Gunning For Freedom
At least we have the guns.
I ran into a man I know from the neighborhood a few weeks ago just as the quarantine was getting underway.
He’s a nice enough guy, but he’s a bit of a right winger, which I am not, and, like a lot of right wingers, he likes to inject unsolicited editorial comments into the conversation.
So, for example, when he told me he was out of work because his job had been shut down, he felt compelled to proudly inform me that he did not apply for unemployment benefits.
Okay, so…what are you saying, exactly? That you’re not going to accept money that is rightfully yours because you don’t want no stinking government handout?
Fine, give me your tax refund and then you can really feel good about yourself.
And then he told me about the guns.
“I moved my guns from my place in summer place,” he says. “I’ve got over 200 guns.”
I knew he was a collector who liked to call himself “a gun guy,” but I was appalled at the size of his arsenal. I know he’s a collector, but, to me, collecting deadly weapons is a little different from collecting stamps or coins.
“You see everybody is being all politically correct right now and holding doors for each other,” he says. “But when this gets worse, it’s going to be different. I was in Rockaway when Sandy hit and it was crazy. You needed a shotgun.”
Okay, so when did holding doors open for people become “politically correct”? I could’ve sworn that it was just good manners.
However, I supposed that in this demented era of phony tough guys, and misplaced machismo, basic manners are only for pansies.
I’m concerned, of course, about the food supply running short, especially now the meatpacking plants are closing because of the coronavirus outbreak.
But I’m more concerned about the guns—and specifically people who think they need them to get what they want.
Don’t Breathe on Me
A mob of gun-wielding racist goons with MAGA hats and Confederate flags invaded downtown Lansing, Michigan recently to protest the state’s stay-at-home order.
Other states have seen similar displays of righteous idiocy by people who think that these requirements are violating their rights, when they’re actually intended to contain the virus.
And it’s even worse when that traitor in the White House tweets out his support for these bums.
The coronavirus doesn’t care about all the bravado that the Michi-goons and their ilk are peddling. The thing just kills people and even it does slow down now, there’s a good chance it will return in the fall.
The right-wing echo chamber is full of phony manly man posturing from people who will be nowhere near the front lines of this disease, as pathetic politicians call upon Americans to “put on our big boy and big girl pants,” and stop “hiding under the bed.”
Nobody wants the economy to shut down.
I miss my family, friends, going to the theater and sitting down at a restaurant for a nice meal. But we have to make sacrifices so we can get over this nightmare.
This bluster reminds me all too much of George Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” schtick, when that bubble-headed draft dodger put on a uniform he had no business wearing and pranced around on an aircraft carrier declaring the war he had lied us into was over.
Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell the insurgents in Iraq, who killed thousands more of our soldiers after Bush held his victory rally. Now we’re poised to make the same mistake in our own backyard.
We have to move beyond slogans, partisan politics and stupid theatrics if we’re ever going to beat this thing.
This afternoon I was returning home from the laundry mat when an older couple came walking toward me on Narrows Avenue.
I pulled my shopping cart over to the curb so these people could walk by me.
“Thank you very much,” the man said to me.
“My pleasure,” I replied. “Stay safe.”
It was a pleasant encounter during this awful time. And I didn’t even need a gun.
I ran into a man I know from the neighborhood a few weeks ago just as the quarantine was getting underway.
He’s a nice enough guy, but he’s a bit of a right winger, which I am not, and, like a lot of right wingers, he likes to inject unsolicited editorial comments into the conversation.
So, for example, when he told me he was out of work because his job had been shut down, he felt compelled to proudly inform me that he did not apply for unemployment benefits.
Okay, so…what are you saying, exactly? That you’re not going to accept money that is rightfully yours because you don’t want no stinking government handout?
Fine, give me your tax refund and then you can really feel good about yourself.
And then he told me about the guns.
“I moved my guns from my place in summer place,” he says. “I’ve got over 200 guns.”
I knew he was a collector who liked to call himself “a gun guy,” but I was appalled at the size of his arsenal. I know he’s a collector, but, to me, collecting deadly weapons is a little different from collecting stamps or coins.
“You see everybody is being all politically correct right now and holding doors for each other,” he says. “But when this gets worse, it’s going to be different. I was in Rockaway when Sandy hit and it was crazy. You needed a shotgun.”
Okay, so when did holding doors open for people become “politically correct”? I could’ve sworn that it was just good manners.
However, I supposed that in this demented era of phony tough guys, and misplaced machismo, basic manners are only for pansies.
I’m concerned, of course, about the food supply running short, especially now the meatpacking plants are closing because of the coronavirus outbreak.
But I’m more concerned about the guns—and specifically people who think they need them to get what they want.
Don’t Breathe on Me
A mob of gun-wielding racist goons with MAGA hats and Confederate flags invaded downtown Lansing, Michigan recently to protest the state’s stay-at-home order.
Other states have seen similar displays of righteous idiocy by people who think that these requirements are violating their rights, when they’re actually intended to contain the virus.
And it’s even worse when that traitor in the White House tweets out his support for these bums.
The coronavirus doesn’t care about all the bravado that the Michi-goons and their ilk are peddling. The thing just kills people and even it does slow down now, there’s a good chance it will return in the fall.
The right-wing echo chamber is full of phony manly man posturing from people who will be nowhere near the front lines of this disease, as pathetic politicians call upon Americans to “put on our big boy and big girl pants,” and stop “hiding under the bed.”
Nobody wants the economy to shut down.
I miss my family, friends, going to the theater and sitting down at a restaurant for a nice meal. But we have to make sacrifices so we can get over this nightmare.
This bluster reminds me all too much of George Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” schtick, when that bubble-headed draft dodger put on a uniform he had no business wearing and pranced around on an aircraft carrier declaring the war he had lied us into was over.
Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell the insurgents in Iraq, who killed thousands more of our soldiers after Bush held his victory rally. Now we’re poised to make the same mistake in our own backyard.
We have to move beyond slogans, partisan politics and stupid theatrics if we’re ever going to beat this thing.
This afternoon I was returning home from the laundry mat when an older couple came walking toward me on Narrows Avenue.
I pulled my shopping cart over to the curb so these people could walk by me.
“Thank you very much,” the man said to me.
“My pleasure,” I replied. “Stay safe.”
It was a pleasant encounter during this awful time. And I didn’t even need a gun.
Comments
Domestic violence cases are increasing due to the shutdown. Add to that the job losses, the vicious political climate and the flood of guns in this country and we could have some very serious problems very soon.
Take care and stay safe.