When former Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the debut of “Everytown for Gun Safety” I had to laugh. “Everytown.” Not “Every Town.” “Everytown.” If Mayor Mike’s minions had called his gun control meta group “Every Town for Gun Safety” that would have been a claim. You know: every town in America supports gun safety. Which they do – if you use the common understanding of the words “gun safety.” As in “being safe with a gun.” Which the anti-gunners don’t. They use the term “gun safety” in place of “gun control” to avoid the word “control,” lest they reveal their true intentions. Where was I? Ah yes, “Everytown” . . .
Everytown reminds me of nothing so much as the movie Pleasantville. The film [trailer above] charts the artistic, political and sexual “awakening” of a fictitious white bread mid-Western town. As reality intrudes, the “as seen on TV” backwater burgh goes from perfect to a perfect mess. Pleasantville skewers the nostalgic notion of a kindler, gentler America; it reveals the mental, physical and emotional brutality underpinning reassuring conformity.
The name of the movie town was, of course, ironic. Pleasantville was only pleasant on the surface. By calling his group Everytown, Bloomberg reveals that his irony meter is busted. The term Everytown is, on its face, dystopian. It sells voters an image of America as a place where everyone does everything they should to create “gun safety” for everyone. Successfully. So that nothing bad every happens to anyone ever.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suePInyG0dY
Notice that the Everytown for Gun Safety spokesfolk are standing in the middle of a wide, tree-lined suburban street. No traffic. “It’s going to take every town to build a safer America,” we’re told. Bloomberg’s marketing mavens are trying to sell gun control as one-for-all-and-all-for-one small town nostalgia. Had they set this anti-gun agitprop in an urban street, where the vast majority of firearms-related crime occurs, it wouldn’t have worked.
Not that the pro-civilian disarmament ad as constituted is working. Or will work.
Fifties-style mass conformity was a short-lived phenomena, driven by a farrago of factors (e.g., post-war prosperity and mass media concentration). We weren’t a nation of passive conformists before the Eisenhower era and we sure as hell aren’t one now, in the Internet era. That’s just not how America rolls. Hence the Second Amendment.
Yes there is that. Statists like Bloomberg want to curtail our firearms freedom in the pursuit of a collective ideal. But a huge number of Americans understand that the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution defends more than “just” their gun rights against the government. It protects their right to “do their own thing” rather than “do as your told.” IMHO, that’s the very definition of liberty.
And so the antis try again (and again and again) to change the terms of the “debate” to avoid, obscure and mischaracterize this truth about guns. The latest gambit [via realclearpolitics.com]: labeling pro-gun Americans “gun supremacists.” You know: white supremacists with guns. It’s sad, pathetic and futile. As long as the pro-gun side uses the same clear language our Founding Fathers favored, firearms freedom will survive the onslaught. You can can only distort the signal so much. Better still, you can’t stop it.
If a white supremacist is someone who believes and advocates that whites are superior to other races, then a gun supremacist is someone who believes and advocates that guns are superior to other forms of self defense. This is one I think we could actually take for ourselves.
I will proudly declare myself a “gun supremacist” from this point forward.
but 1911 supremacists are better than other gun supremacists
That’s racist against Glocks and other guns of color
So If i prefer the Black Sig to the Flat Dark Earth Sig, I discriminate based on color, does that make me a bad Gun Supremacist? or am I just not grasping what guns of color can bring to the table?
I think the word supremacist has been tainted to a point of no return. The swastika used to be a positive symbol before the 1930s.
Same thing with the toothbrush mustache. It had already taken a hit for becoming a little too trendy when Chaplin wore it. Since the 1930s, it’s forever the Hitler ‘stache and strictly, shall we say, verboten.
No no, I think the man has a point.
Much like the black community has reclaimed the word “ni**er,” and the feminist community has (tried) to reclaim the words “b*tch” and “sl*t,” why shouldn’t, or can’t, we do the same? With “Gun nut,” “gun supremacist,” and others?
It’s OK, we’re taking it back.
I actually do try to reappropriate “gun nut”, and I’m not even a true nut. It’s important to try to own the term so it doesn’t hold any emotional weight when used in a conversation (argument?).
Likewise, I joke about my “arsenal”. (It’s probably fewer than 10).
So you are rejecting the PC term, “charmingly eccentric firearms enthusiast”? aka CEFE.
I’d push back on your notion. Within 7′ I’d much rather have a good blade or blunt object at my disposal rather than a gun. Which is why I carry both a gun and a knife, though I wouldn’t characterize my knife as a suitable self-defense tool…it is a rather small Gerber that is difficult to open with one hand. I’m seeking to rectify this with a new knife in the near future. I also have a rather interesting home brew blunt instrument in my car, made from re-purposed auto parts. I’m rather proud of it 🙂
Different tools for different situations is all I’m saying.
Nice try and I do applaud the effort, but it’s not a good idea. Aside from being too cute by half, it cedes the vocabulary of the debate, which is like focusing on the casting of the votes while ceding to the opposition the counting of the votes.
The public is going to associate that word “supremacist” with only one concept and it’s not good. It would divert our energy from advancing our own ideas if we were to embrace the term and attempt to redefine it. Better not to give it currency in the first place and let it fade away.
In the meantime, we could flip the script on them, as the kids say. When they persist in their willful misinterpretation of the plain language meaning of the 2A (muskets and militias only, blah blah blah), we can start calling them “Second Amendment Deniers.” Let them struggle to volley that semantic spikeball for a change.
Jonathon hit a home run. “Second Amendment Deniers” perfect! Evidenced by anyone who says “I support the second aamendment BUT…..”
“Everytown for gun control”. The Bloomberg dream. Because “Mayors Against Legal Gun Owners” just wasn’t cutting it anymore.
Not enough “everytown” mayors on the payroll to have the desired effect.
Excellent thoughts.
Love that movie pleasantville, “I think I might be ill.”
Maybe it’s just me, but I think a lot of the folks out there in Everytown, USA will resent being dictated to by a billionaire Manhattan bubble dweller.
Who is dumb enough to be fooled by this apple pie fakery?
Great movie, flawless transition from comedy to “colored” racism.
You do not represent my town Everytown/Bloomberg/Watts.
Actually, they should have taken their phony photo in Watts.
What, and actually see scary people of color? Get out…
Someone should publically challenge this group to have them answer why they are not going into the inner city with their message. Since the bulk of all gun related crime are in the urban centers, let have the group answer why small town America should care and why they are doing nothing in inner cities.
“…to have them answer why they are not going into the inner city with their message.”
Because that would force them to actually confront the societal and cultural collapse that their “progressive” politics have created in the large cities with high crime rates – you know, the cities that they have controlled for 40+ years?
+1
Boom. Nailed it.
The interesting thing is that now the leftists pine for the fifties “everyone trusted the government!”.
When they were not yet alive. They should be grateful that birth control and abortion weren’t as readily available then.
The conformist 1950s is a myth established by the boomers, that would be my generation, to establish their own bona fides as free spirits. The boomers are probably more comformist then their parents.
From the article:
“The creativity of the National Rifle Association and other organizations devoted to establishing conditions in which every man, woman and child in our nation will have to be armed is awe inspiring.”
I’m sure what he really means is “The ability of the largest and oldest civil rights organization in the nation to resist even our most devious attempts to undermine the 2nd amendment is EXTREMELY FRUSTRATING.”
It’s like if you were an ant, and you were trying to move a rubber tree plant, but instead of having high hopes, you became a shriveled, bitter, angry weasel.
“…a shriveled, bitter, angry weasel.”
I am going to steal that for my next letter to the editor of our local birdcage liner. Thank you!
The brainwashed conformity of the Leftist “arts community” is demonstrated by the glaring absence of music, writing, and films questioning the message of the Left. If somebody in the arts really wanted to make a name for themselves they could EASILY start taking whacks at the huge pinata of Leftism. The target is RIPE for satire and criticism.
You could be sure if there was a $50M campaign of “Everytown for traditional marriage” there would be a constant stream of countervailing media skewering the idea.
“Driven by a farrago of factors…”
Heh. I see what he did there.
“…former mayor Blomberg…”. I think there’s a term for that…citizen Blomberg.
“…Unemployed citizen…”
“Mindless deadbeat”
“You will be assimilated, resistance is futile!”….. didn’t work for the Borg either.
From a grammatical standpoint, Everytown for Gun Safety is hard to take seriously because the name is terrible. “Every Town” would be good (though still somewhat clunky), because the implication would be that everyone, everywhere favors “gun safety”. Having it all one word, though, makes it sound like a single place named “Everytown”. Meaning, “this one area called Everytown supports ‘gun safety'”, rather than the whole country supporting it. Not that I’m complaining. The more the antis make fools of themselves (which seems to be a daily occurrence), the happier I get.
Whatever “Everytown” starts out as what it is destined to become is “The Village.”
And thus ended my giving a crap about M. Night Shyamalan.
That is not the show I linked to.
Apologies, IMDB is blocked.
So is Bloomberg Number One?
My favorite line in the EJ Dionne piece:
“The program for the NRA’s annual convention, held over the weekend in Indianapolis, listed sessions on ‘Survival Mindset: Are You Prepared?’; ‘Creating a Constitutionally Centered Estate Plan’; and ‘Refuse to be a Victim.'”
Since the Duke of Drivel is saying these are Bad Things, presumably he would rather have sessions on “You Can’t Survive, So Give Up,” “The Constitution: Should We Discard It or Just Ignore It?” and “How To Be a Victim.”
“How very wet this water is.”
― L. Frank Baum, The Marvelous Land of Oz
How interesting that this piece of heavy-handed political slander was written by a man who wrote the 1991 best-selling book “Why Americans Hate Politics,” which was based on the premise that Americans were withdrawing their interest in politics en-masse due to aggressive partisan politicking.
Of course, Bush happened, and E.J. swung hard-left and wrote all manner of books and articles that have aggressively attacked the center-right, right-leaning politics and conservative culture.
What a hypocrite – and it only took him ten years or so to fall into the partisan trap that he once sold books about.
Here is a crazy idea. Why not take individual pictures in front of landmarks, buildings, or anything else showing the real landscape of everytown. Let us show that we do not live in the Utopian suburb of Everytown. Some of us live in inner cities, rural areas, and suburbs. We can call it “MyTown for Gun Safety” or something of the like. Just a thought.
“Notice that the Everytown for Gun Safety spokesfolk are standing in the middle of a wide, tree-lined suburban street. No traffic.”
That’s because everyone in Everytown has been interned. Because… safety!
By Liberal Logic 101, Jason Bourne must be a Racist. He did have a Supremacy after all.
“Everytown” is a legitimate word in the modern English lexicon. As is “Anytown, USA”, which you undoubtedly seen in the address field of a checkbook retailer.
I registered http://www.gunsupremicist.com…. Any votes on what I should do with it?
This is the group that is supposed to rival the NRA , not gonna happen , too many new gun owners out there since Newtown , and remember folks all of those firearms were purchased legally with the background check that was pushed down our throats , but were used by a mentally ill person who killed his own mother to gain total access to the firearms , mom had been told that her son was mentally ill , this was one of the reasons that she and her husband divorced , because she failed to recognize that her son was sick to the point he was , the anti firearm crowd just wants to take away our right to be able to fight against the government tyranny that is taking over this nation , oh and we really never hear about all of the mayors that were members of MAIG , that are now spending time in the state prisons around the nation ,in the MSM , wouldn’t be good to publicize that so the Liberal MSM keeps a lid on it as best as they can . Well I for one hope Bloomberg spends all of his inheirited money and ends up broke without accomplishing his goals . Be prepared and ready . Keep your powder dry .
This is the group that is supposed to rival the NRA , not gonna happen , too many new gun owners out there since Newtown , and remember folks all of those firearms were purchased legally with the background check that was pushed down our throats , but were used by a mentally ill person who killed his own mother to gain total access to the firearms , mom had been told that her son was mentally ill , this was one of the reasons that she and her husband divorced , because she failed to recognize that her son was sick to the point he was , the anti firearm crowd just wants to take away our right to be able to fight against the government tyranny that is taking over this nation , oh and we really never hear about all of the mayors that were members of MAIG , that are now spending time in the state prisons around the nation ,in the MSM , wouldn’t be good to publicize that so the Liberal MSM keeps a lid on it as best as they can . Well I for one hope Bloomberg spends all of his inheirited money and ends up broke without accomplishing his goals . Be prepared and ready . Keep your powder dry .
Oh my gosh. That gun supremacist article must be the most shameless pile of nonsensical, sensationalist word vomit I’ve ever seen.
On a related note be sure to read my latest letter in today’s Wednesday, April 30th, 2014
Ashland Daily Tidings. Titled, “E.J.Dionne column was anti-gun trash” this alludes to
this anti-gun elitist of the Washington Post and his vindictive rant, rage attack against
the National Rifle Association ,which ran two days earlier on Monday, April 28th. This
is archived in the Ashland Daily Tidings in Ashland, Oregon. Simply access http://www.daily
tidings.com. Then click on “opinion.” My letter should instantly come into view. This
elitist uses the new distorted political term “gun supremacy.” I responded instantly!
—James A. “Jim” Farmer Ashland, Oregon
Well, in Everytown there is an anti-liberty zealot, I suppose. I think that ultimately most people understand the best way to deal with “gun crime” is to focus less on the guns and more on the criminals. Spending millions of dollars to offend law-abiding citizens is generally a bad idea. However, freedom isn’t free. I would suggest that gun-owners and others who understand what’s really at stake should contribute to the NRA, the Second Amendment Foundation and other pro-liberty organizations.
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