Yesterday, I published a post called: Rest in pieces…
It contained no words, just this image…
It is two AR-15’s, the kind of gun used in Orlando, in the form of a cross. The title was a pun, of sorts, because a ‘piece’ is American slang for a gun.
I thought the post was powerful, subtle, and rather deep. It didn’t get many responses. Maybe it was too subtle. The thing is… and this is a real thing with me… but I am sometimes afraid to let those crazy crack squirrels that live in my head start getting too worked up… because I never know what they are going to make me type. Sometimes, if I give them a day or two to calm down, it works out better for all of us… but they are up there… in my head… chanting the word ‘Orlando’ over and over. I have never seen them so single-minded or in such unity.
So, here we go…
It is time to release… the crackin’… squirrels…
**********
Yes, it matters what the shooter was thinking while he carried out this cowardly, evil act. His motives matter, his affiliations matter, the point he was trying to make matters. It matters mostly so that we can use this information to try to stop further shootings like this one.
Yes, of course, the victims matter. They were people.
But I think there are a few things that matter even more than those things do.
What matters the most is how this loser could walk into a store and buy a fucking assault rifle like it was a loaf of fucking bread.
Fuck you, NRA!
Fuck you, politicians who sell out to the NRA!
And fuck you all you people who have run out and bought yourself an AR-15 since the shooting, in the paranoid belief that somehow, this time, we might pass actually meaningful gun legislation that will ban assault rifle. What is the logic there? Do you plan to use the assault rifle to shoot at the people who come to take your fucking assault rifle away if we do pass such a law?
Because that is what a lot of these NRA fuckers mean when they quote the constitution. The right of a well-regulated militia to bear arms. To oppose tyranny. Whose tyranny do you think they are talking about? They mean us… our laws… our government. They mean that if we pass laws to limit their right to buy any kind of gun or ammo… even if more than half of us vote for those changes… they plan to do a Waco-style shootout with law enforcement. They want to use the guns that they would no longer legally be allowed to own to shoot other Americans upholding the laws of this nation.
And stop making the argument that the constitution is set in stone. We change it all the time. That is just a fact.
And stop acting like laws designed to protect people by taking away some freedom we all have to give up is a scary thing. In California, we took away your right to drive without a seatbelt. We took away your right to drive while talking on the cell phone. Yeah, we pass laws that take away your freedom of choice in order to protect you and the rest of us from your own stupidity.
Your blind struggle to push back on every kind of gun law is the thing that is making the rest of us want to take away your guns, you fucking pea-brains! Even most of you want expanded background checks… but we can’t get them because of the NRA and their paid-for politicians. Just look into all the rules and regulations that have been either weakened or stopped cold by your ‘you will pry this gun from my cold, dead hands’ logic. There are loopholes even in the watered-down laws we have. Federal agencies can’t work together or communicate effectively. There are no national databases to refer to that connect in a meaningful way.
Yes, criminals will still be able to get guns… mostly by stealing them from people who own them legally… but this asshole in Orlando didn’t need to buy a black-market gun. He didn’t need to go to an out-of-state gun show. He didn’t need to steal guns. He just took advantage of our weaknesses.
If you want us to let you keep your collection of guns, start acting like responsible human beings. Help the rest of do what we can to make America just a little safer. And stop acting like arming the whole country is a way to stop mass shootings. Name one fucking time where that actually worked. The answer isn’t to have every American walking around with five guns strapped to them. Archie Bunker made the argument that the only way to stop hijackings was to arm all the passengers… which is, I admit, a funny joke… until you imagine what a shootout in a pressurized airplane would really be like.
So… yeah… fuck you, NRA, and the politicians who are taking your millions of dollars in bribes and payouts and making this country less safe. Fuck you for your fear tactics, your ‘they are coming to take your guns’ mentality that lends itself well to the camouflage-wearing militant-militia dickheads living in compounds, seething over how Obama is ruining our country because he is black and Muslim… sorry… because he is a democrat… that’s what you really meant to say, isn’t it?
Pouring My Art Out 
Wayne LaPierre is watching you.
Then he should see me presenting my buttocks for him to kiss…
forgot to comment on this; well done for letting the crack squirrels free on this one!
thanks… and I have missed you…
Right on!
left off!
Love this post. I agree with you. I’ve shared it.
Thanks so much
Reblogged this on elroyjones and commented:
Arthur makes many valid points in one post, while he curses. He’s usually so polite and mild mannered… .
it’s the crack squirrels…
Exactly why I like you so much. Reblogging without further ado.
yay
Bravo!! I thank your crack squirrels for invading your brain and taking over your typing fingers to express what needs to be said. xo
thanks… I will let them know
I’ll admit that I am one of the folks who looked at the post with that image and clicked off. I couldn’t “like” it. Because there are too many twisted assholes in our country who think this is a crusade. Who think these things, like hurricaines and real terror attacks happen because it is God’s will. Sorry, but I couldn’t stomach that.
We just need to stop the killing. And stop making it OK to voice racist views.
well I was trying to make a statement aimed at those people in a negative way…
There were gun control laws passed I think in 1970s and 1980s after Black Panthers started showing up in public with guns. Now that Islamic terrorists in the US seem to be switching from bombs (which can be difficult and dangerous to make) to guns they can legally and more or less easily buy, maybe this may actually lead to some new restrictions on guns.
we will see I suppose…
Funnily enough, Gretchen Carlson of Fox just came out in favor of a ban on assault weapons. Maybe that’s why …
brief moments of sanity is not the same as sanity…
True!
yup
You know, I tried to re-enter blogland last week and got floored by someone’s post (not yours) and just lost my enthusiasm. I decided to try again today and read this. All I can say is: fuck yeah. You have restored my faith in righteous anger, my man.
the prodigal minion returneth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
One would hope… I’m hoping, at the least.
me too
Thank you for saying what I lack the skill to put into words
no… thank you…
I couldn’t have said it any better but I’m not allowed because as obvious as it is to me – I am not American and it is taken as an attack on your Constitution. Did you know that this year to date in America there have been something like 13 shootings BY toddlers who had gotten hold of loaded guns? There are states that are considering laws to allow children to handle guns. Are your gun owners NUTS or what?
A lot of them are mouth-breathers…
Excellent, brilliant, fantastic post. I might be British, but I have strong ties to the states and almost all of my buddies own guns. I have no problem with gun ownership – but there must be a better way to regulate it. In the last 72 hours there have been 93 gun deaths in America – not including Orlando. Your biggest problem isn’t terrorists or immigrants – it’s your own idiot gun owners. By all means keep the guns, but lose the idiots.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/36527250/there-have-been-93-us-gun-related-deaths-in-72-hours-not-including-orlando
Yeah, I am not actually anti-gun either… thanks.
No, that came through strongly. Just anti idiots with guns 🙂
anti idiots in general… ha
A noble thing, dear chap.
we all do what we can
also, remember that I am a Scottish lord now, so shouldn’t that be: A noble thing, noble chap?
Oh yes I almost forgot about that – you’re right, the thing is noble as is your good self. Forgive me, oh Lord! (As you are a Scottish Lord, that should really be Laird)
I don’t want to confuse people even more
or: a dear thing, noble chap?
I think the more nobles the better. Could be a dear noble thing, my Lord? That sounds quite good.
Let’s go with that, then, shall we?
It’s a deal!
Thanks… can I make you a knight or something?
Oh that would be great! I quite fancy being a Duchess Dowager, whatever that is. Sounds cool, though.
you might need to be a little older… and a widow… to be a dowager… but the Duchess part should be easy, right?
Duchess I can do! It’s annoying that Kate Middleton snapped up the Duchess of Cambridge title already as I should obviously have been first choice. I’ll be… Duchess of Luton.
What about Duchess of Cheddar???
Yes brilliant! I’ll get a suitable hat.
something orange…
With a feather. I need a feather.
yeah you do