Inaccurate pro-gun "quotes"

[kb58]

I'm bothered by the number of false signatures I see on gun forums. While I'm certainly pro-2A, it's worrisome that some gun owners are apparently rewriting history in an effort to legitimize themselves. Why do some feel the need to stoop to such levels? Using false statements to back up gun-ownership makes me wonder why anyone would bother and makes us all look rediculous. What more does one need than the 2A? Backing up my point is the oft-seen, "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote", which is always attributed to Benjamin Franklin.

From Wikiquote.com, http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin

Widely attributed to Franklin on the Internet, sometimes without the second sentence. It is not found in any of his known writings, and the word "lunch" is not known to have appeared anywhere in English literature until the 1820s, decades after his death. The phrasing itself has a very modern tone and the second sentence especially might not even be as old as the internet.

The earliest known similar statements are:
1. A democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch.
Gary Strand, Usenet group sci.environment, 23 April 1990.

2. Democracy is not freedom. Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to eat for lunch. Freedom comes from the recognition of certain rights which may not be taken, not even by a 99% vote.
Marvin Simkin, "Individual Rights", Los Angeles Times, 12 January 1992

3. Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.
James Bovard, Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty (1994)

None of these have anything to do with guns. I have no problems with witty statements, but misattributing them to famous people in a attempt to legitimize a position is, well, shameful and cowardly. Summed up, such "quotes" just make us look dumb.

A very similar tactic is heard on Christian radio and the so-called "facts" given by pastors, which are easily disproven with a little digging. It undermines the entire subject and makes the listener/reader suspicious that the entire topic/belief has feet of clay.

[23 Blast]

"Misattribution of quotes on the Internet lead to perpetuation of ignorance."

-Plato, 386 B.C.

[kb58]

Awesome - and proof that Plato was one sharp dude.

[lilro]

Doesn't matter who said it if it's right.

[Bangzoom]

Doesn't matter who said it if it's right.

can i quote you on that?

[kb58]

It does matter when purposely misattributed. Whoever first created it didn't do us any favors, and perpetuating the myth as truth just makes us all look silly. Want to keep the quote, great, but remove Franklin's name.

[lilro]

can i quote you on that?

Sure. As long as I get my credit hundreds of years from now.

[C.W.M.V.]

Oh god thank you!
I hate seeing this quote;
"Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people's liberty teeth" attributed to Washington.
When it seems he never said anything of the kind.

http://www.guncite.com/gc2ndbog.html

[kb58]

Doesn't matter who said it if it's right.

If Obama was "credited" with saying that, it's likely that many gun owners would vote for him. I think it does matter who is attributed to saying things.

[lilro]

It does matter when purposely misattributed. Whoever first created it didn't do us any favors, and perpetuating the myth as truth just makes us all look silly. Want to keep the quote, great, but remove Franklin's name.

If the statement was false, I'd agree. However, if YOU said "A Glock is a handgun.", and someone attributed that statement to Gaston Glock, or someone attributed that statement to DiFi, does that make the statement any more or less true? Based on the "credibility" of the "author" of the statement?

[lilro]

If Obama was "credited" with saying that, it's likely that many gun owners would vote for him. I think it does matter who is attributed to saying things.

And if Obama said that, he wouldn't be running as a Democrat, so many gun owners would vote for him anyway. And many Democrats would not vote for him. This is the main problem with our political system. People vote based on party affiliation, and/or rhetoric, and not on principles and history. And as a gun owner, you should know, you can't fix stupid.

[alfred1222]

Did someone seriously start a thread about quotes...

[kb58]

Oh god thank you!
I hate seeing this quote;
"Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people's liberty teeth" attributed to Washington.
When it seems he never said anything of the kind.
http://www.guncite.com/gc2ndbog.html

Exactly... and if gun owners are so correct (nevermind the 2A), why on earth do we feel the need to fabricate lies to back up our position? Makes us look bad... and provides great ammuntion to the antis, to which they can point and show others how "dilusional" we are. Don't do them the favor.

[a1c]

Yes, misattributed quotes are a big annoyance to me, because it hurts the credibility of those who are using them. It makes them look either ignorant or dishonest. Either case, it doesn't help our cause.

It's not like there aren't a bunch of great pro-2A quotes out there attributed to great history figures. We don't need to make some more up, or to misattribute them to Jefferson or Washington. That's just stupid, lazy and/or sleazy.

[kb58]

And if Obama said that, he wouldn't be running as a Democrat, so many gun owners would vote for him anyway...

You're missing my point.

I'm saying that when a well-known name is attached to a phrase, depending what that phase is it is very important indeed to get the authorship correct. Saying that "it doesn't matter who said it if it's true" is completely wrong in context.