for your cause and walk out of class, whatever, do your thing. Just because I don’t agree with their cause doesn’t mean that I am going to condemn them for taking action. What I am going to condemn is how they are doing it. Lets ALLLLL walk out of schools at a predetermined time and mass in front of them and tell the entire country via media. That is just asking for some bad stuff to happen. Then their point is “proven.” Its a tactical blunder,

  19. I’m not having my Constitutional Rights stripped on account of a bunch of idiot girls. We are talking about a demographic who, by and large, are so divorced from the concept of accountability, they might as well make alimony payments on it. They can stick those signs right up their asses.

  20. No one (group or individual) is beyond criticism. In fact, any group claiming to be off-limits has given ample reason to be hounded without mercy.

  21. The photo looks like a pre-meeting of the (German: Bund Deutscher Mädel, abbreviated as BDM).

  23. The Hogg kid is the gun control equivalent of Duffy Strode from the ’80s.

    He’s nothing more than a hand puppet for malicious anti-gun cultists, just as Strode was a hand puppet for racists.

  24. kids , trample one amendment while exercising another . No more right of assembly,ban that look at the riots it causes, property destruction and death. No more freedom of speech, do a statistics on how many suicides have been caused by Facebook. If we can’t get rid of the first amendment can’t they at least pass some laws restricting what can be said, it’s for the children

  25. Look at me! I have too much freedom! Please Mr Big Government come and take away some of this dangerous freedom! It’s for my own good!

Comments are closed.