There's somethin' happening here.
What it is ain't exactly clear.
There's a man with a gun over there.
From Yahoo! News:
"About a dozen people carrying guns, including one with a military-style rifle, milled among the protesters outside the convention center [in Phoeniz, AZ] where President Obama was giving a speech Monday. . . . The man with the rifle declined to be identified but told The Arizona Republic that he was carrying the assault rifle because he could. 'In Arizona, I still have some freedoms,' he said."
As opposed to where? California? Actually, the Golden State has been fairly active restricting rights, lately, especially if you're gay and want to get married.
Why is it that when certain people talk about "rights," the only one they seem to care about is the somewhat questionable one about being allowed to carry light armaments wherever they want? Considering the fact that this "gentleman" had brought a military style rifle to a speech, one cannot help but question his commitment to the entire Bill of Rights--particularly that pesky first amendment about people having the right to speak. Does he feel so threatened by words that he needs to defend himself with a gun? Or is he just a moron who can't marshall words in defense of his own viewpoints.
Seriously, what are he and people like him--according to the same news report, people have been showing up with guns at many of the President's speeches--trying to prove? Does anyone bbelieve them when they say they are merely "exercising their rights"? Do they believe it themselves? Is getting up and speaking (or even, god help us, screeching) about one's opposition to proposed legislation not a sufficient exercise of one's rights? Or writing to one's congressman? Or writing a letter to the editor? Or an op-ed piece?
Paranoia runs deep
A thousand people in the street.
The only reason to brandish weaponry is to intimidate. This is so obvious we feel ridiculous even writing it, but it bears amplification. The armed townsfolk are not simply saying, "We disagree with this policy." They're saying, "We disagree with this policy, and we're prepared to use lethal force against anyone who disagrees with us."
We fear for President Obama, but at least he has the Secret Service. How long is it going to be before one of these second-amendment absolutist lunatics gets trigger happy and starts spraying bullets at the hippies and tree-huggers--or at anybody else he feels threatened by? Shockingly, when asked for comment on the gun-toting protesters, the National Rifle Association had nothing to say.
The ironic thing is that if this kind of thing goes on much longer, a whole lot more people will need a well-functioning health care system. We hope the emergency rooms are ready to handle mass casualties.
No comments:
Post a Comment