critical points like that you choose to ignore so you will be able to sleep better at nite.
Not critcal points, not even points of moderate importance. More like completely irrelevant points. There are millions of NRA members. Some of them are going to be criminals but probably no more, and quite possible less of them, as a % than the general population of adults. If the NRA had never existed it would have made little difference to Koresh and McVeigh and what they did. I don't know if they where members. If I had an easy way to find out I'd check but it really is of very little importance or relevance.
the NRA credo does have racist undertones.
Nonsense.
Check out the book Guns, Crime and Freedom by NRA executive officer Wayne Lapierre. Every example he gives of a situation in which citizens would have been better off if armed involves white people who would have been able to shoot black people.
Even if it is true, and I doubt it is so unless there where only a few examples, that hardly makes it racist. If it gave 100 detailed specific examples and they all where cases where non-blacks did or could have defended themselves against black people then maybe the commentator would have a point (but even then it would be about Lapierre not the NRA as a whole), but I think the odds of that are near 0.
Not long ago, I wrote to the NRA about Mumia Abu-Jamal,
Mumia Abu-Jamal was convicted of murder. That conviction is controversial but isn't obviously wrong. His case is far from a clear cut and certain case of self-defense.
The other side of the story -
townhall.com
danielfaulkner.com
Even if you think those comments are wrong you can see why the NRA wouldn't get involved in the "Free Mumia" movement.
NRA poster boy Randy Weaver is a white separatist. The NRA gets involved when the cops use undue force against a white man,
Randy Weaver was apparently influenced to, possibly entraped in to selling a sawed off shotgun that was an inch or so too short. Then there was a massive federal law enforcement effort made against him, with apparent shoot to kill orders against any armed adult. The exact circumstances of the fatal shootings are disputed but apparently the feds at least fired first against the Weaver's dog, and possibly against the Weavers. Later a snipe shot and killed Weaver's wife Vicki when she was unarmed and holding a baby.
"All to capture a man accused of a minor gun offense, a charge that might well have been rejected had it come to trial."
reason.com
So you have a more clear case of injustice. You have a massive federal case rather then just the actions of the local police. You have several people killed by the feds including an unarmed woman holding a baby, and the law that was initially violated was a minor weapons violation. All in all a lot better case for the NRA to mention compared to the Mumia Abu-Jamal case.
Tim |
