It’s no secret that corrupt politicians are more of a factor in large urban centers than in rural communities and small towns. The same applies to organized crime. Both are associated with urban areas. It’s much harder for significant corruption to exist when the amounts are smaller, the people involved mostly know the politicians personally and there are fewer large public works projects to play favorites with. A significant exception might be planning and zoning, where local elites tend to wield great power, have little accountability, and where significant money is at stake . . .
It’s also clear that corrupt politicians and organized crime figures hate the idea of an armed populace. When you’re stealing, cheating, and extorting people on a daily basis, some of them are bound to take exception to it. Push them far enough, and a few will inevitably decide to push back, even at the cost of their own lives. Do it long enough, and it becomes a virtual certainty.
It is much more difficult for corrupt politicians or organized crime to exist in the midst of an armed citizenry. Need an expert opinion on that? How about Sammy “The Bull” Gravano:
“Gun control? It’s the best thing you can do for crooks and gangsters. I want you to have nothing. If I’m a bad guy, I’m always gonna have a gun. Safety locks? You pull the trigger with a lock on, and I’ll pull the trigger. We’ll see who wins.”
Gun control in New York was driven by corrupt politicians desire to protect their criminal gangs. Big Tim Sullivan, who pushed through the Sullivan law, didn’t want his gangsters to face armed resistance.
In Arizona, a corrupt politician, Mary Rose Wilcox, was protected by her politician buddies who had the case transferred to a friendly prosecutor, who ultimately dismissed it. This was after two grand juries found sufficient probable cause to indict her. She was shot in the rear end by a homeless citizen who had just been released from jail. She was and is a big proponent of gun control. She is still in office. From the phoenixnewtimes.com:
Did Wilcox the county supervisor deserve to get shot in the ass?
Yes.…..
Among those in the know, Wilcox is noted not for her integrity but her arrogance. South Phoenix is considered by many to be controlled by the Wilcox political machine. Comparisons with old Chicago have been drawn.
Senator Leland Yee was one of the most strident proponents of gun control in California. He was recently charged with bribery and public corruption, including the facilitation of illegal gun trafficking.
Chicago fought to maintain its gun control laws longer and harder than almost any other city in the nation. Is there any other city more notorious for its sleazy politics?
Nevada is generally gun friendly. The only county that requires registration of pistols is Clark County, which includes Las Vegas. The statute was put into effect while Las Vegas still had the reputation of a town run by the mob. Corruption and civilian disarmament, or to use the current preferred euphemism, “gun safety” legislation — go together like organized crime and extortion.
Niccolo Machiavelli noted the problems with politicians disarming people:
When you disarm [the people] you commence to offend them and show that you distrust them either through cowardice or lack of confidence, and both of these opinions generate hatred against you. – Niccoló Machiavelli, The Prince. 1537.
“Progressives” use stale and discredited Marxist concepts to impugn the motives of gun owners. They claim that Second Amendment supporters are being duped by the NRA to prevent “gun safety” legislation in order to increase the profits of “big businesses” that are anxious to trade children’s blood for a few dollars more.
They ignore what happened to gun manufacturers like Smith & Wesson or Ruger when they gave in to political pressure to side with politicians who wanted to gut Second Amendment freedoms. Smith & Wesson almost went bankrupt and is now under new ownership. Ruger suffered for years until it reversed its policies. It is those who wish to disarm the public that have driven gun sales through the roof.
The motivations of corrupt politicians and organized crime, often working in concert, are simple and clear. Just like anyone else, they do not want to get shot.
©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Gun Watch
This Bolshevik poster issued during the Russian civil war says, “Citizens! Turn in (your) weapons!”
OK, Piers…….
Citizen, do not worry. Yes, punishment for not turn in weapon is death. But in return for weapon is gentle starvation. Either way, funeral is free.
… but in Soviet Russia, your weapons turn you in!
I heard those that did were promptly arrested and murdered. Irony indeed….
“It’s no secret that corrupt politicians are more of a factor in large urban centers than in rural communities and small towns.”
I’m not disagreeing with your overall premise, but I take issue with this statement. Site your source. I would submit that urban political corruption is simply much better documented as it is subject to greater scrutiny by the 4th estate (except when the press is getting their own kickbacks). There are plenty of “Boss Hoggs” in this world.
Likewise, I don’t have any statistics on large urban vs. small town corruption. It’s true that small townships, fire districts, etc. tend to stay under the radar which makes nefarious activity easy. But it’s also generally kept quiet when they get caught. People resign and make restitution to avoid prosecution, new people are appointed, and life goes on.
The “Boss Hogg” types are a Hollywood invention, but the Rita Crundwell types are all too real.
No, the “Boss Hogg” types are alive and well, and have been longer than the U.S. has been a country. There has been much less coverage, and far too many people just going along. Recently we are starting to see some of these corrupt officials and those who are borderline corrupt being called out in the media, and their power called into question. Just look at this recent example of a rural Nevada sheriff abusing the law: http://rt.com/usa/nevada-lawsuits-forfeiture-kilgore-610/
Another one from my neck of the woods
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/08/30/4914707/sheriff-mike-byrd-surrenders-faces.html
It is much easier to relocate fro one small town to another, if the environment gets too oppressive, than is the case in big, urban areas. And the ability to exit is the only real limitation (aside from militarily useful armaments) oppressors face wrt to their ability to harass people; not progressive fairytales like the 4th estate, democracy, “independent” judiciaries, blah, blah, etc.
I would further this by stating, that in small rural communities, corruption (when present) runs deeper. In a large metropolitan area, the reps/judges may be corrupt, but in small towns, every official from the deputies to the secretary to the mayor are typically involved, and no one is blowing whistles…
I grew up in a town where the Sheriff was the most corrupt, smoking up with teens and providing beer, and taking $$ from traffic fines in exchange for letting the offenders go.. some of that went to the county seat officials, etc… I remember one photo that made it into the local paper where the Sheriff was burning a ‘hidden’ pot grow in the middle of a field of corn… Everyone, including the firemen were wearing gas masks except the Sheriff, and he was standing down wind… he ruled that town for decades…
I do not have a source for statistics, but the corruption in large urban centers has been noted by many political writers.
I think that in the U.S., small towns and rural areas are more subject to scrutiny by polities above them, while large urban centers have less. In many states, one large urban area, such as Chicago, essentially controls the whole state.
I believe it has a great deal to do with the concentration of power.
I, too, would challenge this assertion. Although a corrupt politician in a big city or region might have the ability to cut a broader swatch and affect more people directly (“Hey, let’s monkey with the bridge traffic to the opposition.”), the rural towns and byways of our great nation also have their share of corruption.
In our region, it seems that real estate developers seem to hold far more sway with the planning commissions and county commissioners than the noble Everyman – and are consequently able to sweep things like environmental contamination, wetlands protection, and a variety of other issues under the rug. If a normal property owner wants to accomplish what a developer can get away with – well, forget it; it’ll take years and cost thousands.
IMHO, it breaks down very simply to power. Politicians and criminals have power giving them the upper hand in a lot of situations. When those people see someone who has the right, ability and guts to arm themselves and take some power back they begin to fear the total loss of their own power.
All power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. This is the reason why big government is a bad thing. Criminals use fear to gain their power and the gun grabbers are trying to do the same.
When did th’ Good Ol’ Boy Network start bein’ considurd “corrupt”?
Signed,
Good Ol’ Boys
As a former resident of Chicago, I’ll offer the following broad Categories of Disarmament Lobbyist.
Category One is the academic. His ivory tower neatly shields him from the harsh realities of life in Real America. Having spent his entire life in an academic environment , he views it as his solemn duty under the utopian principles of global unity to all but demand the deletion of guns among the citizens. In a perfect kumbiyah society, why would you need to shoot someone ?
Category two is the victim. This person’s had a bad experience involving a firearm, and wants to ensure the rest of us feel their angst and emotional trauma via total disarmament. They’ve been robbed, sexually assaulted, or been shot before, and figure the cost side of the equation is so bad there’s no rational reason for guns among the population. These are the folks who would demand even the police disarm once Mr Joe Citizens been safely de-clawed.
Last, we come to The Opprotunists. This species of anti only surfaces after a major crisis, and sees the disarmement of you and I as a business opportunity. I won’t distinguish politicians from career criminals , because often times they’re one and the same. One thing the gang leader and the city Mayor can agree on:gun bans are good for business. It keeps the citizens disarmed for easy pickings by both organized crime and organized government , and gives criminals with badges an opportunity to make a side buck. See Lee Baca of LA racking in the bucks for CCW permits to campaign donors, cops in NY selling guns out of the armory, etc. The only losers are the residents, and they don’t matter in the scheme of things, no?
Sometimes you can see all Three Categories on the same stage, at the same time.The last group of Opportunists are hard to see because they’re behind the camera. Those media mavens who use gun control as a career prop have no problem selling the entire Constitution down the river for a promotion or a Pulitzer.
This
There’s also the partyliner. His reasons for opposing guns is runs no deeper than that the HBO comedian his social circle claims is the wittiest these days; says conservatives and gun owners are less sophisticated than himself; not pretending to like french movies they haven’t seen and such.
I consider this is the less intellectual version of the Academic, and I would group these two together and call them the Elitist. Basically people who think they are smarter than everyone and that Americans are by and large morons who should be controlled. These people generally live in wealthy white enclaves with little crime or poverty. They spend a lot of time hand-wringing over their white guilt and considering ideas of how to move to a post-racial, classless society through government intervention that they would be excluded from due to their wealth and influence.
At least the academic tries to come up with some senseless rationalization for his harebrained beliefs. For the partyliners, the world is a football game (in the women’s division for liberals); they have picked a side (either R or D), and will argue any issue according to what they believe is the correct position to hold for those on “their” side.
It’s one of the reasons democracy as interpreted today, cannot work: All people get to have an equal say on an issue; whether it matters to them personally or not.
Although there is no gun control connection, corruption on a massive scale does occur in small towns. to wit, the City of Bell, California, a small blue collar town near LA where the city government officials were paying themselves literally millions in annual salaries, which included the City Manager, the members of the City Council, and the Chief of Police. Trials are on going.
Yep, it happens. But they got caught. They’re being prosecuted. And with thousands of small towns across the country, places like Bell, CA and Dixon, IL are the exception, not the rule.
Bell is a wholly urban and right in the heart of Los Angeles County. It reinforces the premise that urban centers are more corrupt. Even though it has its own mayor and city council, it’s more like a ward in Chicago than a rural community or small township.
“They claim that Second Amendment supporters are being duped by the NRA to prevent “gun safety” legislation in order to increase the profits of “big businesses” that are anxious to trade children’s blood for a few dollars more.”
I love it when they use that angle. When in reality, it’s the fear of more gun restrictions that drives up sales. If you don’t want the firearm industry to profit from death, stop proposing restrictive legislation.
Grabbers will never be able to do that. It goes against their personal need to control the unenlightened and their goal of progressive statism.
oooh, let me try…
“You’re only saying that because the NRA has brainwashed you to buy and sell tools of death to line their pockets with cash. You’re a sick individual who needs help. Go hug your killing machines, they feel lonely.”
…as I readjust my Buddy Holly glasses, and elicit a smug smirk.
A related note: http://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasdelbeccaro/2014/04/01/california-and-leland-yee-proof-one-party-rule-corrupts/
Gun Control is NIMBY all day. One of the great ironies of the Cold War is that ordinary people in ComBloc nations could not legally own firearms (and in some cases still cannot) yet Warsaw Pact nations had zero problem w/ flooding the earth w/ their weapons. It was/is easier to get an AK in Africa than right out of the Izhmash factory.
Similarly, these days, few countries’ politicians are more aggressively promoting their own arms industry, than those in Western Europe. Every time Washington comes up with some harebrained scheme to put “sanctions” on some random country for not talking a good enough progressive game; French and Swedish minsters can be reliably counted on to follow closely behind; hawking kit never made available to their own citizenry.
Politicians in government and organized crime … is there any difference?
The only difference I see is that a description of some allowable conduct for politicians is widely open to public review.
Public spin, not review. And organized crime faces competition. Putting at least some limits on their degree of outright scumminess.
Me: I’ll take communist regimes for $200, Alex.
Alex: The answer is “Corrupt Politicians, Organized Crime and Gun Control.”
Me: What is California?
Alex: Correct. We would have also accepted New York.
Re: Small town vs Large Town corruption.
There’s a big difference between the Boss Hogg vs Richard Daley type of corruption. In small town America, there’s always someone honest above you. Even epically crooked small towns have to be careful not to attract attention from the state capitol or the state-level LE or DA.
In major cities, it’s a multi-level scheme going all the way to the Federal Government. Because there’s so much money involved, and there’s millions of votes on the plate, politicians who start off crooked in lower office in Chicago work their way up the ladder, and bring their corruption along with . The bent city administrator becomes a crooked Alderman, who becomes a crooked state Senator and then a crooked Vice President or President of the United States.
More commonly, big city cretins get jobs on the cabinet or campaigns of whoever is running for office, ensuring even if the man in the seat isnt crooked, the staff and rulemakers will be. And also ensuring there’s no possibility of oversight .
Go ahead, call the FBI on a corruption case in Chicago. See how that gets you.
For hundreds of years until most recent history, the Democrat Party in Louisiana was the ruling and for all intents and purposes the only party. Democrats fought Democrats for political office. We had the “best politics money could buy.” Democrat mayors accepted bribes, as did governors. New Orleans mayor just convicted, Louisiana governor convicted and spent a stretch in Huntsville, TX. Numerous other state officials and legislators likewise were convicted and spent time in prison.
New Orleans levee board took money designated to re-force and bolster the levees in and around New Orleans and spent millions on building up swamp land to build a casino and Jazz Land. When the disaster happened, former Congressman began to look into where the money went. Could not locate many millions. Board members now diseased.
Democrat former mayor of Augusta, GA convicted of bribery, went to prison, got out and appealed to a Democrat governor to restore his rights so he could run a limousine company. Immediately, ran again for mayor and almost won.
Cesspool of corruption in politics when there is a domination of one party–in this case, Democrat.
“It is those who wish to disarm the public that have driven gun sales through the roof”
If this statement is true. Do you think it is possible that gun manufacturers, in order to increase sales, would side with gun legislation that would cause a buying panic?
except for the fact that, if your a manufacture, everything but yours will fly off the shelves. I remember just shortly after S&W threw them selves under the bus, the LGS had a huge sale for them, but they never moved.
Stunning POSTER…every pro gun pol & 2A supporter should have a copy. Translated to English. I live in Cook County,Illinois. Too easy to comment on corruption LOL
Those people in the poster are holding the guns the wrong way… if you catch my drift.
In New Zealand in the early 1980s, everything was run by our Prime Minister, Rob Muldoon, an effective but elected dictator. I once saw him on the hustings react to a heckler. He walked over to the guy and punched him in the gut. He ruled with a rod of iron, any journalist who criticized him was banned from press conferences. All major infrastructure was owned by the State, prices and wages were fixed by Government, and Rob ruled through fear. After 1984, this regime was overthrown, public works were privatized, and suddenly a very few people got incredibly rich. Our previously egalitarian society was gone, and has never returned. Now those who attend the right schools and know the right people have a golden path through life, and our numbers of millionaires has risen. But those of us from the wrong side of the tracks have steadily fallen into increasing poverty, and our present Government is of the rich, by the rich and for the rich. If we didn’t have guns it would be even worse. There are forces wanting complete disarmament. But thankfully deer and duck hunters make that impossible.
Government is a Ponzi scheme, from the smallest of small towns right up to the Federal megalith that every American carries on his or her back every day. The big city and Federal thieves steal more, sure, but only because they can.
But I’ll take small town cops over big city and Federal cops every day of the week.
The only difference between government and organized crime is governments hang flags outside their offices.
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