December 20, 2012
From "Operation Wetback" To Newtown: Tracing The Hick Fascism Of The NRA
Mark Ames at NSFW (via Doug Henwood):
Until now, I have largely avoided getting dragged down into the gun control debate, in part because gun proliferation doesn’t explain why "going postal" first exploded into the culture in the late 1980s, and has worked its way into the American DNA ever since. Gun control or lack thereof doesn’t explain why these kinds of rampage shootings only appeared in the late Reagan era and spread ever since then. And there must have been my own personal prejudices too — I grew up with guns, and despite a couple of bad episodes involving guns and a drunken violent stepfather, I have a reflexive contempt for people who haven’t gone shooting and tell you that gun control laws are the answer.
Well, guess what? Their knee-jerk solution is more right than mine.
Passing gun restrictions today probably wouldn’t do much to slow down rampage massacres, at least not for awhile — but the politics of sweeping gun control laws could have a huge transformative effect over time. It’s no longer impossible for me to ignore that fact.
Which means it’s also no longer possible for me to ignore the National Rifle Association, and its hick fascism politics that’ve been poisoning our culture ever since the NRA’s infamous "coup" in 1977, when the NRA was taken over by far-right fanatics led by a convicted murderer and onetime US Border Guards chief named Harlon Carter — whose previous claim to fame was when he led a massive crackdown on Mexican immigrant laborers called "Operation Wetback." That’s not a typo by the way.
Posted by Robin Varghese at 07:58 AM | Permalink
Comments
As my opinion is contrarian, I fully expect that you will censor my reply by actively deleting this post - as this is a common M.O. Among sites such as this
This being said, the 2nd amendment is in place to precisely ALLOW high capacity magazines AND assault type weapons....as the framers of the Constsution were acutely aware of the potential subjugation of the citizenry by their GOVERNMENT. The 2nd amendment is not about allowing some toothless redneck the right to go shoot a Moose - it is about allowing the citizens of this country to protect itself against its Government. Sound crazy? I am a paranoid idiot you say? That would never happen here, you say? Look at history....Mao, Stalin, Moussalini, Hitler, Pol Pot, Hussein, Amin, Constantine, Etc., etc., etc. History is replete with examples of innocent citizenry being victimized by oppressive government. As long as mankind occupies positions of power, the potential threat of corruption, lust of power and evil lurks in the shadows. the framers knew this and knew the absolute importance of allowing the people to freely speak out against their government and the absolute importance of allowing the citizenry to defend itself from its government.
Posted by: Jcshields | Dec 20, 2012 8:50:51 AM
"..the politics of sweeping gun control laws could have a huge transformative effect over time. It’s no longer impossible for me to ignore that fact."
A fact is it? WHY does he think this? An explanation would be great.
Posted by: flowers rainbows | Dec 20, 2012 8:54:56 AM
A fascinating read. It doesn't surprise me what a poisonous pedigree the modern NRA has in its veins.
Living in a state and working at an establishment where the odd "I suppose I should check my gun in" occurs, contrasted with gun shot trades at closing time down the block at other establishments, I'm witness to "responsible" and "irresponsible" gun ownership all the time. What's annoying in a state as free *cough* as the one I live in, is that the rest of us aren't. That is, people like myself who would like to frequent the bars and nightclubs without thinking about this shit, have to always. These little D&Desque Armageddon gubmint a'comin fantasy boys have got the rest of us on high alert and not for their nonsensical reasons. They are the threat, they are the goddamn problem. Shooting is fun I can attest. But is it so fun that we can't put restrictions on it? Make a buyer take a psyche exam, do a background check, make them wait? How fundamental a pleasure are we talking about here? I can't help thinking Freud is smirking in his grave at the centrality of these negative phalli for our culture. I suppose all of this has been said in the previous days, but I've been distracted by other things. Serious question: does the NRA think RPG's should be available for sale to the public, what is their stance?
Posted by: Jesse | Dec 20, 2012 9:01:42 AM
Jcshields, I'm going to try not to sound condescending here, but fer crissakes:
1. Do you honestly think that history would have been different if the Russians and Germans and everyone else in your hit list would have had a rifle in the home?
2. Do you honestly think your U.S. government doesn't have power over you and can do what it wants with you, no matter how heavily armed you are?
3. Do you honestly think the control and coercion of a population by a foreign power is a simple matter of whether or not they were armed in the first place?
Posted by: Angling Saxon | Dec 20, 2012 12:43:14 PM
sorry but I have to laugh out loud whenever I hear a pro-gun person claim that owning a gun keeps us safe from the gov't - while they let the gov't screw them over on health care, education, phone/email privacy and basic living wages...not to mention that the gov't they are feeling safe from owns the largest military on the planet. Our society is mentally ill.
Posted by: Kim Cascone | Dec 20, 2012 1:18:38 PM
Hell yeah! Good to see Ames piece making its way around the net. If you need any unlocks for NSFW let me know. I get ten a month and they don't really care if I post it to filter blogs.
Posted by: DrunktankDan | Dec 20, 2012 4:10:12 PM
Jcshields, the second amendment was intended to keep our government secure from external assaults. The "well-regulated militia" was to be the instrument of state security. It's right there; reread it. They didn't have standing armies in those days.
Yes, our founders wanted to keep government in its place, and that is a primary purpose of the Constitution. If we adhere to the balance of powers and checks and balances laid out by it, we can avoid state tyranny. "Mao, Stalin, Moussalini, Hitler, Pol Pot, Hussein, Amin, Constantine, Etc., etc., etc." did not arise from well-designed democratic republics.
And it's foolish to hope that any private arsenal could defend against the U.S. military. Our best hope as citizens is to accomplish our ends via peaceful means.
Posted by: Susan | Dec 20, 2012 6:00:22 PM
This should be the new motto for the hick fascists at the NRA:
"In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule". - Nietzche
Posted by: Dredd | Dec 20, 2012 7:14:23 PM
Collective punishment worked well for fascist hicks before, I'm sure it will work even better now. Besides, government will keep us safe, just like they did no 9-11.
Posted by: Joe | Dec 20, 2012 11:04:57 PM
Kim,
You win, hands down. If truth were looked up in the thesaurus, it's primary simile (or whatever they call it) would be "Kim's comment on a 3QD gun control post".
It drives me fuckin nuts. Who was it, George Carlin, that spoke so eloquently at length about how the right wing cares about you so SOOO much until the day you are born. And then they stick a gun in your hand and send you off to a shithole country to shoot brown people you have never heard of to enrich people who don't give a flying fuck about you?
Please tell me it was Carlin.
Anyways. . .Kim. You win.
Posted by: DrunktankDan | Dec 21, 2012 5:25:56 AM
KNIVES AND GUNS WHEN I WAS A KID
A kid from the city, I spent a few weeks every summer on a farm. There was the dairy farm of my maternal grandparents. Many of my aunts, uncles, cousins, and their friends and in-laws lived on working farms. It would be a mistake to romanticize farm life. There was plenty of mental illness, family strife, and dysfunction to go around. It was getting more difficult to support a family without one household member having a non-farm job.
Yet, I had fun with my cousins and favorite aunts and uncles, and got to drive a tractor when I was thirteen. My cousins were driving Massey-Ferguson tractors and pulling a hay baler at 8 years old.
Every farm boy carried a good pocket knife with a blade that was kept very sharp by the grind wheel in the tool shed. That knife went everywhere the kid went, including school. A sharp pocket knife was pure utility for opening a box, cutting a line, sharpening a pencil, and shaving a clarinet reed during band practice. It was as ubiquitous as today's cell phone, without the social networking.
I envied my cousins. I always wanted a good pocket knife. I didn't know what I would do with one at home in the Bronx, NY. Also, I knew I couldn't take it to school.
Every farm boy had a rifle at home. It may have been shared by the entire family, or dads and sons each had their own. No one had a gun rack on the rear window inside the cab of the pickup truck. But, it was likely there was a rifle under or behind the seat. Every boy, even if he wasn't living on a working farm, could shoot. He was taught by his father with healthy doses of gun safety and respect for a dangerous weapon. Getting a certificate in gun safety from a certified NRA instructor was customary though redundant.
My uncle Carl had a .22 rifle on his tractor. If a crow came within sight while he was driving, it was toast. Uncle Stie was legendary at being able to shoot a bat hanging on the ceiling of his barn with his .22. He did this at dark with my cousin or me illuminating the tiny target with a flashlight.
Others had rifles or shotguns suitable for large game. Some liked the military rifles like the M-1 Garand, the 1903 Springfield, the German Mauser, or the British Lee-Enfield. The Lee-Enfield is still my personal favorite though it's been decades since I had one.
Back home in the city, a few friends aspired to be great white hunters or just wanted to do target shooting. Attending an NRA class on gun safety was a legal requirement. There was no political connotation to 'NRA.' NRA meant gun safety, and there was a certain amount of satisfaction and even cache' to taking the class. It gave you a sense of righteous power when, upon being handed a rifle, you could hold up your palm to the face of the offerer and say, "I will not take that rifle from you until you hand it to me with an open bolt and an empty chamber."
What about knives and guns today? The only thing I can say is that my narrative stops, abruptly. In my personal view, it is not a preamble nor a segue to the present time. There are no parallels in the present urban and suburban society to my observations of nonchalant utility, dads and sons, .22s, farms, crows, bats, and gun safety pride. So I stop, abruptly.
Posted by: Norman Costa | Dec 21, 2012 7:09:35 AM
Every handgun owned in America is an implicit declaration of war on one’s neighbor. When the chips are down, its owner says, he will not trust any other arbiter but force personally wielded.
Don B. Kates, Jr., Public Opinion: The Effects of Extremist Discourse on the Gun Debate
Posted by: BobbyV | Dec 21, 2012 5:07:47 PM
*"...the National Rifle Association, and its hick fascism politics..."*
Nice to see you present that unsubstantiated statement complete with its set of leftist delusions fairly close to the beginning of your writing. Yep, always nice to see a reasoned argument.
Posted by: tndoo | May 5, 2013 12:44:15 PM
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