Was It Wise...

[madjack956]

Was it wise for the NRA to mention video games and movies as a problem in this country?

Lets set aside the debate whether it be true or not.

Was it wise to possibly alienate a rather large and relatively young portion of our society?

Could it backfire by creating a whole new group of haters?

[nothinghere2c]

I don't think it can hurt considering the size of the hole the MSM has already thrown gun owners in

[Yemff]

Mental health and COD seem to be pretty common with these mass shooting lately. Frankly blaming anything for what someone who is nuts does is pretty stupid. I think it just shoes how disconnected some people are becoming from society, especially when a bunch of kids live their life on the internet.

[4DSJW]

I think most of that speech was total failure, what a wasted opportunity to show true leadership and that they DO represent "dads, moms, brothers, and sisters". It started out great with him talking about the "unspoken truth" of GFSZ's and their being a political soapbox but not true safety. The idea that all of us are responsible for doing something that actually makes our kids MORE safe, as opposed to just feeling safe, was also good. As were the comments about databases being better run and used and getting better help for the mentally ill.

Then he starts wandering down the road of attacking violent video games, movies, and song lyrics... OMG what nonsense is that. Let's attack rights protected by the First Amendment to deflect the current criticism of the Second Amendment. If he supports limits on the First then sadly he is perched firmly on the slippery slope and has opened the door for similar limitations on the Second.This is NOT leadership!

For the record, I am an endowment member of the NRA and I think that every gun owner should at least be an annual member. I detest the video games and movies that depict violence simply for sheer pleasure, but I support the right for them to be made, owned, and played by responsible adults.

[myk]

They needed to address the REAL PROBLEM at hand, which would have served the dual purpose of educating the ignorant and placing blame where it belongs: on the criminally intent and the mentally ill.

Instead, they talked about effectively arming schools, which MOST people don't want, and slamming video games like Mortal Kombat and Splatterhouse that haven't been relevant since the early 90's...

[ThereAndBackAgain]

myk, I couldn't agree more.

After Columbine there was a mass hysteria where everyone was blaming Marilyn Manson. Never mind the fact that the Columbine killers didn't even listen to Marilyn Manson's music. He was a controversial figure, they sort of looked like they might fit the general stereotype, close enough.

This whole anti-gun over-reaction reminds me of the "Blame Canada" bit in the South Park movie, except without being funny.

I recall that Charles Manson blamed some of his actions on the Beatles song "Helter Skelter". Somehow he misheard it and thought it was telling him to incite a race war or something equally stupid.

There was a woman suing David Letterman because she alleged that he was controlling her thoughts via his television broadcast every night.

Crazy people are not going to react to any media or video game influence the same way that a normal person would. The solution is not to destroy the first amendment, the solution is to make sure crazy people aren't allowed to do damage to society at large.

We need to stand up for both the first and second amendments, and keep mentally disturbed people far away from guns.

[Anschiss]

If by blaming others creates a huge blame fest and disperses the attention of the anti-gunz then it was probably an actual move.

[4DSJW]

If by blaming others creates a huge blame fest and disperses the attention of the anti-gunz then it was probably an actual move.

Not for and organization that has repeatedly said, "It's not the gun, it's the person using the gun", "Guns don't kill people, people kill people", "Don't blame an inanimate object", "A loaded gun sitting on a table never killed anyone", etc. Now they are at least inferring, if not actually stating, that an inanimate object, such as a video game or movie or song lyric, may indeed be a contributing factor. As I said before I consider this to be short-sighted and a total failure.

If they had stuck to facts, pointed out the failures and political grandstanding of the current feel-good laws, and driven home the truth that self defense is something that the police cannot do for us and that we must accept personal responsibility for, they would have hit a home run. They did not lead, they said virtually nothing that the American public currently grappling with this issue could identify with and use to help them make rational choices.

[myk]

myk, I couldn't agree more.

After Columbine there was a mass hysteria where everyone was blaming Marilyn Manson. Never mind the fact that the Columbine killers didn't even listen to Marilyn Manson's music. He was a controversial figure, they sort of looked like they might fit the general stereotype, close enough.

Lol, good God man I had totally forgotten about that-crazy!

Not for and organization that has repeatedly said, "It's not the gun, it's the person using the gun", "Guns don't kill people, people kill people", "Don't blame an inanimate object", "A loaded gun sitting on a table never killed anyone", etc. Now they are at least inferring, if not actually stating, that an inanimate object, such as a video game or movie or song lyric, may indeed be a contributing factor. As I said before I consider this to be short-sighted and a total failure.

If they had stuck to facts, pointed out the failures and political grandstanding of the current feel-good laws, and driven home the truth that self defense is something that the police cannot do for us and that we must accept personal responsibility for, they would have hit a home run. They did not lead, they said virtually nothing that the American public currently grappling with this issue could identify with and use to help them make rational choices.

Yes, many people could say that the NRA stooped to the level of the anti's and end up coming off just as ignorant...

[OIFVet03]

I don't think it was wise to mention video games and movies. I love violent movies and video games but I have never even thought about doing horrible things like that.

[jyo]

OK, repeat after me: It's not the weapon---it's the WACKO!








Can you imagine a wacko in a classroom full of kids with a machete?

[Sully]

How we raise our kids is important.
As we think and act, so our character will develop.
I suspect the content can remain,
but with better guidelines and content awareness.
Not content control.
That would make sense to me.

One of the first rifles I fired was an m14 at age 12,
perhaps too much; a 22 would've been wiser start.
But I love my M1 today, though.
Best
Sully

[stitch_paradox]

Media is the root problem of this country. Just look at the trash they show now a days. And the sad thing is kids idolize them.