The public demonization of guns and gun owners is not something new and has, in fact, been going on for at least the last fifty years. Companies like Dick’s Sporting Goods and Levi Strauss are two recent examples. The media and the entertainment industry have also supported this effort.
This effort has yielded a fair amount of success for anti-gun forces. A recent event in a Tempe Arizona Starbucks is an example. Apparently a Starbucks customer felt unsafe due to the presence of several police officers drinking coffee and requested that management ask the officers to leave. Unbelievably the barista did just that.
Starbucks has since apologized to the Tempe police although it’s reasonable to question the sincerity of the apology. Its also unclear if the barista was disciplined or received additional training so that we can at least hope to see more mature, responsible behavior at that location.
This incident illustrates something that, while in part can be blamed on the demonization of guns, also reveals other issues within our society. Part of the unsafe feeling was certainly due to the presence of guns and the customer’s likely struggle with hoplophobia. Another component of that feeling was probably related to the mistrust of police resulting from the aggressive anti-police bias that came from the White House during the eight years of the last administration.
We seem to be creating a generation of helpless, hypersensitive victims in the country today. If the presence of police officers drinking coffee made someone feel unsafe, most people might suggest that the person find somewhere else to go where they did feel safe. Asking the officers (also paying customers by the way) to leave just doesn’t seem like a rational response. Apparently it is in America today.
I stopped going to Starbucks about a year ago and have no plans to return. In my view the coffee isn’t that good, its overpriced, and the service is bad. I now look for small family owned coffee shops. I also prefer Wrangler to Levis and I would never buy anything from Dicks Sporting Goods.
I’m not suggesting that anyone boycott any particular business. Boycotts are a tactic of the left and I would never suggest that. What I am saying is that we get to choose how and where we spend our money and we should think about what businesses we choose to support.
Much of what we see today is the result of fifty years of demonizing guns and gun owners. From the irrational, unconstitutional gun control laws to the idiotic portrayals of gun owners in entertainment to the anti-gun dishonesty in the media. Unfortunately gun owners are largely to blame for this.
For too long gun owners have sat back and let this happen. Gun owners need to become engaged to correct this situation before it’s too late. Gun owners need to educate themselves and vote for pro Second Amendment politicians. Gun owners need to make an effort to educate non-gun owners. We need to challenge misinformation. We need to introduce people to shooting. Gun owners need to support pro 2A groups that are fighting for our rights. This is how we repair the damage done over the past fifty years and protect our rights while we still have rights to protect.
The right to self-defense is a basic human right. Gun ownership is an integral part of that right. If you want to keep your rights defend them by joining San Diego County Gun Owners (SDCGO), the California Rifle and Pistol Association (CRPA), and the National Rifle Association (NRA). Join the fight and help us restore and preserve our second amendment rights. Together we will win.
©2019 Joseph T Drammissi
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