This is an assertion that has made the usual rounds. Here’s a recent essay on the topic, a worthwhile update:
Recently, Conservatives have been making broad accusations that the Occupy Wall Street movement is “anti-Semitic,” despite no real evidence to indicate this is true. Understandably, many of the Occupy protesters—including Jewish ones—are outraged. To them, I can only say, “I know how you feel.”
I’ve worked in the gun violence prevention field now for 11 years. In September of last year, I published a blog at Waging Nonviolence that debunked an argument that has become fashionable in right wing circles—namely, that gun control is “racist.” Not long ago, you would have had to search the darkest recesses of the pro-gun movement to find anyone making this claim. But following the Supreme Court’s split ruling in McDonald v. Chicago—in which the Citizens United wing of the Court agreed with an African-American plaintiff that Chicago’s handgun ban was unconstitutional—it became all the rage.
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If you don’t mind my asking? What is your personal experience with guns, handling guns, and enculturation in regards to guns?
I am an anthropologist who has studied hunting in diverse cultures, some of which use guns. Well, all of them use guns but only some use guns all the time while others only rarely. The largest amount of time that I’ve actually carried a gun or been around long guns has been in a paramilitary context and not hunting, the largest amount of time that I’ve spent with hand guns has been while consorting with armed criminals.
I’ve done a fair amount of hunting… I’ve probably hunted for more days than the average middle aged American avid deer hunter … but using sharp objects and not guns. I mention that simply becuase in Western culture, the gun-hunting link is so ubiquitous (even many bow hunters also hunt with guns) that it has to be pointed out.
As fascinating as I find guns to be, I don’t own any. I see guns as roughly like Mayan Archaeology. I find both fascinating, have had numerous opportunities to pursue both, but have chosen to give each a pass because one way I “focus” my efforts is to limit my distractions.
I did not grow up in a gun-culture household, though we had guns in the house, and as a kid I played around with them probably more than I should have. My wife’s family has lots of hunters esp her father (mine has almost none, but it would not matter because they are highly dispersed) so this time of year we are eating a fair number of wild animals.
Calling Bloomberg’s “Mayors Against Illegal Guns” centrist is like calling Rush Limbaugh slightly off the main stream. As for the NRA’s idiocy, it’s internally inconsistent with their usual claim that certain minorities are more dangerous because they evade gun control in the first place. But they have a huge image problem on their side as they were late in jumping on the Heller etc. band wagon, initially preferring for not challenging the SCotUS and risk a definite ruling against an individual right. So they’re spouting even more lunacy than usual.
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