Decided to run through some of the comments on the National Rifle Association's Facebook page post
where they announced their press conference after a week of very little response subsequent to the horrific Sandy Hook massacre. Many of the
early comments ranged from "hold the line" to "stay
strong." Before the press conference several members threatened to revoke their memberships if they didn't hear what they wanted. As the speech from Wayne LaPierre got into full swing many commenters claimed they joined the NRA for life, including signing up family members for the holidays.
I found the following comment interesting because it appears the commenter
either forgot to add "don't" to his comment or doesn't know what
condone means:
Support the NRA and your rights as a
Gun Owner, the NRA has always condoned violence and they are horrified by the
actions of a few. They support Gun Owners, not disturbed individuals that
channel their aggression in a violent manner.
One mother demanded answers from the
NRA, and she was treated to a steady stream of questioning what type of answers
she was looking for. One commenter said that the NRA bears no responsibility for
what people with guns do with their guns. This makes me wonder how can you
ignore the fact that their policies allow these guns to get in the hands of
these "irresponsible" individuals.
This comment made minutes before the start of
the press conference wants examples of where "guns have saved lives"
Interesting use of double speak here. Guns saving lives, as if the gun isn't
what is actually taking the lives.
You better kick ass... detail where guns
have SAVED lives. These sheep need it spelled out for them. Mass media has fed
them sensationalist stories for so long, they wouldn't know reality if it rose
up & bit them in the ... well, you know.
As the conference begins a protester interrupts the
proceedings, and one commenter hopes he "gets his ass kicked." Another
comment advises us he is:
I would say with 90% accuracy
that he was a governmental implant.
Not sure I have ever heard the
word "plant" shifted to "implant", but perhaps I am not hip
to this new speak. Another commenter suggested they "hang" the
protester. At least we have made it to the actual conference in comment land…
Another commenter marveled at the
"composer" of the speaker:
Wow what composer the speaker
showed! let the nut job show true liberal hatred towards those of us who remain
calm.
I'm assuming they are trying to
say composure and it is a predictive text thing, let us hope, because otherwise
I would be looking for the conductor and orchestra.
Here we have an org by the name of Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners commenting:
Note that
everything Wayne is saying is SPOT ON. Those who disagree will simply say he's
"wrong" without articulating their beliefs. We cannot come to the
table with unreasonable people who lack critical thinking skills.
This is an interesting POV
because it is blaming their opposition preemptively for lacking critical
thinking and the ability to hold reasonable positions.
As the violent video game position came out it seemed to rub some of the NRA's own supporters the wrong
way. This appeared to be fracturing their own base. I wonder if this is a
universal thing or just localized to today's FB commenters. One commenter supports
self-deportation for the anti-gun commenters:
For those anti gun idiots posting on
here.. Feel free to move to Mexico where guns are illegal and enjoy the safety
I am sure you will feel there
In other comments I saw suggestions to head to China or Canada if one doesn't like the situation here in America.
Here we have the support of
placing blame on the media:
Watching right now. THANK YOU
WAYNE FOR YOUR TRUE WORDS. BLAME THE MEDIA AND THIS SOCIETY NOT INANIMATE
OBJECTS.
I find this comment interesting
because it almost gives a myriad of corporations and institutions the sense
that they are somehow a being. I wonder if the people that disagree with the
NRA do this as well, begin seeing the organization in a personified manner. Here we find gun owner
responsibility and keeping the guns away from children in fear they may be
mentally ill as a possible solution:
and i also think all weapons
should be in a locked box all time. and anyone with teen agers they can have no
weapon within the home but belong to a gun club untill these teenagers are 25
yrs old. and can show there just not mental cases and or stupid
This surely doesn't come across
as a very popular opinion when taking into account what we hear from the other
commenters. As I go through this exercise I begin to see how the membership
base of the NRA is very clear in their expectations and must make any semblance
of a moderate response from their own hierarchy to this current Sandy Hook crisis difficult. Here is another comment from previously
referenced org:
Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners: This is why
you can't have a real discussion about this issue with liberal extremists; they
are incapable of much more than the thoughtless, emotional response of
"ban things", and holding signs.
Check this comment:
Video game bans are stupid. Either objects
cause crime, (Guns, tv shows, video games), or people do.
There is this common expression that
"guns don't kill people, people kill people." And now we are seeing
this "video games (influence) people to kill people" subtext. This to
me seems to fracture the argument coming from the pro-gun side of things. I
think this is why it is rubbing so many of the NRA's own members. It puts them
in a cake and eating it too position which weakens them. I'm interested in
hearing what people think of this idea.
Once again we get what is clearly becoming a
major talking point from them the following comment:
Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners: Note that
nearly every detractor who is posting here is not explaining why they think
"we're crazy" or the "NRA is wrong". They certainly have
opinions...but getting them to articulate those opinions is impossible. They
should stick to what they excel at in life...holding signs.
Agree or disagree you must give them
credit for consistency as they punctuate the same point every 20 minutes or so. I realize this is a typo but I find
the way they distort people's assertion quite entertaining, for instance:
the head of th IRA should run for
president..ohh rahhh sir..I stand behind you.
Or this one:
And it is not all liberals that ate the
enemy.
The comments go on endlessly and I have gleaned enough for now from this exercise.In summation I find people are going to believe what they believe and it is a long road to changing their minds. People also like to see things in a black and white landscape because gray areas are frightening to people. We as a species are most comfortable with certainty, and holding staunch positions becomes comforting to the great unknown. Name calling is a common technique when faced with people that disagree with you. The NRA is in a tough spot between satisfying their powerful interests and not completely pissing off a hurt American populous.
This whole liberal media thing is particularly interesting to me because how can the media maintain such a liberal bias if it is run by conservative corporations? I always wonder how this could be possible. It seems like once something becomes a catch-phrase talking point it becomes much easier to throw it around like hand grenades rather than taking the time to build your own opinions devoid of sound bytes and parroting.
I'm very curious how others feel about what I am finding and asserting here in this post and welcome ALL of your comments.
