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Gun violence myths debunked; quest for profits exposed
Though many have seen the problem of gun violence and mass killing in the United States as a matter of moral depravity, few have argued as persuasively as Tom Diaz that the root of the problem lies in the deadly sin of greed. Through a painstakingly researched and carefully documented body of facts and anecdotes, The Last Gun challenges the myths of liberty and security purveyed by the gun industry and the gun lobby that serves it, and exposes the quest for profit that drives these myths.
Some of these myths have been busted before: Those who searched for the unvarnished facts may know that most of the deaths by guns are suicides, not homicides, and that most homicides are of family members and acquaintances. Acquaintances, not masked burglars, are also the most common home invaders, and such invasions most often take place when nobody's home.
However, Diaz also lays bare the enduring and dangerous myth that the proliferation of military-style weaponry has been brought about by the desire of law-abiding citizens who seek to protect themselves from invasive criminals and intrusive government. Rather, Diaz argues that the increasing presence of assault weapons and the increasing number of instances in which they have been used to mow down Americans result from organized efforts of lobbyists and legislators who suffer little to no scrutiny from a timid news media.
Diaz cleverly replays the media "ritual" that follows senseless shootings. It begins with the breathless coverage of shocking events and then proceeds through silent commemorations, interviews with friends and neighbors of victims, speculations on causes, and finally the makeshift memorials of "candles and teddy bears" at the scene of the crime. Conspicuously absent from the daytime dramas created from these disastrous events is any extended coverage of what guns were used and the process by which they were obtained.
http://ncronline.org/books/2014/01/gun-violence-myths-debunked-quest-profits-exposed
Some of these myths have been busted before: Those who searched for the unvarnished facts may know that most of the deaths by guns are suicides, not homicides, and that most homicides are of family members and acquaintances. Acquaintances, not masked burglars, are also the most common home invaders, and such invasions most often take place when nobody's home.
However, Diaz also lays bare the enduring and dangerous myth that the proliferation of military-style weaponry has been brought about by the desire of law-abiding citizens who seek to protect themselves from invasive criminals and intrusive government. Rather, Diaz argues that the increasing presence of assault weapons and the increasing number of instances in which they have been used to mow down Americans result from organized efforts of lobbyists and legislators who suffer little to no scrutiny from a timid news media.
Diaz cleverly replays the media "ritual" that follows senseless shootings. It begins with the breathless coverage of shocking events and then proceeds through silent commemorations, interviews with friends and neighbors of victims, speculations on causes, and finally the makeshift memorials of "candles and teddy bears" at the scene of the crime. Conspicuously absent from the daytime dramas created from these disastrous events is any extended coverage of what guns were used and the process by which they were obtained.
http://ncronline.org/books/2014/01/gun-violence-myths-debunked-quest-profits-exposed
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Gun violence myths debunked; quest for profits exposed (Original Post)
SecularMotion
Jan 2014
OP
billh58
(6,642 posts)1. Conspicuously absent...
"Conspicuously absent from the daytime dramas created from these disastrous events is any extended coverage of what guns were used and the process by which they were obtained."
These are the same pieces of information that Second Amendment absolutists do not want to discuss, or even allow the CDC to track. Using this information to identify types of guns used in crimes, and where they were obtained is one of the keys to framing targeted legislation aimed at reducing gun violence in this nation.
ALEC, the Koch Brothers, the NRA, and the Republican Party will not allow rational information gathering about guns by the government to interfere with the unfettered proliferation of guns, and the blood money to be made from their "guns as the only means to combat gun violence" campaign.
As Deep Throat said in All The President's Men, "follow the money." And then, follow the guns...
jimmy the one
(2,718 posts)2. capitalist oinking
The Last Gun challenges the myths of liberty and security purveyed by the gun industry and the gun lobby that serves it, and exposes the quest for profit that drives these myths.
I've come to think nra 'super' president charlton heston switched from being a solid gun control advocate in the 60s/70s to becoming gunnut in chief for the nra, out of a 'quest for profit'.
.. he first made a lot of money making those biblical movies (some of which were good - ben hur, moses etc), then when those started waning he turned to bible tapes with his godlike booming voice echoing this & that gospel & parable - so he was a special exception from being kicked out of the temple, they let him stay.
.. so then, like obama's parable about clinging to guns & the bible, charlatan saw that by linking the two, he could profit (for god & gunnut) by becoming a gun enthusiast rather than remaining a guncontrol advocate, since the latter are pretty much forced into vows of poverty from the git go, not having the gun industry behind them with rabid gunsales to rabid gunnuts. Praise the lord & pass the ammunition charlatan.
.. but I never considered charlton heston a 'hypocrite' for switching sides, tho I did think him devolving & a degenerating jerkwad for doing so, perhaps early stage alzheimers (low blow jimmy).
.. similarly, our mr weinstein making the anti nra movie has made several capitalist oinkings in his past, but isn't a hypocrite for doing that, similar to heston, since weinstein hasn't profited from the gun industry.
If a porno movie maker makes a few million off porno, then tries to profit off churchgoers by making a movie for them, yeah hypocrite, but if he subsequently makes an expose' about pornography, no hypocrite (within reason).
Hypocrites: wayne lapierre & ted nugent, supposed advocates of integrity & safety yet in reality putting profits & propaganda above all. Rush limbaugh, calling for strict drug sentences while abusing oxycontin; john wayne making war hero movies while dodging the draft saying he's so important for national morale he shouldn't have to go to wwII after he was drafted into it 1A.
And our democrat nominee blagoyavich (sp) who is our classic hypocrite for trying to sell obama's senate seat while double talking he's such the righteous one.
I've come to think nra 'super' president charlton heston switched from being a solid gun control advocate in the 60s/70s to becoming gunnut in chief for the nra, out of a 'quest for profit'.
.. he first made a lot of money making those biblical movies (some of which were good - ben hur, moses etc), then when those started waning he turned to bible tapes with his godlike booming voice echoing this & that gospel & parable - so he was a special exception from being kicked out of the temple, they let him stay.
.. so then, like obama's parable about clinging to guns & the bible, charlatan saw that by linking the two, he could profit (for god & gunnut) by becoming a gun enthusiast rather than remaining a guncontrol advocate, since the latter are pretty much forced into vows of poverty from the git go, not having the gun industry behind them with rabid gunsales to rabid gunnuts. Praise the lord & pass the ammunition charlatan.
.. but I never considered charlton heston a 'hypocrite' for switching sides, tho I did think him devolving & a degenerating jerkwad for doing so, perhaps early stage alzheimers (low blow jimmy).
.. similarly, our mr weinstein making the anti nra movie has made several capitalist oinkings in his past, but isn't a hypocrite for doing that, similar to heston, since weinstein hasn't profited from the gun industry.
If a porno movie maker makes a few million off porno, then tries to profit off churchgoers by making a movie for them, yeah hypocrite, but if he subsequently makes an expose' about pornography, no hypocrite (within reason).
Hypocrites: wayne lapierre & ted nugent, supposed advocates of integrity & safety yet in reality putting profits & propaganda above all. Rush limbaugh, calling for strict drug sentences while abusing oxycontin; john wayne making war hero movies while dodging the draft saying he's so important for national morale he shouldn't have to go to wwII after he was drafted into it 1A.
And our democrat nominee blagoyavich (sp) who is our classic hypocrite for trying to sell obama's senate seat while double talking he's such the righteous one.