"You see people come here from all walks of life," said booth owner, Gene Branson. "Some people even come a hundred miles to this show." [More]If gun owners devoted a tenth of that effort and expense to actively championing the right to keep and bear arms, we would be an invincible political force. That most prefer to squabble like learning disabled children over such trivialities as being asked to send an email exemplifies why things are the way they are.
Years ago, before the Great Western Gun Show was forced out of California, I recall being especially bitter over how it could attract tens of thousands of gun owners--yet a counter-protest against the Million Moms preceded by announcements and appeals throughout the "activist" network, only drew a few hundred. And out of all Los Angeles, we'd be lucky to get 50 to show up at an NRA Members' Council meeting, and of those, maybe half a dozen-- of the same people all the time-- actually did any work.
I repeat: If gun owners would get off their lazy, apathetic butts and consistently and proactively devote time, effort and treasure to the cause, we would be invincible. It's easy to point the finger at politicians for attacking us, or NRA management for compromising, and I'm not saying that should stop, but put in perspective, politicians wouldn't betray us if they didn't dare--and compromises wouldn't be made if they weren't perceived as advantageous or necessary.
I'm going to very specifically comment about counter-protests against MMM. Whether or not self-defence, pro-responsible usage activism is up or down, plenty of people prefer to be and act in favor of something rather than against someone else's meme. I enjoy being pro-Ron Paul rather than being anti-other candidates.
ReplyDeleteIt was in favor of the right to keep and bear arms.
ReplyDeleteSo let's work up a way to combine the events...gun show and protest.
ReplyDeleteThe gun show draws the crowd, and the protest gives a convenient means of expending energy.
It seems we're currently letting MMM dictate our strategy, as long as we're focused on counter-protests they will continue to dictate the time and place of our activities. Shifting strategy seems appropriate.
This event took place many years ago, anon, so it is not like we're living in perpetual reflex to MMM actions--at the time, an "assault weapon" ban was pending, and the effort was to show that public support for RKBA should not be ignored because the antis were the only ones interested-- but that's not a bad idea--local activist should always approach gun show promoters and make sure that RKBA promotions occur. This was the case when The Great Western ran in CA--the former owner was very supportive, and remains a respected friend. One consideration with staging a protest at gun shows is things are generally confined to fairgrounds, etc.--unless they take place in an area where the general public can see them, the effort at message dissemination is limited to gun enthusiasts.
ReplyDeleteBut this is but one small example of just a few shouldering all the work that I've discussed in the past--my published article "Profiles in Apathy" recounts how a pro-rkba politician, a national media campaign, and the leader of a recall effort were all left hung out to dry by the constituency that benefited from their efforts--and I could literally rattle a dozen more examples off the top of my head if I wanted to.
I keep coming back to the words of Churchill:"If you will not fight for the right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a small chance of survival. There may even be a worse case: you may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves."
We hear a lot of talk from gun owners on forums, a lot of "from my cold dead hands" and "molon labe." I submit they'd have a lot more credibility if they would commit to actually doing something constructive on a continual basis--writing letters to editors and politicians, working on campaigns, donating or helping raise money, putting out information, joining with organizations that can act as force multipliers, etc.
You are correct!
ReplyDeleteMost don't do anything, if everyone that claims to be a member of the NRA, paid dues we would be right a 8 million.
Not only do I support the NRA through mostly funding, & recruiting. I also help with 2 state assocs., attended the GPRC in Cincinnati/Northern KY this year.
Have helped at booths at gun shows, etc etc etc, but I would guess that not more than a few thousand do anything beyond paying dues.