Shortly after president Obama was elected for his first term I read an alarming article in Time magazine about the sharp rise of extremist militia groups. Least we ever get comfortable in the feeling that maybe America has risen above hate and racism stuff like this comes along and slaps you in the face. The Southern Poverty Law Center is a group that tracks hate groups and their hate map for 2011 shows over 1,000 hate groups active in this country. These are vicious, paranoid people dedicated to returning this country to a government of white men, by white men, and for white men. There is no room for Blacks, Jews, Latinos, gays, or uppity women in their world. They hate us, and they are well armed.
When the NRA defends it's rigid stance against gun control the rhetoric is always about guns for hunting, or guns to protect your home. Would they ever admit to being the prime enabler of these hate militias? Of course not. Are they ignorant to the fact that they are enabling theses hate militias? Of course not. Why? Because their values are the same. The more right-wing anti-government hate is spewed out on talk radio shows, the more guns are sold, and more money pouring into the pockets of the NRA. We label Iran a terrorist nation because it supplies weapons to Hamas and other terrorist groups. These hate militias are terrorists groups and by extension the NRA is a terrorist organization.
So okay, there is always the extremist element, but a large percentage of regular people are in favor of having guns. Yes, but these people aren't asking for automatic weapons with huge magazines capable of mass murder in the blink of an eye. These are the people that maybe want a hunting rifle or a hand gun. So how is it that Republican congressmen can insist that the second amendment means we can't limit access to the most lethal varieties of guns? Could it be that these same politics really sympathize with the hate groups? Think about it. All the Republicans talk about it dismantling the central government and defeating Obama. This is the same thing the hate groups are saying. The Republicans know very well that these hate groups are among their constituents. They count on their votes. Much of their advertising is targeted to appeal to these kinds of people.
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/12/the-nra-and-the-positive-good-of-maximum-guns/266571/
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/research/hicrc/files/bulletins_australia_spring_2011.pdf
Valid point. We are in a strange time when selfish interest can so easily manipulate peoples thinking for selfish reasons. I live in a conservative area. Mostly every is very nice. Good neighbors and all. But when you get into a political discussion, at least from my point of view It's kind of bizarre. Parroting Fox news talking points. So much of it is obviously how people grew up and the influences from family and friends. But there seems to be a difference in how people perceive and process reality itself.
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