I bought it because it looked cool,” explains Amanda Gailey, a professor at the University of Nebraska, about the Magpul Industries iPhone case she purchased from Amazon in June. “It looked pleasantly utilitarian. It never occurred to me that a company that makes a phone case could be involved in the gun industry.”
Gailey is a vocal advocate for tougher gun laws. She avoids shopping at some local retailers that allow customers to openly carry weapons in their stores. So she was mortified when her husband pointed out that her new iPhone case was manufactured by a company that also makes components for high-capacity semiautomatic rifles.
Gailey didn’t want to support the weapons industry, even accidentally. So she packed up the iPhone case and mailed it back to Amazon. She left a strongly worded review, advising potential buyers to be aware that this product is made by the same company that produced some of the ammunition magazines used in the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary, and that, when Colorado legislators were considering magazine capacity restrictions in the wake of the Aurora theater massacre, Magpul threatened to close its Colorado factory and move production (and jobs) elsewhere. Gailey titled her review “Magpul feeds on death.”
Gailey knew that she was weighing in on a controversial issue. “I anticipated some negative comments and down votes,” she says. But she never expected her brief product review to trigger the massive online harassment campaign that followed. “I got concerned when I saw comments about beating my head in with a sledgehammer.”
I got concerned when I saw comments about beating my head in with a sledgehammer.
ReplyDeleteBeating her head in with a sledgehammer would be unlikely to phase her much--I don't think there's anything of importance inside that head.
Was that irony? Or are you really condoning violence against gun control supporters?
DeleteI think you can safely assume that I didn't expect to be taken seriously when I claimed that "[b]eating her head in with a sledgehammer would be unlikely to phase her much."
DeleteIt was a joke about her (crippling lack of) intelligence--not advocacy for any course of action.
No one thinks you are joking when you threaten violence, you do it so often.
DeleteKurt, haven't you taken me to task for making jokes in the past? Haven't you waxed eloquent about how my humor is sometimes impossible to distinguish from my real beliefs?
DeleteFine, Mikeb, if you want to claim to believe that I expected to be taken seriously when I said that she wouldn't be phased by having her head beat in with a sledgehammer, have at it.
DeleteHaven't you waxed eloquent about how my humor is sometimes impossible to distinguish from my real beliefs?
I'm not quite ready to claim to have been "eloquent" (thanks, I guess), but yes, I have noted the remarkable similarity between your apparently serious beliefs and your attempts at humor. I think you could have people rolling in the aisles if you took your "One strike, you're out" policy routine to the comedy clubs, but you keep insisting that you really mean it. Funny stuff!
You're the funny one, Kurt, and the hypocrite too.
DeleteAnd by the way, I didn't think you were serious with that stupid joke.
And by the way, I didn't think you were serious with that stupid joke.
DeleteStrange, then, that you felt the need to ask whether I was being ironic, or "really condoning violence against gun control supporters."
So, is "hypocrite" overtaking "liar" as your favorite name to call me? Good--a little variety breaks up the tedium.
I suppose it is. Your hypocrisy seems to be overcoming even your lying. When you use rhetorical questions, or irony, or sarcasm, we're suppose to understand what you mean, but when I do, you PRETEND not to understand and pretend to take things literally. I guess that's both hypocrisy and dishonesty.
DeleteI guess that's both hypocrisy and dishonesty.
DeleteYeah--you do a lot of "guess[ing]." You're not at all good at it, you know.
Its interesting that some of the posts that weren't deleted by Amazon rightly take Gailey to task for using product reviews to make a political statement and have nothing to do with the quality of the product itself.
ReplyDeleteAnd then of course they bring up other products made by manufacturers that make firearms,
"And then you’ll find products like the Magpul iPhone case, Smith & Wesson brand wristwatches, a Heckler & Koch flashlight, a shovel and a knife made by Glock"
I recall way back in the day, and I imagine Mike does too that many of the issue M-16s were built by companies other than Colt. I recall being issued one made by Singer.
I bought the seven Magpul magazines I own based on quality and durability. The same factors were used in my purchase of my M-4 carbine made by Bushmaster. In the case of the latter, the big deciding point was a customer review. That being my local police chief's comments regarding the quality of the same firearm owned by the PD.
Since the article was written, Magpul has followed through in its promise to move to a friendlier state. And I imagine it will do quite well, wherever they operate.
I didn't know there were M-16's made by Singer and others. I have learned the fun of checking M-1 Carbines for ones made by various manufacturers--I think my favorite I've seen was an IBM.
DeleteI didn't know about singer either. I find it interesting that companies other than those recognized as gun manufacturers are making guns and gun accessories.
DeleteFor the carbines it was part of the WWII war effort--the companies had the machinery needed and just had to change what they were making. GM, Ford, and Chrysler all were making Shermans as part of the effort too, and GM devoted at least their Saginaw plant to making M-1 Carbines. I'm guessing the Singer M-16 was part of a similar, but smaller scale need to quickly crank out a lot of guns as quickly as possible--wasn't the Vietnam war beginning to heat up about the same time they switched from M-14 to M-16?
DeleteNo wonder they don't advertize they make guns, or gun parts. They know they would lose business and get complaints. Anything to make a buck including helping gun shot deaths.
Delete"I didn't know about singer either. I find it interesting that companies other than those recognized as gun manufacturers are making guns and gun accessories."
DeleteThis not currently taking place.
No one should be threatened with violence and it should be investigated to see if any such threats amount to a crime.. She did not research the product before she purchased it and now wants to chastise Amazon for selling it and Magpul for making a different product all together...In her honor I will purchase 10 new Magpul 30rnd magazines from my LGS for my frequent days at the range and the same phone case from Amazon .
ReplyDeleteMBIAC.....
Can anyone prove that Amanda Gailey is not dog gone? That comment sure sounds like something stupid she would say. lol
ReplyDeleteorlin sellers
It's your typical moonbat behavior. Post something inherently hateful online, then make up death threats to gain sympathy.
ReplyDeleteorlin sellers
Typical dangerous gun loon tactics. Threaten bodily harm because they disagree with your right to speak freely.
ReplyDelete