Here's what the fight about guns is really all about

[divideandconquer]

Gun Show Nation: Gun Culture and American Democracy (Hardcover)
By Joan Burbick

BUZZFLASH REVIEWS


In the war of symbols, guns reign supreme in America meaning, owning a gun says more about your politics than how you use it.

Joan Burbick dissects the embracing of guns by the gun rights movement in her insightful book: Gun Show Nation: Gun Culture and American Democracy.

Unlike so many talking heads on the gun issue, Burbick gets it. She cuts through to the heart of the psychology of guns, and how the gun rights movement has invented a fear campaign that someone, the government, is going to take away their guns. The symbolic meaning of owning a gun is to reclaim political power, demonize minorities, distort the issue of crime in America, express contempt for women gaining access to power, and distract Americans from the real issues of democracy.

Burbick takes on the role of an ethnographer as she charts her exploration of America s gun culture. Burbicks journey begins with Buffalo Bill, perhaps the greatest gun marketer in American history. The gun companies took advantage of Wild Bill's heroic tales of the frontier, laced with political rhetoric to sell more and more guns and it worked. After the Civil War, American society was saturated with weapons as gun manufacturers (read monopolies) saw spiraling profits with ever more savvy marketing campaigns. Iconic frontier heroes such as Buffalo Bill were integral to selling guns through romanticizing them.

According to Burbick, purchasing a gun proved your manhood and invited fantasy into a gun owners life the belief that you could shoot the bad guy and be a hero is still alive in todays gun advertisements.

Burbicks book also delves into how the gun lobby co-opted the language of the civil rights movement and invented a communications campaign to make individual gun ownership a right when historically American society never viewed it as such. It took some time and money to convince the American people, but the gun lobby eventually succeeded in re-writing history. Just take for example the slogan used by untold numbers of politicians: I support the Second Amendment. What does that drivel mean anyway?
-----------------------------------------------------
<http://www.buzzflash.com/store/reviews/37>

[BrklynLiberal]

1. If you can't get a gun, get a Hummer.....

I can't take credit for that idea.

[harkadog]

3. Anti-gun nuts are always obsessing about penis size.

It always comes up in their posts. Weird on so many levels.

[MajorChode]

5. Perhaps, but it's not without some sound basis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compensation_(psychology)

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

8. So there is a good reason for gun grabbers to obsess about penis size. Envy. Thanks.

[divideandconquer]

16. "The gun, with all its real and imagined powers, is the symbol for them of that "paradise lost.""

"And white males in the gun rights movement don't like sharing their apple pie with any other Americans, not even a slice.

We highly recommend it.

By the end, you get a lucid, thoughtful understanding of why the "gun rights" culture and the NRA are so tied at the hip to the Bush Administration and the Republican Party, because they both yearn for the day when the white male reigned supreme.

The gun, with all its real and imagined powers, is the symbol for them of that "paradise lost.""
---------------------------------------------<http://www.buzzflash.com/store/reviews/372>

[paulsby]

23. exactly 100% wrong

the gun rights movement... iow a movement of people who respect the constitution's 2nd amendment is about empowering everybody , regardless of race or gender.

women benefit more than men. if i am attacked, as a competitive strength athlete (well as soon as my surgery heals), i have a good chance to hold my own. women are less likely to be able to defend themselves w/o a gun, gina carano excepted.

blacks are FAR more likely to be the victims of gun violence. yet, they disproportionately live in jurisdictions that prohibit concealed carry. anti-gun laws HURT them more than they hurt whites, who are more likely to live in areas where there is RKBA and are more likely to have higher incomes and can afford better security.

this is a civil rights issue, and remember that gun laws, like many drug laws, have a history in anti-black racism.

[MajorChode]

32. Ah yes, all we need to protect us from all the gun-nuts is more gun-nuts

Well said.

Cheers!

[paulsby]

34. most people who commit murder

are not gun nuts.

have you talked to any? i've interviewed/interrogated a few.

so called "gun nuts" aren't the people we need to protect ourselves against.

in fact, CCW holders have been documented to be amongst the most law abiding demographics.

but don't let facts invade yer rhetoric

[MajorChode]

38. At least you admit you're a gun-nut

Admission is the first step towards recovery, so perhaps there's hope for you yet.

In the mean time, you can't even begin to support your tangential bullshit rhetoric with anything that approaches reality, so perhaps you shouldn't embarrass yourself by mentioning facts, eh?

[paulsby]

39. i'm not

a gun nut. as i've posted before. guns in general bore me.

i am concerned with gun rights, not guns.

i KNOW a few gun nuts, so to speak, but that's not me.

i'm also not an abortion nut. but i am concerned with rights to same.

hth

[MajorChode]

42. Right...

So you're not a gun-nut, but you just so happen to chime in to each and every gun thread on GD with your bs rhetoric about how guns "empower" people and make them safer.

Got it.

Cheers!

[paulsby]

45. because being an advocate

for civil rights vis a vis guns =/= being a gun nut.

it is neither sufficient nor necessary.

some gun nuts are ANTI RKBA.

some pro RKBA people are gun nuts, some aren't.

guns do not interest me much.

GUN RIGHTS do.

i am a strong advocate for 1st and 2nd amendment.

fwiw, apart from my service weapon, i didn't even OWN a gun until a few years ago.

[MajorChode]

47. I see you're still no stranger to the strawman

Gun "rights" =/= civil rights. Pretending it's so does not make it so and without that your house of cards falls in on itself.

So keep building that strawman bigger and better.

[paulsby]

51. they are rights mentioned in the 2nd amendment

and thus are civil rights

[AtheistCrusader]

80. I don't think you understand what a strawman argument is.

[AtheistCrusader]

75. I'm an abortion nut, gay nut, fair trade nut, renewable energy nut, education nut, goddamn I got nut

s coming out of my EARS

[Euromutt]

101. I'd see a doctor about that if I were you

But damn, that visualization made me laugh.

[rl6214]

95. OK, I guess then it would be ok to call you

an anti-gun pussy?

[proteus_lives]

55. +1

I agree with all your points. But the grabbers close their eyes to the racist roots of their own policies.

[AtheistCrusader]

74. Hahahaahahahaha aaaaaahahahahaha a oh please

White male checking in, got to know the black family at the end of the street by GOING TO THE RANGE.

I'm much happier knowing my neighbors are armed, responsible adults, whether they are white, black, green, or purple.


On the other hand, GUN CONTROL has long targeted minorities for disarmament. It really bothered the Klan riders when their black victims started shooting back. It must really burn your ass that a law abiding citizen of poor financial means can get a pistol for $100, and in some cases less. You know, those SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIAL JUNK GUNS that only a CRIMINAL would use? Funny, I see those cheaper weapons as accessible to the people who frankly, have more 'need' for personal protection than I do, comfortably camped out in middle class suburbia.

[MajorChode]

33. Looks like someone has a guilty conscience

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

65. If you say you do, who am I to argue.

[aikoaiko]

17. You can't seriously be calling psychoanalytic psychology "sound"?

:eyes:

[MajorChode]

35. You can't seriously be suggesting that there is no such thing as mental disorders?

:rofl:

[aikoaiko]

40. "Compensation" is not listed in the DSM as a mental disorder.

ooops.

[MajorChode]

46. It's a symptom of one or more disorders

Time for you to go back to your google and try again.

ooops.

[aikoaiko]

48. Which ones?

I'll check back tomorrow.

[MajorChode]

49. You're the smart guy on the google

You figure it out. I will give you a hint. Go look in the mirror.

[aikoaiko]

54. No, I'm the smart guy who remembers that compensation is not a listed mental disorder.

But I couldn't swear that compensation is not a listed symptom for one of the disorders.

If you want to back up your claim, then go ahead. If not, then stop backing yourself in a corner.

[Piwi2009]

98. As a female I don't get to utilize the "gun est muy macho" stance

I simply see a gun as a tool of defense on my side, just like the porchlight turned on, the deadbolt locks I have, and the phone I use to call the police with. It's just a more powerful tool.

[dairydog91]

86. Funny how the armchair psychologists always bring up compensation, but never projection...

For example, a person terrified of his/her perceived inadequacies might project that type of fear onto other people. Just a thought.

[cherokeeprogressive]

29. They believe it to be one of the most insulting, hurtful things that can be said about any man.

A discussion ender, if you will. There is no rational way of countering that argument short of showing how big your crank is. Even if you had the biggest crank in the room, the argument that you wanted a bigger one could be made.

I consider it to be much like calling anyone who disagrees with President Barack Obama's policies a racist. It's a discussion ending argument that cannot be disproved.

Both are intellectually lazy ways of making your point.

[AtheistCrusader]

76. I wonder what they think of men who buy a Warthog .45

That thing is TINY and it's expensive, and very useful.

Like any dimension of firearms design, the weapon fits a particular 'need'. Some owners want a weapon that's more accurate. Some with more 'power', etc. What do the 'Gun=Penis' folks think of people who seek smaller and more concealable weapons, like the Warthog?

http://www.para-usa.com/new/product_pistol.php?id=7

[Euromutt]

81. As the saying goes, if gun owners were compensating for a small penis...

...nobody would buy a handgun with a 2 or 3" barrel.

[rwheeler31]

13. Why the hell are you gunning when you could

romance a rich woman?

[paulsby]

22. penis canard

how predictable

[Hoopla Phil]

83. WOW!!! Penis reference in the first response. You mom must be very proud!

[Ghost in the Machine]

2. Let me get my hipwaders on, the bullshit is getting deep in here...

"According to Burbick, purchasing a gun proved your manhood and invited fantasy into a gun owners life the belief that you could shoot the bad guy and be a hero is still alive in todays gun advertisements. "


I'd like to see one of those advertisements. Seriously, can you link to just one?


Thanks,

Ghost

[divideandconquer]

4. Here you go

<http://www.oobject.com/ironic-gun-advertising/iraq-sniper-rifle/2764/>

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

7. If that was only an advertisement you might have a point.

[Ghost in the Machine]

11. Not quite..

That weapon is marketed/sold to the military & law enforcement. They use these for specific purposes, and it's not hunting or target shooting:

The M24 Sniper Weapon System (SWS) is the military and police version of the Remington 700 rifle, M24 being the model name assigned by the United States Army after adoption as their standard sniper rifle in 1988. It is also used by the Israeli Defence Forces. The M24 is referred to as a "weapons system" because it consists of not only a rifle, but also a detachable telescopic sight and other accessories.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M24_Sniper_Weapon_System

Care to try again?

[BrklynLiberal]

31. All the ads on that page were "interesting"

http://www.oobject.com/category/ironic-gun-advertising/

[Euromutt]

67. Almost all of them were also ancient (n/t)

[divideandconquer]

18. Here's the "Wild West" gun, get out your astroglide

<http://www.ruger-firearms.com/Firearms/PDF/Ads/KNVRB-455.pdf>

[aikoaiko]

19. When you quote "Wild West", you do realize that that phrase is not in the ad.

You're not very good at this divideandconquer.

[divideandconquer]

28. I apologize, "Old West" is in the ad for the "gun of choice in the cowboy action shooting world"

Now get out the astroglide

[aikoaiko]

30. It's typical of you to imagine things when making anti-gun/gunrights posts.

You're so bad at this. You remind me of BillBuckhead. He got banned in time.

[divideandconquer]

43. So "cowboy action shooting world" reminded me of the "wild west" instead of the "old west"

Me bad.

[Euromutt]

69. It also made you overlook that the ad doesn't say anything...

...about shooting bad guys and becoming a hero.

[AtheistCrusader]

77. I suspect you don't know a damn thing about Cowboy Action Shooting.

It's a specific class of firearms competition using period specific weapons, and clothing.

It's Renaissance Faire for firearms enthusiasts. Using antique, or new weapons of antique design. They are antique in design and function. It's a rare day when someone uses one of these weapons in even a home defense shooting. (Though I do recall a single story in the last year or so of a 70 year old man using a SA .45 Long Colt on a home invader)

I hope you flip your shit just as hard when someone shows up to Ren Faire with a real sword.

http://www.sassnet.com/About-What-is-SASS-001A.php

[Ghost in the Machine]

24. Most gun grabbers have a penis obsession... is yours an anal obsession?

Why would I need astroglide? Are you trying to hook up with me or something? Sorry, I don't swing that way, but it's ok if you do.. just leave me out of it, ok?

I tried to open your link 3 times, and it shut my browser down each time. Can you post a screenshot of the ad?


Thanks,

Ghost

[TicketyBoo]

59. Which browser are you using?

I can give it a try.

[Ghost in the Machine]

71. That worked, thank you...

I'm on an ancient computer here, it's over 10 years old. I'm stuck on dial-up way out here in the sticks. I'm using Internet Explorer 6 and acrobat reader 5.1

I still don't see where it says what the OP claims it does, though..


Peace,

Ghost

[Euromutt]

68. I think he's implying you'll be unable to stop yourself from masturbating

But maybe I'm being too charitable.

[Euromutt]

64. I'm missing where that Vaquero ad says you can shoot a bad guy and be a hero.

Instead, Ruger is aiming at the Cowboy Action Shooting market.

[flvegan]

6. That's a pretty broad brush Ms. Burbick is waving around.

"The symbolic meaning of owning a gun is to reclaim political power, demonize minorities, distort the issue of crime in America, express contempt for women gaining access to power, and distract Americans from the real issues of democracy."

Yeah, um, I have three guns (one semi auto handgun, a shotgun and a rifle) and none of the above shit relates to me in any way. I also had my manhood well proven long before I bought my first gun.

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. and from looking at a culture where guns are passed from

father to kids, and some are as old as the Civil War... she partially gets it.

That is true for some modern urban dwellers, but for folks who have had them for decades or more... she is not getting it, at least not fully.

By the way the anti gun movement is also about the other having a gun...

Oh and there are plenty of liberals out there who have guns...

[bertman]

10. Certainly no government of the people, by the people, and for the people would ever

try to disarm the citizenry so it could have absolute, unfettered control over said citizenry. I'm sure this has never happened in the history of the world.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

12. Burbeck is pretty clueless and well out of step with current progressive thinking

However opinions are like belly buttons...

[divideandconquer]

20. And what's the liberal or progressive equivalent of the NRA and GOA?

And what are you a professor of again?

More NRA comics!

[TheWraith]

26. There's Amendment II Democrats and The Liberal Gun Club, for starters.

Oh, and the NRA's political action arm does support Democrats, despite the drooling wingnuttery that comes out of the people at the top. Howard Dean got the NRA's highest rating and their official endorsement 8 times.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

50. How about the Pink Pistols.

Progressive thought is not embodied by one organization or another or limited to them either.

Still wondering how one who claims to be so union can take such an anti gun bigot.

[pocoloco]

14. "Second Amendment", drivel?

* didn't like the Constitution either.

[aikoaiko]

15. Invented fears??? -- what utter rubbish.

From the review:
Unlike so many talking heads on the gun issue, Burbick gets it. She cuts through to the heart of the psychology of guns, and how the gun rights movement has invented a fear campaign that someone, the government, is going to take away their guns.

Perhaps these fears that the government will continue to take away guns from the civilian market have been stoked by Federal gun bans and regulations that prevent law abiding gun owners from purchasing select new firearms since 1968. The list of banned firearms grew from 1968 until 1994 and the only retreat was when the AWB sunset automatically without reauthorization. Sure, that not the government kicking in my door and confiscating my guns, but its taking away guns nevertheless.

Banning certain guns is still a campaign promise of too many politicians.

[divideandconquer]

37. "Freedom in peril"

One of those Toyota bigshots told Canadian auto workers that Southern Americans were so stupid that they needed comic books to train them how do their jobs. The NRA has always known their followers weren't so bright so here's their comic book. Enjoy cowboys!

http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2006/12/26/nr-f8_perilfinal.pdf

[aikoaiko]

44. That's not even a comic book. Do you even think before you post?

That brochure is old news.... did you just become politically aware yesterday?

Yes, the NRA has used exaggeration and fear tactics, but that doesn't mitigate that gun owners have something to fear in Federal government gun bans of certain popular guns.

I'm embarrassed for you.

[Euromutt]

60. You notice how your link is not to an NRA website?

(I say "an NRA website" because they have several.) The NRA may have had that pamphlet made, but it was never published, and we don't know the NRA ever intended to publish it. If it wasn't for someone leaking the thing and various blogs splattering it all over, it might very well never have traveled outside Fairfax, VA.

[AtheistCrusader]

79. You know PETA does the same thing right?

Careful when you're waving that broad brush around. You never know who you're going to smear.

[paulsby]

21. the fight is about RIGHTs

the RKBA not about GUNS.

it's like the other fight is about choice and reproductive freedom, not abortions.

[divideandconquer]

25. Fight about whether we want a nation governed by fear or by democratically enacted laws

More NRA comix

[paulsby]

27. the fear canard

is right up there with the penis canard, and the need canard.

they are the 3 i see most.

it has NOTHING to do with fear.

i carry fire insurance to protect against an EXTREMELY unlikely event. i carry a firearm for the same reason (off-duty).

i also carry a cpr mask in my pants pocket.

and i have water purification equipment and several months of food storage.

all of these things are to prepare for very RARE eventualities, and ones i do not fear.

being prepared is not a fear thang.

[divideandconquer]

36. Heck, the NRA crowd is scared of owls and women who don't shave their legs

More from the NRA comix book. They need those "cowboy guns" for those terrors

[paulsby]

41. what is this obsession

with the NRA and their crowd.

it would be like if i was arguing for 4th amendment rights, and you posted a bunch of cartoons and rhetoric about the ACLU and their crowd.

rights matter.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

52. Because he got his butt kicked in other forums

He is one of the major sources of drivel in several forums at this point

[paulsby]

56. it's such a tired mode of argumentation

smear advocates for RKBA as

1) shills of the gun industry (one of the smaller industries in the US.
2) NRA shills.

etc.

how about addressing the issues, instead of trying to insult people by some lame guilt by association thang.

yes, the NRA supports mostly rightwingers. that's because rightwingers are more likely to support RKBA . duh.

in a race with a pro RKBA dem and a anti RKBA repub i am 100% certian the NRA supports the dem.

heck, john kennedy was a NRA member

[divideandconquer]

58. See George Soros pays me to try to turn America into a hell hole like Australia

Didn't you read the NRA comic book? It's all a myth Australia's the 2nd best place to live now because they grabbed all the guns.

[Euromutt]

72. Why don't you try arguing with the other posters instead of some unpublished NRA pamphlet?

Yes, that rag is mostly crap (though frankly, the section on the news media is not entirely off the mark), but nobody here wrote or endorsed it. Have the common fucking decency to deal with our arguments.

[friendly_iconoclast]

87. We saw his approach used to smear opponents of the Iraq war

where the RW painted all the opposition as working for

A: Al Queda

or

C: The Revolutionary Communist Party

or

C: some permutation of A & B

Theyoppose(d) the Iraq war, so everyone who opposed it was working with (or for) them.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

90. I'm betting on the Joyce Foundation.

[dashrif]

92. I don't

like ops "owls" they are bad medicine

[krispos42]

62. Democratically enacted laws cannot overpower civil rights.

Sorry, try again.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

70. Slavery was democratically enacted...the tyranny of the well armded majority

In many ways, that is what you argue for, here and elsewhere

[divideandconquer]

82. If you could spell, I might take you more serious as a "professor"

[friendly_iconoclast]

91. And if you could do research, we'd take your posts more seriously

We went over this sort of thing rather extensively TWO YEARS AGO!

"Before the Culture Wars, a Democratic senator and guns"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=118&topic_id=144160#190345

You either:

Fail at research, or ignored it because it didn't conform to your prejudices.

[AtheistCrusader]

78. Speaking of fear, your fear induced attempt to trample the second Amendment is indistinguishable

from the right wing fear induced attempts to trample the First Amendment.

Free speech zones.
FISA.
Patriot Act.
Reading your library records.
Smearing people with 'terrorist loving' garbage.

Your motive is the same, uncontrollable fear, and your methods are indistinguishable.

[aikoaiko]

53. And this got banished to the gungeon......

[proteus_lives]

57. Boring and predictable,

You why you gun-grabbers and anti-rights people continue to lose ground? You don't have anything to say. Just old canards.


You refuse to understand that it's primarily not about guns, it's about not liking it when people try to strip our rights away.

[krispos42]

61. So basically she's complaining that pro-gunners...

...engaged in a fear campaign to counter the fear campaign waged by the anti-gunners?


How dare they!

[Tim01]

66. Ha ha. Nailed it. Nicely done. nt

[Euromutt]

63. If Ms Burbick doesn't know that Buffalo Bill Cody and Wild Bill Hickock were different people...

...than I can't say I have lot of faith in her research abilities. Of course, that might be an error on the part of the publisher's blurb-writer, but in that case, whoever wrote the blurb didn't read the book, so why should I believe anything (s)he says about it?

And just the blurb contains a load of complete bollocks.

She cuts through to the heart of the psychology of guns, and how the gun rights movement has invented a fear campaign that someone, the government, is going to take away their guns.

I'll acknowledge that the NRA, SAF/CCRKBA, etc. milk the fear of gun bans for all it's worth, but that tactic wouldn't work if there weren't politicians and pressure groups who have advocated, or do advocate, bans on some or all privately owned firearms.

For starters:

Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce the Public Health and Safety Act of 1993 on behalf of myself and nine of my colleagues: Mel Reynolds, Bill Clay, Jerry Nadler, Eleanor Holmes Norton, John Lewis, Nydia Velazquez, Ron Dellums, Carrie Meek, and Alcee Hastings. This legislation, first introduced in the Senate by Senator John Chafee, would prohibit the transfer or possession of handguns and handgun ammunition, except in limited circumstances. It would go a long way toward protecting our citizens from violent crime.

The need for a ban on handguns cannot be overstated. <...>

The Public Health and Safety Act of 1993 represents a moderate, middle-of-the-road approach to handgun control which deserves the support of all members of Congress who want to stop gun murders now. If this legislation is not passed swiftly, handguns will continue to be sold over the counter as easily as aspirin; the Nation's at-risk youth will continue to attempt to resolve their problems by turning to handgun violence; and all of us will continue to fear for our lives when we step out of our homes at night.

Rep. Major Owens (NY-11), in the House on 09-23-1993. Bolding mine. I love how he describes a total ban on individual private ownership of handguns "represents a moderate, middle-of-road approach to handgun control"; I'd hate to think what he considers an extreme position. And I'm pretty certain you don't have to fill out the equivalent of a form 4473 and show ID to buy aspirin.

And how could we forget this one:

If I could have gotten 51 votes in the Senate of the United States for an outright ban, picking up every one of them . . . Mr. and Mrs. America, turn 'em all in, I would have done it.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), speaking about the 1994 AWB on 60 Minutes, 02/05/1995. Bolding mine.

The blurb continues:

The symbolic meaning of owning a gun is to reclaim political power, demonize minorities, distort the issue of crime in America, express contempt for women gaining access to power, and distract Americans from the real issues of democracy.

What does this even mean? How does the mere fact that I own guns "symbolically mean" any of these things? the only thing I'm interested in doing on that list is reclaiming political power, and know that in a democracy, that takes ballots, not bullets.

How about this: the symbolic meaning of my owning a gun is that I refuse to be dependent for the protection of my family and myself on a government that refuses to accept responsibility for doing so.

After the Civil War, American society was saturated with weapons as gun manufacturers (read monopolies) saw spiraling profits with ever more savvy marketing campaigns.

Uh no; American society was saturated with firearms because there had just been a major war for which large numbers of firearms had been produced. Various firearms manufacturers (including the Spencer Company, manufacturer of the Spencer carbine) went out of business because they'd produced enough guns during the war to more than satisfy demand once the war ended. And does Ms Burbick even understand what a monopoly is? By definition, you can't have more than one monopoly in a particular market.

I've already noted that Buffalo Bill and Wild Bill were different people.

What does that drivel mean anyway?

Yeah, that's pretty much what I was wondering about this blurb.

[benEzra]

84. And given the fact that one in three U.S. gun owners is female...

I think this assumption is rather silly:

The symbolic meaning of owning a gun is to . . . express contempt for women gaining access to power

So if a woman owns a gun, she is expressing contempt for empowering women?

Explain that one...

[Euromutt]

85. What happens if a black woman owns a gun?

Fannie Lou Hamer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fannie_Lou_Hamer) attributed the fact that no racist redneck ever tried to burn a cross on her lawn (or worse) to the fact that she let it be known that she kept "a shotgun in every corner of the room." It's a bit curious to assert that one of the leading lights of the civil rights movement was out to "demonize minorities, distort the issue of crime in America, express contempt for women gaining access to power, and distract Americans from the real issues of democracy."

And when Eleanor Roosevelt went to the South to support the civil rights movement, she made damn sure she kept a loaded revolver on the car seat beside her in case some Klansmen ever tried anything.

[friendly_iconoclast]

89. Then you get Harriet Tubman. Or Zora Neale Hurston

http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/45a/305.html

Abolitionist's rifle engulfs N.J. artist in fray
By John Yocca, staff writer, Baltimore Sun, 13 June 2000

Her every step a perilous one, famed abolitionist Harriet Tubman could afford no slip-ups as she shuttled slaves to freedom through the Underground Railroad.

Timing was tight, indecision an enemy. When escaped slaves in her care hesitated on the frightening march to liberation, Tubman, a determined and gritty former slave herself, coaxed them northward with a loaded gun.

A century-and-a-half later, New Jersey artist Mike Alewitz chose that Image of Tubman -- a lantern in one hand, a rifle in the other -- as the centerpiece for one of five sprawling ceramic murals he fashioned for the state of Maryland, Tubman's birthplace.

For Alewitz, the depiction is appropriate, both historically accurate And symbolic of the danger Tubman faced as she led more than 300 slaves out Of captivity. But the artist's creation has been less than well received by The nonprofit group that was to display the work on an exterior wall in Baltimore this month....

Zora Neale Hurston:

"We, too, consider machine gun bullets good laxatives for heathens who get constipated with toxic ideas about a country of their own.”

New York Times, December 3, 2001

Tales of the Devil, Heaven and Ole Massa, Too
By JANET MASLIN

...Driving her own car through the rural South and toting a gun, Zora Neale Hurston embarked in 1927 on a two-year effort to collect samples of African-American folklore. She was a Barnard College student of anthropology at the time....

Can you believe the nerve of those two?

Doing what they did without consulting Joan Burbick first!

[Piwi2009]

100. I don't hear the hysterics singing one of their greatest hits HERE,

that black people should be unarmed and rely on the Southern police who DO have arms for protection.

[Piwi2009]

99. Wow, and Fannie Lou died at age 59 of "non-gun causes"

To hear the hysterics talk, that should never have happened--not with "a gun in every corner of the room."

[slackmaster]

73. I think you are pimping Burbick's bullshit book in the wrong forum

Try http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=208

[aikoaiko]

88. nice.

:applause:

[friendly_iconoclast]

93. Here's a specific instance of Burbicks' falsification of history. From Buzzflash, yet.

http://blog.buzzflash.com/interviews/041

Gun rights ideology undermined social movements that were saying that political power and economic power needed to be extended to women and people of color in the United States.

Oh, really?

Seems Ms. Burbick 'forgot' several important instances of women and/or people of color exercising
their Second Amendment rights.

I give you:

Eleanor Roosevelt. Used to drive around the South with a handgun at her side, and she knew how to use it:






Robert F. Williams, author of "Negroes With Guns" and host of "Radio Free Dixie". Also the subject of
a biography with the same title.

The Deacons For Defense And Justice. Who organized armed self-defense for civil rights activists.

The Lumbee tribe, of North Carolina. Who drove off the KKK at the Battle of Hayes Pond.

The Black Panthers. Whose practice of 'open carry' with loaded firearms scared the shit out of the
white establishment of California (and J. Edgar Hoover), and led that well known progressive
Ronald Reagan to sign the Mulford Act banning that practice in California.


divideandconquer- as IF!

[rl6214]

94. What a steaming pile of horse manure

[gorfle]

96. The link doesn't work, but...

The link you provided does not work, but I will comment on what you quoted:

Unlike so many talking heads on the gun issue, Burbick gets it. She cuts through to the heart of the psychology of guns, and how the gun rights movement has invented a fear campaign that someone, the government, is going to take away their guns.

For only about the MILLIONTH TIME, the "gun rights movement" did not invent the policy of President Obama on www.change.gov where he said in his Urban Policy Agenda: "They also support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent." This was also on www.whitehouse.gov until a few months ago. The "gun rights movement" does not have to invent anything - there are plenty of ignorant politicians eager to actually propose such legislation.

Burbicks book also delves into how the gun lobby co-opted the language of the civil rights movement and invented a communications campaign to make individual gun ownership a right when historically American society never viewed it as such. It took some time and money to convince the American people, but the gun lobby eventually succeeded in re-writing history.

This is an utter croc of crap. Try reading the US Constitution.

[Piwi2009]

97. Compensation: Does that mean a pro choice woman with a deer rifle

can out-penis a rightwad with a snubnose 3" barrel? Say no more !