It's bigger than guns: Why the right does little to stop violence

[marmar]

It's bigger than guns: Why the right does little to stop violence
Conservatives have cultivated a negative and hyper-individualistic view of human nature

By CHAUNCEY DEVEGA
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED MAY 12, 2023 5:30AM (EDT)


(Salon) On Saturday, an avowed white supremacist neo Nazi attacked a mall in Allen, Texas, killing at least eight people and wounding seven others. Children were among the casualties.

As seen in many other mass killings in America, the apparent terrorist's weapon of choice was an AR-15 assault-style rifle. The AR-15 and its variants are literally weapons of war designed for maximum and efficient killing at close to mid-range distances.

How did the Republican Party, "conservatives", and other gun fetishists and ammosexuals respond to the tragedy in Allen, Texas? Their usual talking points about "gun rights" and "freedom" again show that they value guns more than human rights, safety, and human life – even if such values demand sacrificing America's children to the gun god Moloch.

On Saturday, former Fox "News" propagandist Megyn Kelly recited these fictions and fantasies on Twitter:

Serious q for gun control advocates: you've failed to effect change. Pls face it. You can't do it, thx to the 2A. We're all well aware you don't like that fact, but fact it is. What's next? Must we just stay here sad, concerned, lamenting? Could we possibly talk OTHER SOLUTIONS?

Mental health interventions (smthg real, not the BS we now do), greater willingness to lock ppl up (w/protocols in place for civil libs) who are deemed to be threats, fortification of soft targets, coordination of media response to not lionize shooters, etc.

....(snip)....

Fact 1: Criminologists and other experts have shown that the presence of armed guards do not substantially influence the decision by mass shooters about what schools to attack.

Fact 2: As seen in the horrific mass murder at a school in Uvalde, Texas, a heavily armed police force cowered, refusing to enter a school because they were in terror of one killer who was armed with an AR-15 assault-style rifle.

....(snip)....

In reality, the right-wing's (literal) death embrace of guns (and resulting gun violence) represents something far worse and more dangerous for American democracy and normal society: these beliefs and policies are a type of political philosophy and theory of human nature and society where violence is incorrectly believed to be everywhere, unavoidable, and thus we should come to accept it as normal. And moreover, that violence is an unavoidable and "natural" way of resolving political disputes, conflicts, and other questions. This is the beating heart and foundation of fascism and other illiberal politics. ...........(more)

https://www.salon.com/2023/05/12/its-bigger-than-guns-why-the-right-does-little-to-stop-violence/

[quakerboy]

1. It seems pretty simple to me

Republicans, for all their empty words about the dangers of the left, are NOT afraid of lefties with guns. They are afraid of people voting, getting educated, having free time. But they know that the people with guns and the brokenness to kill are rarely targeting them or their ideology. They know that the people with the platforms to speak, and the fecklessness to drive their audiences to dehumanize the opposition and drive the weakminded to a dangerous frenzy, are near universally doing so against their opponents.

[3Hotdogs]

8. Average maggot on the street is afraid of blacks, lefties, commies and so forth.

Elected Repukes are afraid of losing gun lobby campaign funds.

[quakerboy]

11. I dont think they are.

I really dont think they are afraid of them. They hate them. They want to harm them. But if they were actually afraid.. they would act differently

[BootinUp]

2. K&R

[AndyS]

3. Facts don't matter. It's all about feelings for the gunners.

They FEEL safer if they have a gun.

They can kill if they FEEL threatened if they have a stand your ground law.

They FEEL powerful if they have a gun and the more deadly it is the more powerful and safe they FEEL.

Every piece of data available indicates otherwise but it doesn't matter because they FEEL differently.

[orthoclad]

9. Check! nt

[RockRaven]

4. Because the violence is what they want. Period. It's their fucking goal. They're happy about it.

Right wingers WANT everyone anxious, afraid, etc. They think it is good for them politically -- even though it seems like their policies and politics ought to be readily blamed for it -- because people seeking security turn towards authoritarianism.

[Eko]

5. They want the violence because they want the fear.

That's what they run on, fear. Guns bring fear, fear to the gun people and fear to the people that guns kill. And their entire platform is based off this fear because people scared don't think straight. And you can get them addicted to the fear. That's all this is about.

[Alice Kramden]

6. This

This is the gist of it

[DBoon]

7. fascists worship violence

they stand for power without responsibility

[orthoclad]

10. Chaos is profitable.