Here’s an interesting study on that marketing, from the Violence Policy Center. Remington targeted lonely, shrivel-dick male patrons with the implicit promise that their firearms would bolster their manhood. Freedom!
I cannot understand why this horror didn’t make the rest of the country get serious about gun violence. Can you?
After this happened I pretty much went "all in" on the Feinstein bill, giving and raising money and calling Congresspeople. I was crushed when we lost. I know most will disagree with this but I now believe every single crime photo from Columbine, Sandy Hook, Marjorie Stoneham Douglas, Orlando, Las Vegas etc. should be made public in the same way Emmitt Till's mother insisted on an open casket. We need to hold these photos in front of our Republican legislators and remind them over and over that THEY enabled this and continue to enable it in return for NRA blood money.
Yes, for a while. But aren't there plenty of other groups ready to step in? All they need is an infusion of money from Russia. There were stories about the NRA's large contributions to Trump and other Rs in 2016 that were out of proportion to the organization's intake from memberships. That story sort of died out.
That's the one I was trying to think of. Their decals are on trucks and cars all over the state. I always thought it stood for Concealed Carry <something> <something>.
I think if we don’t want young men to turn to violence to bolster their manhood we need to provide them healthy ways to become powerful, compassionate and grounded men. We’re sorely lacking in that archetype and role models in our culture. Just like I want men to support my power as a woman, it’s my responsibility to support their power as men. Very important not to castrate or mock, as this creates shame, powerlessness and ultimately more violence. LONG convo needed about what power is, but as a start, I mean power within oneself, not power over others.
That study doesn't mention the "Man Card," an actual marketing campaign that Bushmaster began in 2010 to sell its .223 semi-automatic rifle, the same one that was used in Newtown. There's a whole chapter about guns and the "man card" in Dying of Whiteness, by Jonathan Metzl, a book I highly recommend for everyone.
I agree with most of what you and others have written here. However, I would suggest there really shouldn't be such surprise that an attack on a school was met with thoughts and prayers and no substantive action. Schools have always been under attack in various, albeit less immediately horrific, ways. When have schools, other than those in fairly upscale neighborhoods/towns been adequately funded? Also, in the midst of underfunding, how much concern has there been for the deliberately even more poorly funded schools in (surprise, surprise) areas that serve marginalized populations)? We're seeing COVID spread like wild-fire in poorly ventilated, overcrowded schools: when have school buildings been routinely updated/replaced to ensure safety? (Suggest A/C in a school and watch the fur fly, with predictable conversational gambits: When I was a kid...; it was good enough for my parents/grandparents/greatgrandparents/the Founding Fathers...) Are school nurses, school librarians, school psychologists, social workers, counselors, etc. etc. etc. required by law?
Teaching has been a profession filled mostly by women. I won't bother even making the extensions there: they should be patently obvious.
What do we see even now throughout most of the populace? Expressions of concern (aka thoughts and prayers) side by side with absolutely no effort to take on the nightmares that Sandy Hook added to schools: lockdown drills (these are NOT benign!); teachers who are never without a cell phone (to call for help; to text our goodbye to our families if there's time); severe consequences for leaving a door propped open to try to get some air circulating (see also: no A/C); panic buttons; custodians who are warned not to try to be a hero lest their keys be taken after they're killed and used to move throughout the school, etc.
No, I'm not surprised. I was one of the canaries in the coal mine for far too long.
Noah Posner’s mom Veronique reportedly made Governor Malloy (who’d broken the news to the families whose children had not been reunited with them) look at her little boy’s body torn apart by bullets… seems reasonable to me that we all should have to put our hands in those wounds rather than walk through life oblivious of the suffering our inaction has resulted in.
Five years ago I received an unsolicited mailing with my gold-embossed name and number on a shiny new NRA card, which a small donation would activate (and a slightly larger donation would earn me a gun bag.) I’ve kept the whole package awaiting public support for a card-burning day on the Town Green reminiscent of the draft card burnings of my youth.
And while Sharon is surely correct - take down the NRA and another blood-garglers club will form in its place - the dismantling of that lobbying organization is a good start; it was their concerted efforts fifty years ago that moved our understanding of the Second Amendment from addressing Militia (ie state-run National Guard) to Scalia’s 2008 DC vs Heller landmark decision.
I'll always remember where I was that day - working at home until I opened a CNN Breaking News email. Then I was glued to the TV watching in horror and thinking in disbelief "this can't be happening in my little state." It hit close to home in other ways too - my Dad had been an elementary school principal, I was working in education & a friend was teaching at Newtown High. And the kids - my eyes still fill w/ tears when I see their pictures. So I'm with you. I can't understand why that wasn't the tipping point.
I should read the other comments first. Usually I would. But I am abnormally old today, so I'll go ahead and likely reproduce what others have said, about why Sandy Hook (and nothing earlier or later) has turned gun culture hearts:
1. Virtual certainty that they and those those love are not at risk, on bases of both considering themselves smart and exceptional, and of thinking that their packing weapons will keep them safe;
2. Lack of empathy;
3. Adherence to guns as part of identity, just the way Remington advertised it;
4. Recitative routines learned from the party that incorporates guns-uber-Alles in the GOP identity;
5. And party (or faction) adherence/identity as the major identity politics of our time. (At least Dems and liberals don't often sneer at oppressed and villainized demographic groups thinking of themselves as group members.)
I’ve known two types of gun owners in my life. The ones who never talk about it and the ones who can’t help but work it into the conversation. I’m convinced that most of the latter group harbor irrational, rage driven, blow the bastard away fantasies.
After this happened I pretty much went "all in" on the Feinstein bill, giving and raising money and calling Congresspeople. I was crushed when we lost. I know most will disagree with this but I now believe every single crime photo from Columbine, Sandy Hook, Marjorie Stoneham Douglas, Orlando, Las Vegas etc. should be made public in the same way Emmitt Till's mother insisted on an open casket. We need to hold these photos in front of our Republican legislators and remind them over and over that THEY enabled this and continue to enable it in return for NRA blood money.
I couldn’t agree more.
The NRA is feeding on a culture of guns that was already there. If the NRA disappeared tomorrow, the gun culture would still be here.
But would the group’s demise at least release the stranglehold the gun culture has on our legislative process?
Yes, for a while. But aren't there plenty of other groups ready to step in? All they need is an infusion of money from Russia. There were stories about the NRA's large contributions to Trump and other Rs in 2016 that were out of proportion to the organization's intake from memberships. That story sort of died out.
You’re right. Even CT’s own damnable CCDL would attempt to step in and fill the vacuum.
That's the one I was trying to think of. Their decals are on trucks and cars all over the state. I always thought it stood for Concealed Carry <something> <something>.
Connecticut Citizens Defense League. Sad, that.
I couldn’t understand it at that point. I thought THIS will be the moment they see the light!
But no, they are also a bunch of shrivel-dick men who hide behind the Amendment to save their fucking manhood rights. 😡
Amen.
I think if we don’t want young men to turn to violence to bolster their manhood we need to provide them healthy ways to become powerful, compassionate and grounded men. We’re sorely lacking in that archetype and role models in our culture. Just like I want men to support my power as a woman, it’s my responsibility to support their power as men. Very important not to castrate or mock, as this creates shame, powerlessness and ultimately more violence. LONG convo needed about what power is, but as a start, I mean power within oneself, not power over others.
What YOU said (though my fall-back is always a good mock).
That study doesn't mention the "Man Card," an actual marketing campaign that Bushmaster began in 2010 to sell its .223 semi-automatic rifle, the same one that was used in Newtown. There's a whole chapter about guns and the "man card" in Dying of Whiteness, by Jonathan Metzl, a book I highly recommend for everyone.
Oooh. On it. I haven’t read that one.
I agree with most of what you and others have written here. However, I would suggest there really shouldn't be such surprise that an attack on a school was met with thoughts and prayers and no substantive action. Schools have always been under attack in various, albeit less immediately horrific, ways. When have schools, other than those in fairly upscale neighborhoods/towns been adequately funded? Also, in the midst of underfunding, how much concern has there been for the deliberately even more poorly funded schools in (surprise, surprise) areas that serve marginalized populations)? We're seeing COVID spread like wild-fire in poorly ventilated, overcrowded schools: when have school buildings been routinely updated/replaced to ensure safety? (Suggest A/C in a school and watch the fur fly, with predictable conversational gambits: When I was a kid...; it was good enough for my parents/grandparents/greatgrandparents/the Founding Fathers...) Are school nurses, school librarians, school psychologists, social workers, counselors, etc. etc. etc. required by law?
Teaching has been a profession filled mostly by women. I won't bother even making the extensions there: they should be patently obvious.
What do we see even now throughout most of the populace? Expressions of concern (aka thoughts and prayers) side by side with absolutely no effort to take on the nightmares that Sandy Hook added to schools: lockdown drills (these are NOT benign!); teachers who are never without a cell phone (to call for help; to text our goodbye to our families if there's time); severe consequences for leaving a door propped open to try to get some air circulating (see also: no A/C); panic buttons; custodians who are warned not to try to be a hero lest their keys be taken after they're killed and used to move throughout the school, etc.
No, I'm not surprised. I was one of the canaries in the coal mine for far too long.
Whoa. Preach! All of it. Every single word of it.
So much to say…
Noah Posner’s mom Veronique reportedly made Governor Malloy (who’d broken the news to the families whose children had not been reunited with them) look at her little boy’s body torn apart by bullets… seems reasonable to me that we all should have to put our hands in those wounds rather than walk through life oblivious of the suffering our inaction has resulted in.
Five years ago I received an unsolicited mailing with my gold-embossed name and number on a shiny new NRA card, which a small donation would activate (and a slightly larger donation would earn me a gun bag.) I’ve kept the whole package awaiting public support for a card-burning day on the Town Green reminiscent of the draft card burnings of my youth.
And while Sharon is surely correct - take down the NRA and another blood-garglers club will form in its place - the dismantling of that lobbying organization is a good start; it was their concerted efforts fifty years ago that moved our understanding of the Second Amendment from addressing Militia (ie state-run National Guard) to Scalia’s 2008 DC vs Heller landmark decision.
If you haven’t read LBJ’s Katzenbach Commission 342p Report which gives just six pages to the issue (239-244pp) it’s an illuminating look into that seismic shift in public perception of the 2nd: https://www.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh241/files/archives/ncjrs/42.pdf
I'll always remember where I was that day - working at home until I opened a CNN Breaking News email. Then I was glued to the TV watching in horror and thinking in disbelief "this can't be happening in my little state." It hit close to home in other ways too - my Dad had been an elementary school principal, I was working in education & a friend was teaching at Newtown High. And the kids - my eyes still fill w/ tears when I see their pictures. So I'm with you. I can't understand why that wasn't the tipping point.
I should read the other comments first. Usually I would. But I am abnormally old today, so I'll go ahead and likely reproduce what others have said, about why Sandy Hook (and nothing earlier or later) has turned gun culture hearts:
1. Virtual certainty that they and those those love are not at risk, on bases of both considering themselves smart and exceptional, and of thinking that their packing weapons will keep them safe;
2. Lack of empathy;
3. Adherence to guns as part of identity, just the way Remington advertised it;
4. Recitative routines learned from the party that incorporates guns-uber-Alles in the GOP identity;
5. And party (or faction) adherence/identity as the major identity politics of our time. (At least Dems and liberals don't often sneer at oppressed and villainized demographic groups thinking of themselves as group members.)
I’ve known two types of gun owners in my life. The ones who never talk about it and the ones who can’t help but work it into the conversation. I’m convinced that most of the latter group harbor irrational, rage driven, blow the bastard away fantasies.
🤣🤣🤣
It’s part of your charm. 😊
Ha. You can have my patented "teeny-weenie-peenie parade" comment when you can pry it from my cold, dead...oh, wait. Never mind.
I am in the same pew. Not anti-gun. Anti-gun culture, defined as a need for more more more fire power and less less less safety.