Thursday, April 9, 2015

Mesquite Texas - Gun Show Capital of the World

Gun Show AP Photo Philip Kamrass

Breitbart

The crowd is largely male, white and over forty. They wear jeans, and t-shirts adorn everything from American flags to the most “politically incorrect” statements you can imagine. One t-shirt dealer tells me that every time he thinks he’s “hit a nerve” with one of his shirts, those shirts sell out in a flash. The demand is created instantly. These are shirts that your son or daughter would be sent home from school for wearing.
That’s not to classify the crowd as a bunch of “Bubbas”, because you find people from every walk of life. Doctors, lawyers, broadcasters are rubbing elbows with mechanics and truck drivers. They all share the same passion for shooting sports.
The crowd is mostly Republican and conservative. Bumper stickers expressing displeasure of the current President are also in vogue. Those with Bill Clinton’s name were just changed out, substituting Obama’s in early 2009.
Notice the gender and racial balance in that photo. I guess they forgot the usual agenda of trying to portray gun enthusiasts as other than they really are.  

And, one can only imagine what some of those t-shirts say, the ones that "hit a nerve" and sell like hot cakes.

13 comments:

  1. "And, one can only imagine what some of those t-shirts say, the ones that "hit a nerve" and sell like hot cakes."

    Who knows. Crappy journalism to write it up the way he did and not give any examples of what he was talking about--anyone could project about anything onto that.

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  2. It's Breitbart--who remains, thankfully, dead.

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  3. "Notice the gender and racial balance in that photo. I guess they forgot the usual agenda of trying to portray gun enthusiasts as other than they really are."

    Who exactly is "they"? We talking the Associated Press? Though given the source of the photo, an argument could be made in the other direction, I'm personally going to go with it being just a stock photo type shot. As for gender and racial bias in a stock photo, it doesn't really matter. In real life, the growth of participation among everyone is well documented here.

    "And, one can only imagine what some of those t-shirts say, the ones that "hit a nerve" and sell like hot cakes."

    You mean the ones where they just replace Clinton's name with the current President's? That does seem to suggest that its a dislike based on something other than race. Say for instance, the party's stance on gun rights? If you want to see the envelope pushed in the area of good taste, one has but to go to most any large mall that has a Spencer's Gifts store and look at their collection of t-shirts.
    However, at the end of the day, these shows are a fine example of the overall health and vitality of the gun culture and the shooting sports, after all, how else can someone turn a profit on running these shows every few weeks, what with all of the gun owners having to buy millions of new guns to support the evil gun industry. Hardly seems like they'd be able to afford any used ones after that.
    This however seems to be the take-away I get from this article and makes me wish it were convenient to experience one of these larger shows,

    "So, if you’re in the mood to see capitalism at its constitutionally protected best, do some wheeling and dealing with several thousand of your close personal friends, all roads lead to Mesquite. On average, every 3 weeks, year around, you will find a gun show."

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    1. Do you really think Clinton received the same vilification as Obama? Were the attacks as vicious and nasty?

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    2. Do you really think Clinton received the same vilification as Obama? Were the attacks as vicious and nasty?

      I think you underestimate the effect on political discourse in this country brought about by the mass use of the internet. Things that would never have been said in news outlets 20 years ago are said routinely now, and not only by bloggers and podcasters, but by traditional media, too, just trying to keep up.

      If Clinton were President now, I'd wager that "the attacks" on him would be just "as vicious and nasty" as those on Obama (and deservedly so). If, as I strongly suspect, Hillary Clinton becomes the next President, she'll face just as much "vicious[ness] and "nast[iness]," and it won't be driven by misogyny, but by the new reality of political discourse.

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    3. I'd say that whole impeachment thing got pretty "viscous and nasty".

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    4. Of course those who flame vicious discourse are hurting America. Political debate and disagreement does not mean viscous discourse, racism, bigoty, or other expressions of hate.

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    5. Kurt, you're obviously wrong and I'll explain why. Progressives and liberals will always elicit a certain amount of animosity in their opponents. But when the progressive liberal is black, the racists join in. Likewise, when the progressive liberal is a woman the misogynists join in. That's why Obama received so much more than Bill Clinton and Hillary will probably match him - not because of the internet and social media, as you tried to say, but because in our country there are lots of racists and misogynists.

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    6. Progressives and liberals will always elicit a certain amount of animosity in their opponents.

      And conservatives and libertarians will not?

      But when the progressive liberal is black, the racists join in.

      And when the libertarian conservative is black, the racists won't?

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  4. Notice the gender and racial balance in that photo. I guess they forgot the usual agenda of trying to portray gun enthusiasts as other than they really are.

    Perhaps that agenda exists only in your preferred narrative. The article not only includes that photo, but also, as you quoted, says, "The crowd is largely male, white and over forty."

    That's an assertion I have never seen denied, ever. There is, however, evidence of growing interest in guns among, women, ethnic minorities, and young adults (and even children).

    By the way, Mikeb, care to take a stab at a demographic analysis of rap concert attendees? If it's largely black, young, and male--perhaps overwhelmingly so--would that indicate racial, age, and/or gender prejudice on the part of said attendees?

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    1. Comparison: gun show in Mesquite TX and a rap concert. Brilliant.

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    2. Comparison: gun show in Mesquite TX and a rap concert. Brilliant.

      Thanks, Mikeb, but I think you're being more generous than is really indicated here. I would think that the comparison is valid and instructive, but falls somewhat short of "brilliant."

      By the way, what's the significance of it being "in Mesquite TX"? Are gun shows there markedly different from those elsewhere?

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    3. "By the way, what's the significance of it being "in Mesquite TX"? Are gun shows there markedly different from those elsewhere?"

      Didn't you read the post? It's about Mesquite gun shows.

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