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You are here: Home / Politics / Gun Issues / Thursday Evening Open Thread: If Something Cannot Go On Forever…

Thursday Evening Open Thread: If Something Cannot Go On Forever…

by Anne Laurie|  March 2, 20238:12 pm| 55 Comments

This post is in: Gun Issues, Open Threads, All we want is life beyond the thunderdome

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Katy Perry to gun violence survivor on American Idol: “Our country has fucking failed us.” pic.twitter.com/pJvuO0bwlg

— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) February 27, 2023

… It will stop.

I know we’re all resigned to gun violence as a permanent ongoing presence in American lives (much like the coronavirus pandemic), but once the gun-humpers have lost American Idol, well…

It’s not gonna be quick and it’s not gonna be easy, but Murphy the Trickster God willing, the blood wave has crested and will eventually recede.

The ammosexuals’ increasingly unhinged extinction burst isn’t doing their cause any favors, either.

gosh, I wonder how that definitely-not-proud-boy looks from behind…
Perfectly normal stuff. https://t.co/COskvSbyPa pic.twitter.com/ol1X81AsM0

— Christian Heinzel (@chheinzel) February 27, 2023

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Reader Interactions

55Comments

  1. 1.

    lowtechcyclist

    March 2, 2023 at 8:20 pm

    It’s not gonna be quick and it’s not gonna be easy, but Murphy the Trickster God willing, the blood wave has crested and will eventually recede.

    From your lips to the deity of your choice’s ears.

  2. 2.

    Baud

    March 2, 2023 at 8:21 pm

    For those who care.

    Jury Finds Murdaugh Guilty of Killing Wife and Son: Live Updates

    The verdict came more than 20 months after the June 2021 fatal shootings. On the stand, the prominent South Carolina lawyer admitted to lying and stealing but tearfully denied the murders.

  3. 3.

    lowtechcyclist

    March 2, 2023 at 8:24 pm

    And have I mentioned how misappropriation of ‘tactical’ to mean anything vaguely military- or armament-related bugs the hell out of me? I saw one ad mentioning a ‘tactical flashlight.’ I guess the flashlight can give you advice on tactics?

  4. 4.

    Alison Rose

    March 2, 2023 at 8:26 pm

    I ain’t clicking but WTF is “Perce|eption” did someone shoot the word and now it’s broken in two. Also it just makes the URL look like there was a typo so I hope they also bought it with the correct spelling. Or if not, someone else should and have it redirect to the Everytown website.

    Also LOLOLOLOL “tactical athlete” give me a fucking break.

  5. 5.

    Alison Rose

    March 2, 2023 at 8:29 pm

    @lowtechcyclist: It only works if you aim it on the best path to take on the paintball course

  6. 6.

    Bostondreams

    March 2, 2023 at 8:29 pm

    Hey, look, legislation in Florida would require BLOGGERS to register with the state if they write anything about the governor or his administration if they make even 1 penny in doing so. 

    I don’t get how this is even close to constitutional.

  7. 7.

    Roger Moore

    March 2, 2023 at 8:31 pm

    @lowtechcyclist: ​
     

    misappropriation of ‘tactical’ to mean anything vaguely military

    What bothers me far more than the terminology is the way people think they need this stuff. Sorry, dude, you do not need gear that will give you a tiny advantage in a gun fight when you go to the supermarket, and thinking you do shows you are profoundly mentally unwell.

  8. 8.

    dmsilev

    March 2, 2023 at 8:31 pm

    @lowtechcyclist: My employer has an Office of Strategic Communications (what in a past, less buzzwordy era, would be the PR department), and I’ve often thought we need to pair that with an Office of Tactical Communications.

  9. 9.

    Steeplejack

    March 2, 2023 at 8:31 pm

    @Baud:

    And it was quick! Sentencing hearing at 9:30 a.m. EST tomorrow.

  10. 10.

    Steeplejack

    March 2, 2023 at 8:33 pm

    @lowtechcyclist:

    C’mon, man. We’re all tactical bloggers here.

  11. 11.

    MagdaInBlack

    March 2, 2023 at 8:34 pm

    @Alison Rose: Smith n Wesson misspelled it twice in the same post….perceeption the second time.

  12. 12.

    Roger Moore

    March 2, 2023 at 8:35 pm

    @Baud:

    On the stand, the prominent South Carolina lawyer admitted to lying and stealing but tearfully denied the murders.

    Yeah, once you admit to lying, your goose cooked.  Having recently served on a jury, I can say that once the jurors have concluded you’re dishonest, they’ll discount anything you say.  Flat out admitting you lied to the police is going to make the jury think you’re probably lying to them, too.

  13. 13.

    M31

    March 2, 2023 at 8:37 pm

    ah, having flashbacks to the calls for “Blogger Ethics Panels” from like 2004

  14. 14.

    lowtechcyclist

    March 2, 2023 at 8:38 pm

    @Steeplejack: ​
     

    Nah, man, I blog strategically.

    ;-)

  15. 15.

    kalakal

    March 2, 2023 at 8:38 pm

    @lowtechcyclist: You’re not alone. As far as I can see it simply means that if it’s metal someones put a cheap black ion coating on it. If it’s not metal they slap a camoflage  pattern on it.

    I’m thinking of marketing a range of ‘Strategic’ shoddily made pseudo military crap.  Confuse the shit out of the dimbos.

  16. 16.

    Amir Khalid

    March 2, 2023 at 8:39 pm

    @lowtechcyclist:

    Get the strategic flashlight. It’s even cooler than the tactical one.

  17. 17.

    citizen dave

    March 2, 2023 at 8:41 pm

    @Steeplejack: Just realized, Murdaugh, Murder.  Seems open and shut to me.  Will there be a Grisham book or something?

    I had the ABC News broadcast on tonight, and most of their summation was on the defense arguments.  Finally I thought, the prosecution surely had some idea he was the guy if they charged him.  Also learned he was placed at the scene, so…   (Have intentionally tried not to follow it)

  18. 18.

    RevRick

    March 2, 2023 at 8:42 pm

    I wish I could share Anne Laurie’s optimistic take. The gun culture is deeply embedded in a certain ideology of masculinity. It is rooted in sick fears of others (white supremacy) and warped hero fantasies (white supremacy). You know, the whole “good guy with a gun” garbage. Getting rid of guns in our culture will require the systematic stigmatizing of that belief system upon which its built.

    It will require a head-on assault on the claim of a good guy with a gun. It will require a willingness to counter claim by saying that there is no such thing as a good guy with a gun. You own a gun, you’re a bad guy. Period. The possession of a gun indicates a warped soul. Period.
    Of course, claiming that will spark fury in all gun owners.

  19. 19.

    Jackie

    March 2, 2023 at 8:43 pm

    This isn’t parody!

    Trump And Jan. 6 Prisoners Collaborate On New Song Called ‘Justice For All’

    “Donald Trump and a group of individuals incarcerated for their alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 riot have collaborated on a song called “Justice for All.” It will debut Thursday at midnight on streaming services, including Apple Music and Spotify, according to a person with knowledge of the project.

    The track interpolates Trump reciting the Pledge of Allegiance into “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which is performed by a group of about 20 inmates, called the J6 Prison Choir, housed at the Washington, D.C. jail. The song ends with the inmates chanting, “USA!”

    forbes.com/sites/zacheverson/2023/03/02/trump-and-jan-6-prisoners-collaborate-on-new-song-called-jus…

  20. 20.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    March 2, 2023 at 8:45 pm

    @Bostondreams: The pen is mightier than the sidearm. They afraid Betty Cracker gonna be toppling governments.

  21. 21.

    Argiope

    March 2, 2023 at 8:45 pm

    Katy is all of us. 5 years ago I lost my impulsive, beautiful, hilarious and in retrospect, in-crisis cousin to a self-inflicted gunshot wound. She and her husband were gun-humpers. He did not remove the firearms from her reach even when she was talking suicide. I’m sure it never occurred to him. Her brother, a police officer, was called to the scene first by her husband, to address the issue. Even though he (my cousin) voluntarily did many tours as a SEAL when he wasn’t stateside being a cop, and has undoubtedly Seen Some Shit, I feel sure he did not need to see that. She was 46. She sang as Stevie Nicks in a Fleetwood Mac cover band. It’s only now that I’m able to listen to their music with some enjoyment again. I know so few Americans now who haven’t personally been touched by guns one way or another. We’re all two degrees of separation or less, it seems, and it just keeps on sucking. Who wants to live like this?

  22. 22.

    Baud

    March 2, 2023 at 8:46 pm

    @Jackie:

    Gauntlet thrown, DeSantis.

  23. 23.

    Ladyraxterinok

    March 2, 2023 at 8:53 pm

    @Bostondreams:

    Would this affect someone like Betty Cracker who doesn’t ‘own’ a blog but posts on one?

  24. 24.

    eclare

    March 2, 2023 at 8:54 pm

    @lowtechcyclist:   Same here with the word tactical, it’s an epidemic.

  25. 25.

    Baud

    March 2, 2023 at 8:56 pm

    @eclare:

    A tactical epidemic.

  26. 26.

    AM in NC

    March 2, 2023 at 8:57 pm

    @RevRick:  And I think another way to change this is to frame (male) gun owners as scaredy-cats.  Mock the big manly men who can’t walk around suburbia without pissing their pants unless they have a gun.

    If young female pop stars, models, actresses and influencers started talking about how they and their grandmas can brave the mean streets without packing heat, how insecure and scared must those big guys be if they need a gun to feel safe, I think we’d see changed attitudes among young men.   It turns the gun humpers’ masculinity argument completely on its head.

  27. 27.

    eclare

    March 2, 2023 at 8:59 pm

    @Argiope:   That is tragic.

  28. 28.

    kalakal

    March 2, 2023 at 9:03 pm

    One of my favourite bits of gunhumper cognitive dissonance can be summed up in this syllogism

    People who are anti gun ownership are elitists who don’t trust other people*
    I need to carry a gun to protect myself from other people*
    Haddock live in trees

    * comments I have heard from every ammosexual no

  29. 29.

    RevRick

    March 2, 2023 at 9:04 pm

    @Argiope: Over the years as a pastor I’ve dealt with six suicides, most by guns. The trauma lasts and sometimes proves to be contagious.
    I can scarcely imagine your pain.

  30. 30.

    Bill Arnold

    March 2, 2023 at 9:06 pm

    @lowtechcyclist:

    I saw one ad mentioning a ‘tactical flashlight.’

    My mind chose to misread that as “tactical fleshlight”, for the lulz.
    LOL Alibaba sells the typo.

  31. 31.

    delphinium

    March 2, 2023 at 9:08 pm

    @Roger Moore: Yeah, I would like to see how many guys with all of this stuff have actually taken out a shooter, am guessing it is a very minuscule number. And obviously unarmed people have taken out shooters, so a gun isn’t a necessary requirement. Just seems like a really odd way to live; rather than being aware of your surroundings, paying attention when someone is acting strange, and getting away if someone does start shooting, they figure they’ll override that natural instinct and have the wherewithal to stay and fight.

  32. 32.

    delphinium

    March 2, 2023 at 9:11 pm

    @Argiope: So sorry you lost your cousin.

  33. 33.

    Dopey-o

    March 2, 2023 at 9:11 pm

    @RevRick: It will require a head-on assault on the claim of a good guy with a gun. It will require a willingness to counter claim by saying that there is no such thing as a good guy with a gun. You own a gun, you’re a bad guy. Period. The possession of a gun indicates a warped soul. Period.

    when we are in charge, you can own any weapon you wish, in order to protect your Home & Family. But once you take a weapon off your property, the handgun / rifle / anti-tank rocket is confiscated. Bear those arms all you want, but we don’t want / need them in civil society.

  34. 34.

    eclare

    March 2, 2023 at 9:13 pm

    @delphinium:   Lots of unarmed people recently.  The kid in the dance hall in CA and the guy at the drag show in CO come to mind.

  35. 35.

    RevRick

    March 2, 2023 at 9:16 pm

    @AM in NC: gun culture masculinity is highly defensed. Their sense of self as some sort of martial heroes needs to be dismantled. I’m in favor of any tactic that serves that purpose.

  36. 36.

    Argiope

    March 2, 2023 at 9:19 pm

    @RevRick: It’s tough, but more for her mom and my dad, her uncle. I’ve found some peace with it, but I’m still mad every anniversary.  It’s just such a senseless loss, and really didn’t need to happen.  As I say, she was impulsive.  If she hadn’t had access to that gun, I have no doubt she’d be here now.  Of course, there are many deniers in the family who tell themselves she would have found another way if the gun hadn’t been there.  But my sister and I know it was the gun.  The finger pulls the trigger, but the trigger also pulls the finger.  I’m sorry you’ve had so many parishioners affected.  So much secondary trauma and loss.

  37. 37.

    FelonyGovt

    March 2, 2023 at 9:21 pm

    Seeing elementary school kids have to go through active shooter drills breaks my heart.

  38. 38.

    Bostondreams

    March 2, 2023 at 9:35 pm

    @Ladyraxterinok: Apparently the key is if you make money from the blog/post if I understand correctly.

  39. 39.

    SiubhanDuinne

    March 2, 2023 at 9:35 pm

    @lowtechcyclist:

    @Alison Rose:

    I know. It’s like every fall everybody just slaps “pumpkin spice” on everything. Pumpkin spice coffee, pumpkin spice spinach dip, pumpkin spice knee socks, pumpkin spice motor oil. Or, y’know, tactical spinach dip, tactical motor oil, etc. Makes just as much sense.

  40. 40.

    Bill Arnold

    March 2, 2023 at 9:36 pm

    @Argiope:

    But my sister and I know it was the gun.

    It was the gun. Other methods require much longer sustained intent. The Second Amendment, specifically the most recent Supreme Court misinterpretations of it (DC v Heller 2008+), enabled by its ambiguous language, is a National Curse.
    (Mostly.)

  41. 41.

    SiubhanDuinne

    March 2, 2023 at 9:39 pm

    @Bostondreams:

    I don’t get how this is even close to constitutional.

    Forget it, Jake Bostondreams. It’s Florida.

  42. 42.

    Chetan Murthy

    March 2, 2023 at 9:46 pm

    Tactleneck! youtube.com/watch?v=8FYJfEHOuY0&t=2s

  43. 43.

    Elizabelle

    March 2, 2023 at 9:49 pm

    The WaPost’s satirist, Alexandra Petri, reviews some recent offerings: ‘Cocaine Bear’ and ‘The Courage to Be Free’ by Ron DeSantis: A review

    What is the plot?
    “Cocaine Bear”: A bear does cocaine, and a group of people have to fight that bear.“

    The Courage to Be Free”: God only knows.

    Is it scary?
    “Cocaine Bear”: I would say it is more gory than scary. I laughed often.

    “The Courage to Be Free”: It is terrifying! The writing almost lulls you to sleep. (“At the end of the day, the re-mooring of the constitutional ship of state will provide the needed foundation for the reinvigoration of a society rooted in freedom, justice, and the rule of law.”) But then you jerk awake realizing that Ron DeSantis has just said, in the most convoluted way possible, that the Constitution has already lapsed and he is thus justified in imposing his will on the people because he is right and they will thank him for it! Not to mention how blithely he suggests that his state’s response to covid-19 was an unqualified success.

    What kind of things would you text your friends while you consumed it?

    “Cocaine Bear”: “cocaine bear is phenomenal”

    “The Courage to Be Free”: “This book will never end. Yet is somehow only 262 pages long.”
    “It’s no cocaine bear.”

  44. 44.

    frosty

    March 2, 2023 at 10:25 pm

    @Argiope: I know so few Americans now who haven’t personally been touched by guns one way or another.

    True. My cousin’s daughter was shot in the head in Las Vegas. She survived and is recovering. Many others who’ve been touched don’t have this result to hang on to.

  45. 45.

    Steeplejack

    March 2, 2023 at 10:33 pm

    @lowtechcyclist:

    Touché.

  46. 46.

    Mike G

    March 3, 2023 at 1:06 am

    @eclare: A few years ago there was a truck advertised as using “military grade” steel, a technically meaningless term meant to sound impressive to flag-humper keyboard warriors. It was promptly laughed at by actual veterans familiar with the crap equipment commonly procured by the military.

  47. 47.

    RevRick

    March 3, 2023 at 7:32 am

    @Argiope: You’re right about the trigger pulling the finger. Statistics claim women attempt suicide three times more than men, but men commit suicide three times more than women. And the difference is that men use guns, while women overwhelmingly use other methods.
    The presence of a gun in a home significantly increases the dangers of suicide and homicide.

  48. 48.

    RevRick

    March 3, 2023 at 7:35 am

    @Bill Arnold: You’re right. Up until the egregious Heller decision, no court in the US had ever found an individual right to own a gun.

  49. 49.

    Paul in KY

    March 3, 2023 at 9:20 am

    @Roger Moore: That cell phone footage his son shot at the kennels is what really nailed him.

  50. 50.

    Paul in KY

    March 3, 2023 at 9:21 am

    @RevRick: It actually goes back much further than that.

  51. 51.

    Paul in KY

    March 3, 2023 at 9:22 am

    @Jackie: Any monies will go to TFG and not his chumps.

  52. 52.

    Paul in KY

    March 3, 2023 at 9:25 am

    @delphinium: Must say it always helps to bring a gun to a gun fight. Best thing to do is get away fast.

  53. 53.

    Paul in KY

    March 3, 2023 at 9:26 am

    @eclare: They are both heroes!

  54. 54.

    O. Felix Culpa

    March 3, 2023 at 9:36 am

    An acquaintance shot himself on NYE, in front of his wife. They had hosted a big party (which we left early because I hate being out on NYE), too much alcohol was imbibed leading to a quarrel with some of the attendees. The remaining details are unclear, but apparently on an impulse he went into his bedroom and shot himself with his (of course) unsecured gun. The family trauma is massive. There were grandchildren living with them. The youngest is six.

  55. 55.

    psychobroad

    March 3, 2023 at 3:34 pm

    @Bostondreams: It’s not. Nor are any of the other laws red states are frantically passing.

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