Not wanting to be totally outdone by its big-sister publication the QC Times, — which a week before sensationally editorialized with a full-page spread their demonization of defenders of the Second Amendment and the protections guns primarily afford, What They Expect of You — yesterday the D-A offloaded its wet-work to a series of articles within its pages.
First to mention is the dramatic full-color, extraordinarily sized, editorial cartoon demonizing the NRA as Goliath carrying an AR 15 with a a little skinny teen with a sling out to slay him. If editorial cartoons are intended to lie or distort the truth as opposed to emphasize truth through irony or humor, that editorial fills the bill. The paper should be embarrassed to present such distortion when the facts and figures are known that the NRA is a piker compared to other lobbies in terms of money spent and that its influence comes from voluntary membership activities and success in the courts.
The little skinny teen depicted (hearkening to teens “wanting something done” after the Florida school killing of 17) is really representative of little more than overwrought adolescents. However their cause is well- funded by Second Amendment detractors who would loom larger if integrity were a watch-word.
In the same edition we are also treated to a Dan Lee opinion column Is there any reason to own an AR-15?. Reading it, we wondered is there any reason to Dan Lee’s arguments?
Every paragraph is rife with non sequiturs and or ignorance. His sympathy for gun possession is limited to a rediculous understanding of the Second amendment as if was somehow only intended to protect hunting and collectors of non-semi-automatic firearms. Seriously what ahistoric nincompoopery. This professor of logic or ethics also keys on the “style” of a gun as a rationale to ban them. His wholly superficial argument to ban AR 15 “style” rifles is ridiculous. But were it to succeed it would be useful as a wedge achievement. If that can be done why not ban any gun with the same functionality, which means any semi-auto firearm?
On the same page as Lee we are treated to a Scott Martelle column (LA Times) Lobbying is good, but voting essential which repeats the utter crap that the NRA wields undue pressure on legislatures through campaign funding and lobbying. Never mind how citizen lobbying is somehow undue pressure. His plea is for those kids wanting ~~ something done ~~ to organize and lobby. And who will purport to represent them — why dedicated gun-banners of course and well-funded political behemoths with gun opposition high on their agenda.
Less direct but something we find rather convenient is the timing of the D-A’s own editorial Hate has no place in our Q-C community It also involves a gun incident, allegedly, with a connection, allegedly, to religious animus of some sort . ~~ Why this community has no place for people, gun-toters by their example, who are out to inflict fear in people with turbans and beards,~~ preens the editorial. Mind you they editorialize about something that is not established as to veracity and that by any stretch is an isolated incident but as if it deserves being painted as endemic. Any convenient rumor will do to castigate or preen about inclusion or hate and paint gun owners as haters. Today’s journalism at its best. For the record, count us as a believer that Sikhs are probably not all that into denigrating self-protection with a weapon, although possession outside the home is pretty much unavailable to law-abiding citizens in Illinois .
The inclusion of the AP retrospective of 50 years ago with its emphasis on what they insist is the “iconic” picture of the Vietnam era, a photo of a South Vietnamese general summarily executing a Viet Cong terrorist /mass murderer, should be unappreciated for failing to suggest important context. The photo was snapped by Eddie Adams an AP photographer.
Read about the general, the terrorist / mass murderer he executed, and the photographer who appreciated the general’s action, certainly did not condemn him, in the links below. The truth is that the gun was used by a good guy to stop a bad guy who had just murdered women and children and according to one of the links was admittedly proud to have done so. Keep in mind this dispatched Viet Cong terror officer may have otherwise been around to help in the purification of South Vietnam after the communist take-over.
The Adams’ photo background/context — Article 1; article 2, article 3
R Mall
