Posted on 02/23/2018 5:11:26 AM PST by Kaslin
CNN recently hosted an anti-gun town hall featuring a number of grieving children and parents from Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, who aimed their ire at the National Rifle Association, politicians peripherally associated with the NRA and anyone who didn't say exactly what they wanted to hear. It was an event where a student could compare Sen. Marco Rubio to a mass murderer and question whether NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch truly cares about her children without ever being challenged.
I hope CNN got the rating it was looking for, because it's almost guaranteed that NRA membership and gun sales are about to spike.
Between all the demonizing, heckling, sophistry, gaslighting, platitudes and emotional appeals, members of the crowd -- people who should never be the target of conspiracy theories or ad hominem attacks but shouldn't be exempted from a real debate either -- booed a rape survivor's story and cheered at the idea of banning "every semi-automatic rifle in America." Maybe someone will ask them if they support banning every semi-automatic in America period, since the latter is responsible for the preponderance of gun homicides. One death is too many, after all.
Whatever the case, these young people are about to be hit by a harsh reality, because banning semi-automatic rifles or handguns is not only impractical and likely unconstitutional but, for many millions of Americans who worry about the Second Amendment, also highly undesirable.
Yet a star-studded lineup of liberals, many of whom are funding the activism of Parkland students with big checks, cheered with them. Do they all agree that every semi-automatic rifle in America should be banned? Do they agree that anyone who supports legal semi-automatic rifles has "blood on their hands"? Someone with access should ask.
What we do know is that the entire liberal political class couldn't stop praising the activism and lack of "cynicism" displayed by these kids (a selective admiration reserved for those who coincidentally align with their positions). The kids were indeed earnest, even if they were generally uneducated about gun laws, legal process and the underpinning of the Second Amendment -- which is to be expected. Those who use them as political shields, on the other hand, are cynical. Those who put them on TV to participate in a national Airing of Grievances are cynical. Those who point to the bodies of victims and argue with every American who refuses to accept the left's framing of the issue are the ones who deserve contempt.
What we've learned from the events of the past few days is that most liberals are uninterested in a holistic answer to school shootings -- a unique problem detached from general violent crime, rates of gun ownership, region or age. While there is no cure-all, a mix of improved background checks, a better reporting system, better law enforcement reaction to threats, more community involvement and mental health reform could lower the number of shootings. Pulling back from the massive wall-to-wall coverage, which probably helps glorify these shooters for the next madman, might also help.
Yet as far as I can tell, banning or inhibiting gun ownership seems to be the only answer for the left.
For instance, while we can never truly quantify how many shooters are dissuaded by new laws or restrictions, we do know some mass shooters can be stopped by armed Americans. It happens all the time. Why shouldn't teachers and others who have a constitutional right to protect their homes and families do the same for their students? The dismissive, sneering reaction to that idea by most of the media and Democrats was telling. Now, I understand some Americans don't want to send their kids to schools with armed teachers. That should be their choice. But the idea that a trained concealed-carry permit holder or guard couldn't possibly stop or mitigate the damage done by a mass shooter defies reality.
So a real divide exists in America, not between those who want to "do something" and those who don't, but between those who believe there is a natural right to own and defend oneself with a weapon -- preferably a semi-automatic weapon -- and those who do not. The latter position seemed to be prevalent among the young people at the town hall, and certainly among their cheering section. While I feel great sorrow for these kids and worry about my own, I have no moral duty to be on their side politically.
More immediately, events like the CNN town hall go a long way in convincing gun owners that gun control advocates do have a desire to confiscate their weapons. The advocates can't confiscate weapons right now, so they support whatever feasible incremental steps are available to inch further toward that goal. We don't know how this plays out in the long run. In the short run, though, it does nothing to stop the next school shooting.
But we DO know how this plays out in the long run, if the ‘youth’ become a majority.
“The future belongs to me”
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=the+future+belongs+to+me&view=detail&mid=EA3BD355AD40C29D6F81EA3BD355AD40C29D6F81&FORM=VIRE
Actually, it’s “Tomorrow Belongs to Me”
My mistake
I only saw what Tucker showed. It was appalling, of course.
Tucker had the kid on who was excluded from the town hall. He said it was scripted questions - all the questions appeared on the exact same slip of paper provided by CNN.
These are people that have been brainwashed by the left in the education system since kindergarten. They know no better and cannot begin to do critical thinking or reasoning.
...The kids were indeed earnest, even if they were generally uneducated about gun laws, legal process and the underpinning of the Second Amendment...
This lack of education and their immaturity is why democrats want to lower the voting age to 16.
Yeah I saw it too. CNN is indeed the Fake News Network that President Trump says it is.
“Nobody wants to take away your guns!!!”
The democRats are evil. I despise them everyone of them.
The CNN townhall showed otherwise.
Reminded me of a braying mob out for blood.
The Left is looking for a repeat of 1994. Bring it on!!!
Wretch worthy Nazi’s having a sing along!
That ought to chill anybody, and if Loesch had actually gotten hurt, the responsibility would have fallen squarely on CNN. I wouldn't be surprised if we learn that there were ringers in the audience to help whip up the frenzy.
Choreographed theater substitutes for news on CNN. Anything can be scripted but that doesn’t make it true.
CNN is no longer a news outlet by any definition. CNN is socialistic propaganda. They are attempting to drive their socialist agenda while masquerading as an objective news outlet.
If the actual truth were known, I would bet this is evident in their company goals, meeting materials and messaging from leadership. Same is true with Bezos’ other media company, the Washington Post.
CNN’s Two Minutes Hate is sending people to stock up on ammo.
My stash needs inventorying.
If the price of ammo in standard calibers goes up, then all bets are off & the next Zombie Apocalypse is on.
(previous Z.A. was Ferguson, BTW)
‘The Left is looking for a repeat of 1994’
what happened in 1994...?
“what happened in 1994...?”
The Clinton Assault Rifle Ban.
For those of us at the time, a turning point in our observation of freedom and liberty. A moment that can not be forgotten - but unfortunately is. Everyone younger than I (I turned 18 in 94 so it was the merely the beginning of my collection) doesn’t mention this as often as they should. Hell, I hear more about the 1930’s machine gun bans than I do the Clinton insult.
If you are a Democrat, you are my sworn enemy, much as the Nazis would have been in 1940.
In a sane town hall, this question would be asked by the moderator:
“Many of you likely know Nikolas Cruz, and from earlier grades. Was he bullied at school?”
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