Someone had called to say the Ku Klux Klan was coming to bomb Robert Hicks’s house. The police said there was nothing they could do. It was the night of Feb. 1, 1965, in Bogalusa, La.These were incredibly heroic men. But what do they have to do with today's gun rights movement? I've always found it to be a laughably silly analogy to compare the gun control folks to the KKK. Is that what we're talking about?The Klan was furious that Mr. Hicks, a black paper mill worker, was putting up two white civil rights workers in his home. It was just six months after three young civil rights workers had been murdered in Philadelphia, Miss.
Mr. Hicks and his wife, Valeria, made some phone calls. They found neighbors to take in their children, and they reached out to friends for protection. Soon, armed black men materialized. Nothing happened.
Less than three weeks later, the leaders of a secretive, paramilitary organization of blacks called the Deacons for Defense and Justice visited Bogalusa. It had been formed in Jonesboro, La., in 1964 mainly to protect unarmed civil rights demonstrators from the Klan. After listening to the Deacons, Mr. Hicks took the lead in forming a Bogalusa chapter, recruiting many of the men who had gone to his house to protect his family and guests.
Another question comes to mind. Are gun owners who refer to the Deacons and Mr. Hicks role in history as somehow significant to their modern movement completely free of racism? Is the stereotype gun owner, the middle aged white man with a beer belly who hates blacks, a myth? Is there no reality to it?
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
" I've always found it to be a laughably silly analogy to compare the gun control folks to the KKK."
ReplyDeleteTrue. The BC and VPC combined don't have nearly as many members as the Klan.
"Is the stereotype gun owner, the middle aged white man with a beer belly who hates blacks, a myth?"
Yes.
"I've always found it to be a laughably silly analogy to compare the gun control folks to the KKK."
ReplyDeleteWhy? look at it like this:
They both see their campaigns as what's "best", regardless of the facts.
They both refuse to see their opponents as human (the gun control guys keep using references to a faceless "gun lobby").
They make claims they cannot back up with facts (how many criminals and terrorists have been falsely described here as "NRA-inspired"?)
They both use derogatory phrases to describe the people they hate (see JadeGold and "gunloon").
So, yes. The comparison is not only valid, but fair and accurate.
"I've always found it to be a laughably silly analogy to compare the gun control folks to the KKK."
ReplyDeleteNot that laughable considering some of the Nation's first gun control laws were written to keep freed slaves from owning guns.
"Not that laughable considering some of the Nation's first gun control laws were written to keep freed slaves from owning guns."
ReplyDeleteWhen you view everything through the prism of a firearm, you're bound to get a warped version of history. It's even more amusing to note Clayton Cramer--the person who asserts the thesis that gun control has racist roots--is a vicious homophobe.
But let's entertain the bogus thesis for a moment; let's suppose guns were freely available to blacks after the Civil War. Is the argument that Jim Crow and segregation would have disappeared?
Of course, FWM's assertion kind of implodes when you consider the NAACP, the Urban League and virtually all black civil rights groups strongly support gun control. And FWM ignores the fact that white supremacist groups not only favor the NRA--very often the NRA, GOA and similar groups often align with white supremacist groups.
--JadeGold
Mikeb: "Is the stereotype gun owner, the middle aged white man with a beer belly who hates blacks, a myth?"
ReplyDeleteHere's another way to look at it:
I find the story of Robert Hicks to be inspirational. Yet according to JadeGold's theories, most gunowner advocates who read the story will be disappointed that the Klan did not prevail.
Are any gunowners here disappointed that the Klan did not prevail? Mikeb, who do you really think that the gunowner advocates here who read the story will favor: Hicks or the Klan?
"Of course, FWM's assertion kind of implodes when you consider the NAACP, the Urban League and virtually all black civil rights groups strongly support gun control. "
ReplyDeleteOf course that has nothing to do with the fact those organizations eat out of the hand of the far left.
"Mikeb, who do you really think that the gunowner advocates here who read the story will favor: Hicks or the Klan?"
ReplyDeleteMore importantly, who would have prevailed if the early gun controllers of this country had their way: Hicks or the Klan?
The analogy between gun control folks and the KKK gets more laughable the more you guys try to defend it. You only have to carry it one step further and you've got the gun owners compared to the oppressed blacks.
ReplyDeleteWhat's so funny about that is that regardless of all the shouts of denial, some (many) gun owners are the stereotype, white, middle-aged, fat and racist.
In this analogy, which "is not only valid, but fair and accurate" to Guy Ohki, those gun owners who number in what, the millions, the tens of millions, are the blacks.
Don't you see the humor in that?
What's so funny about that is that regardless of all the shouts of denial, some (many) gun owners are the stereotype, white, middle-aged, fat and racist.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. If what you say is true, then you would think you would see a representative sample of this within the gun blogging community. I am certainly not seeing it.
Mikeb: "What's so funny about that is that regardless of all the shouts of denial, some (many) gun owners are the stereotype, white, middle-aged, fat and racist."
ReplyDeleteYet according to many gun control advocates (even JadeGold), most gunowners support gun control and are LESS radical than "gun loons" such as the gun rights advocates who post here -- so we should thus see MORE racism from the gun rights advocates who comment here.
So back to my earlier question:
Mikeb, WHICH of the gunowner advocates who comment here do you think read my NY Times story and favored the Klan OVER Robert Hicks?
Which of us wish that Hicks and his group could NOT have owned guns?
RuffRidr presented the following like it would be a clincher.
ReplyDelete"Interesting. If what you say is true, then you would think you would see a representative sample of this within the gun blogging community. I am certainly not seeing it."
You might if it hadn't become so politically incorrect to express racist views. The gun bloggers who hate blacks, except for a tiny sliver of the most extreme Arian Nations Types, would never admit it.
What's your point RR? The fact it's not all over the gun blogs means it has been eradicated in modern day America? Or are you suggesting that gun bloggers have even a higher standard than regular folk?
What's your point RR? The fact it's not all over the gun blogs means it has been eradicated in modern day America? Or are you suggesting that gun bloggers have even a higher standard than regular folk?
ReplyDeleteMy point is that you are making slanderous statements about gun owners with nary a shred of evidence. Is there racist gun owners? I am sure of it. Is the ratio of racists higher in the gun owning population than that of the rest of the population? Not that I have seen. It's certainly not an overwhelming number like confirmed liars such as JadeGold would have you believe.
My point is that you are making slanderous statements about gun owners with nary a shred of evidence.
ReplyDeleteWell yeah, MikeB's entire blog is devoted to doing exactly that. Classy guy he is!
How sneaky these gunowner advocates are!
ReplyDeleteThey push for laws that would make it easier for blacks to own guns.
They support speakers who urge more blacks to own guns.
They celebrate blacks like Robert Hicks, who have used guns to protect themselves against racists.
All in a diabolicallly clever scheme to hide the fact that they hate blacks!
FJ - Yeah, that's clearly evidence that we're all racist.
ReplyDeleteHell, he just called me racist today. Yeah, that must be why i've consistently supported 2nd Amendment rights for blacks on my blog.
He and his ilk are steadfastly trying to keep citizens in predominantly black communities from being able to own & carry guns and yet somehow we're the racists?!
Projection at it's finest from MikeB and his buddies.