The Washington Post ran a story over the weekend lamenting that Sandy Hook didn’t change anything on guns, with this bit of grief porn. I don’t know how I’d react if I lost a kid, but I can be pretty sure I’m not going to involve anyone else in my grief, and damned sure I’m not going to let anyone write stories about it. I generally tend to view such external and public displays as fundamentally selfish. That might be harsh, but that’s just how I view it. Newsbusters Tim Graham has more on this story, and notes:
The other politically interesting part of this story was how the distraught parents are molded and shaped by P.R. consultants to say the market-tested things so they can win.
Yeah, I also don’t see myself hiring a PR firm if I ever lose a kid either.
h/t The Gun Wire for the Newsbusters link.
I remember when we used to express our disgust at the press for shoving their cameras into the faces of grieving parents and demanding they put on a show for the reporters.
Now, it seems some people demand the rest of us watch their “grieving”, and get angry if we refuse to play along.
Sure, taking away rights won’t bring anyone back to life, but it can prevent people from dying! Who needs the 1st Amendment, when it can be used to rally people to mob violence (and to Revolution, both non-violent and violent)? Who needs the 2nd, when guns are used to kill people (innocent and attempted-murderer alike)?
And who needs the 4th Amendment right to trials, or Constitutional right to habeas corpus, or the 5th Amendment right to due process? The Government is “only” going to use its powers to keep us safe, right? It’s only going to kill people that are going to hurt us, thereby preserving life, right? These powers will *never* be used to secure even more power, at the cost of innocent life, right?
So I am in firm disagreement: we need to give up our rights so that we could preserve life. It isn’t as if there are thugs and governments (but I repeat myself) that wouldn’t abuse our lack of rights and either kill people, or allow people to die…..
Exactly right Alpheus. We can just totally trust the government with everything. No government, anywhere, in the course of all time, has ever abused their vast power or injured its citizens.
It’s not like the government is made up of the same men with the same evil in their hearts, that I have.
Oh wait…
/end sarcasm
Want to avoid another Holocaust? Be prepared. Do not comply.
The Bill of Rights is not out-dated, it is not a menu you choose from. It is all or nothing and it binds the states and the people together. Ignore it at your own peril.
Molon Labe!
Never Again!
Bill Stevens and Mark Mattioli are Newtown parents too. Some people’s moral authority is apparently more absolute than others.
I’ve noticed that as well. Suzanna Hupp lost her parents to a mass shooter–someone Hupp herself felt no grudge against, because it was like holding a grudge against a rabid dog–but the anti-gun folk aren’t willing to look at her grief, nor are they willing to consider her pro-gun activism.