I owe someone a hat tip for this. James Barragan, in the Austin American-Statesman, “Blink and you might have missed mock shooting protest near UT“:
… Organizers from gun rights advocacy groups DontComply.com and Come and Take It Texas said it was meant to illustrate the danger gun-free zones pose by not allowing people to carry weapons in designated areas.
But opponents saw it as callous and disrespectful, and perpetuating the grief caused by mass shootings that have plagued the nation increasingly in recent years, such as the killing of 14 people in San Bernardino, Calif., this month.
Adding to the insult, opponents said, was insensitivity about UT’s history with mass shootings. Charles Whitman had killed 16 people and wounded more than 30 others in and around the UT Tower almost 50 years ago, not far from the very spot where the protests occurred Saturday.
The counterprotest had been hatched among a mix of alumni and students to disrupt the mock mass shooting by making flatulent noises and pointing sex toys at the gun rights demonstrators — combat through humor, organizers said.
But by 2:30 p.m., when the mock shooting was scheduled to occur and the two groups were supposed to converge, the gun rights crowd was mostly gone, the counterprotesters were confused, and the controversial event was over….
The counterprotesters… said their event had been a success and had driven away the participants in the mock shooting, who were vastly outnumbered. Dozens of people carrying flatulent-noise machines and sex toys showed up for the counterprotest, and no more than 15 attended the mock mass shooting…
Brave Sir Roy Rogers ran away / He boldly, bravely ran away…
rikyrah
this is who they are. nothing they do shocks me in the least.
rikyrah
Just finished the season of Scream Queens. I’m surprised by how much I liked it, and how well I think they wrapped things up.
Mnemosyne (tablet)
A Matter of Life and Death is on TCM right now. One of my all-time favorites. It seems to be Heaven night since they showed Here Comes Mr. Jordan and Heaven Can Wait first.
chopper
Would it be premature to ejaculate? It would be premature not to.
? Martin
So cowards act like cowards. Shocking.
JordanRules
I still lurve Mary Poppins!
Happy Bday DVD!
JDM
These guys aren’t even brave enough to face a bunch of unarmed protesters waving dildos and laughing at them. And they think they’re going to face down someone with guns?
Steeplejack (phone)
“It was only premature for her.”
Feudalism Now!
@JDM:
You are confused. They don’t want to stop a mass shooting, they want to join in.
Petorado
The entire draw of the gun-based crowd has been fear: fear of Obama taking their guns, fear of being out-gunned, and other irrational fears. What defused their valiant protest? Fear. Fear of embarrassment. Fear that they will be confronted by people more brave than themselves. Fear that their phallic representations may be smaller than the phalluses displayed by the opposition.
Well played counter-protesters. Way to hit them where they hurt.
Mike J
Been busy all day. Anybody posted this?
Which presidential candidate’s supporters have worst grammar?
That link is in lame click per candidate format. So fuck them and go to grammarly who ran the study.
jayjaybear
@Mike J: “made less (sic) mistakes”…now THAT is how unintentional irony is done…
GoBlue72
Using the page 1,2,3,4, etc buttons at bottom of page in mobile and they appear to do nothing. Am using an iPhone 6.
Punchy
@Mike J: In equally surprising news, the sun rises in the East and pit bulls will kill you….
redshirt
@Punchy: The Sun rises in the South East around here these days.
NotMax
@Punchy
That’s only a theory…
;)
ThresherK (GPad)
@Mike J: They reference a grammar study, then confuse less and fewer. Cheesy Petes
Villago Delenda Est
Ammosexuals are cowards. Not surprising in the least.
Mike J
@ThresherK (GPad): It’s from a TV station in Jackson, MS. Chances are, the person who wrote it is a Republican.
Amir Khalid
@ThresherK (GPad):
I did think that might have been intentional.
hells littlest angel
Are flatulent-noise machines a real thing? Where does one get one?
Needless to say, asking for a friend.
Amir Khalid
@hells littlest angel:
I believe the technical term is “whoopee cushion”. I understand they are widely available. Failing that, one could always make an audio recording of one’s own, um, flatulent noises and use that.
Keith G
Deleted to move next door
hells littlest angel
@Amir Khalid: Oh. I was imagining something more steampunk.
Gvg
It’s also possible that the majority of the group of idiots realized that this specific idea for a protest was going too far and was counter productive in achieving their goals. I know that would require more intelligence than usually displayed but it really was a boggling stupid plan in the first place. Another possibility is that their weren’t that many idiots supporting this plan in the first place but that a few ammosexuals got the idea and assume that all the rest of their subset agreed with them.
gogol's wife
@Mnemosyne (tablet):
The acting in that early scene by David Niven is unsurpassable. Plus Roger Livesey!!!!!
Juju
@Amir Khalid: Or put the butt of your hand on your mouth and blow.
Citizen_X
@hells littlest angel:
One is leading the Republican polls right now, as a matter of fact.
PaulW
the bully succeeds when there is no criticism or confrontation over what the bully wants to do.
FlyingToaster
@srv:
I have a husband AND an 8-year-old. They can break anything. Anything, I tell you.
I swear that WarriorGirl’s Xanth power is to destroy things that are supposed to be ultra-durable. Thank Dog for plastics, which are cheap and easy to replace. Seeing that I replace them all the damn time.
The Very Reverend Crimson Fire of Compassion
@Citizen_X: The thread, she is won.
My Truth Hurts
Nothing more appropriate for people who live in a fantasy world to stage a street theater event to “prove” what facts and reality have already shown not to be true. All they prove is that they can follow a script to it’s predetermined ending. Reality still proves them wrong.
I don’t want an armed stranger anywhere near me. What is so difficult about that to understand? I don’t know you, I don’t trust you. Try respecting that for a change.
Gemina13
I heard last night that the pro-NRA protesters (not gonna call them anything else) claimed they deliberately misled people on the time of their protest, “to throw off terrorists.” Right. And I’m Jeb! Bush’s illegitimate half-cousin four times removed.
They were outgunned (pun intended), outnumbered, and most importantly, outwitted. Not that that will shut any of them up.
In other news, what does everyone think about adding the Dropkick Murphys’ “The Season’s Upon Us” to the traditional Christmas music playlist?
The Very Reverend Crimson Fire of Compassion
@Gemina13: Wait. There’s a balloon-juice Christmas playlist? Where the hell have I been? Where can I find this?
Tehanu
Please don’t conflate Roy Rogers with these idiots. He could sing. They can only squeal like stuck pigs when somebody suggests their penis size might not be all they claim.
mclaren
@GoBlue72:
If you’re trying to surf the net with a phone, you need to be put in a burlap sack and tossed in the river. Use a real computer or avoid commenting.
What next? Some 14-year-old complaining that the links don’t show up properly on his commodore 64?
redshirt
@mclaren: Why are you so mean, mclaren? Do you intend to be? Or is it unintentional?
Amir Khalid
@redshirt:
It is just mclaren being mclaren.
Jerry
@Gvg: My guess is that a lot of the ammosexuals were concerned that it might go horribly wrong and didn’t want to have to be the good guy who had to guess who the bad guys were without getting shot themselves. IOW, no walk to their talk when it gets real.
low-tech cyclist
Brave Sir Ammo bravely ran away, he bravely ran away away
When sex toys reared their lovely heads, he bravely turned his tail and fled,
When noises flatulent were about, Sir Ammo bravely chickened out,
Bravely taking to his feet, he beat a very brave retreat,
Bravest of the brave, Sir Ammo!