https://www.westernjournal.com/screaming-dana-loesch-dead-kids/
The writer of this article does a whole lot of straw manning of the left , while he’s complaining about the left straw manning.
The left , he says , has shifted the debate from making schools safer to banning guns because they just want to be heroes.
From the first paragraph , the writer goes straight into the biggest pro gun straw man of the left : the entire left want to ban guns , as if there are not just as many liberal gun owners as there are conservative. And if you support gun control , you’re the bad guy. You’re un-American , and a soulless , mushy brained idiot according to people like SpongeTed Squishy Pants Nugent.
The next straw man is how Dana Loesch , who supposedly represents millions of gun owners , are being unfairly smeared as murderers. In other words , they’re the real victims. Not the children who were slaughtered at Sandy Hook elementary school , or the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas. Dana is the victim because some mean liberals called her names and threatened her.
First of all , Dana Loesch doesn’t represent NRA members. She represents the NRA , their interests and her own , nothing else. And no one is accusing NRA members themselves of being complicit in murder. Just the leadership of the NRA , and not without reason.
He then accuses the all-encompassing left of unfairly and viciously misrepresenting their opponents , attacking anyone who disagrees with them. Now I’m willing to admit there is an element on the left that is intolerant , but to falsely characterize the entire left that way , is irresponsible. I would also admit that there are those on the right who are just , if not more , intolerant.
“Amazing straw men are what they’ve created ,” he says with no hint of irony. “With Trump supporters , they’re Nazis. With Loesch they think they’re slaying some magical , all-powerful , fire-breathing NRA dragon. And on the issue of firearms , the decision to grossly demonize their opposition is recycled from their playbook with precision whenever there is an incident where white kids get shot.”
Right wingers also called Obama a Nazi. They called him a Nazi , a socialist and a Marxist over things as benign as healthcare and executive orders , and they called him every other name they could think of , including a Muslim. Every time a mass shooting occurred on his watch they blamed and vilified him. And they call progressives who support a welfare state socialists and racists. How’s that for some amazing straw men?
He says his piece has nothing to do with race , but then he goes right into a favorite right-wing talking point ( a wink and a nod to the racists among his readers , no doubt ) that the animals in Chicago are killing each other at alarming rates , and liberals are cheering in the streets. The pro gun media pundits always manage to throw Chicago and black crime stats into the mix , and in the same breath claim it has nothing to do with race. When they do so , they’re basically saying that black people are more violent and commit more crime because of the color of their skin. “Well , what about Chicago?” they say. In other words , ‘you know how those people are.’
Then its back to mean liberals picking on poor Dana , calling her a c**t on her twitter page. While I dislike Dana Loesch with a passion – she’s a smug , self-righteous hypocrite – I certainly don’t condone that kind of verbal abuse toward anyone , especially a woman. It’s not just wrong , it’s childish. But he would have his readers believe that this type of behavior is found only on the left.
Does he honestly believe that no women on the left have ever been harrasesed and intimidated? A quick trip to Shannon Watt’s twitter page would reveal that she and her children have received their share of death threats and sexual violence. The pro gun extremists , many of whom are followers of Dana Loesch , are far more vicious and vile in their attacks on anyone who supports gun control. Would he acknowledge that fact , or even care? Probably not. In his world , only the left are violent. It’s a scenario they’ve convinced themselves of by constant repetition , and by right-wing media propaganda.
He continues with a false claim , “What’s missing are voices from the left proposing real solutions that will have an impact on actually saving lives.”
If he honestly believes that , then he’s been living in an alternate universe. The left have indeed proposed solutions that would save lives. The MFOL activists have published their manifesto online. It addresses specific solutions that can save lives , solutions that the pro gun extremists scoff at and claim don’t work. What’s actually missing are sane , logical voices on the right , a failure to propose solutions. What are their solutions? More guns. Turning public schools into small prisons , and more guns.
Another absurd statement : “After all , the real question isn’t about guns. It’s how to stop children from committing murder. And the answer to that is much more difficult to come by , which is why it’s avoided at all costs by anti gun activists.”
No , it’s not difficult to understand. The answer is stop allowing people who are mentally incapacitated access to guns. It’s not avoided at all costs by anti gun activists , but it is avoided by pro gun activists.
Once again , he couldn’t resist casting Dana as a helpless victim of leftist rage. “What’s easy is looking at someone you’ve never even met , and labeling her a ‘child killer’ or ‘NRA whore’ , while offering no working solutions to advancing your cause.”
I agree. But if those who follow and support Dana Loesch can claim the moral high ground by labeling someone like former Planned Parenthood CEO Cecil Richards a ‘baby killer’, or calling Shannon Watts the c word , then they have no right to complain when someone does the same to her. Bill O’Reilly repeatedly referred to George Tiller as ‘the baby killer’ , until finally someone killed him. They want to have their cake and eat it too. They want to call anyone who they disagree with the most vile names , but Dana Loesch and her cohorts in the NRA are off-limits.
“What’s difficult is to face the core issue and address how America has managed to create a culture that makes kids want to commit murder instead of play sports or other childhood activities. And who plays the greatest role in shaping culture? Hollywood , the establishment media , and academia – the very people screaming the loudest to ban guns and not address their own culpability in this violence.
America has always been violent. Millions of guns make it more violent and much more dangerous. But it’s not really about guns , conservatives say , it’s really about television , movies and video games. They’re the reasons why we have mass shootings. It has nothing at all to do with guns.
I’ve never heard anyone in Hollywood , mainstream establishment media , or academia screaming about banning guns. This guy , like all pro gun conservatives , lives in a fantasy world where anyone supporting gun control really wants gun confiscation.
“Leftist activists erode their credibility and perform a public disservice by blaming everyone other than the person who pulled the trigger in a Mass shooting. Vilifying Dana Loesch , the NRA or any other innocent third-party does nothing to move the nation toward solutions that prevent murder or to secure Americas schools.”
But the pro gun , right-wing media can do the same and yet lose no credibility with their audience. After the shooting at the Inland Regional Center by a Muslim couple , Dana Loesch came out with her ridiculous video blaming the entire ‘Godless left’ , including Obama , and all Muslims. Conservatives , Dana Loesch and the NRA have no problem with blaming everyone but the shooter when it fits their narrative , but the vilification of Dana and the NRA , again , is off-limits.
“Believing that the next gun law passed will finally be the one that does the trick is demonstrably foolish. Criminals don’t care about the law. Murder and attempted murder are already illegal. Assault with a weapon is already illegal.”
In other words gun control doesn’t work because criminals don’t follow the laws. So , do nothing. But gun control laws do work.
“This is the first generation that has actively campaigned against their own rights. If you lobby for the removal of guns and the second amendment you are depriving yourself of the right to protect yourself and your family from violent criminals.”
Again with the straw man. This generation is not lobbying for the banning of guns and the second amendment. They can’t repeal the second amendment , no one can and no one ever will. Their campaigning for their right to go to school without getting shot. And so far they’ve been successful at it.
“It’s time to restore sanity to this debate. Demonizing the NRA and it’s members is completely counterproductive , and anti gun activists should learn what the rest of us already know : screaming at Dana Leach won’t bring back dead kids.”
There is some sanity in this debate. The voices that are calling for sensible gun control are the sane ones. The voices lacking sanity are the ones that are straw manning the real intentions of the gun control movement with their smears and conspiracy theories. SpongeTed Squishy Pants can call them soulless and mushy brained. Dana Loesch can call them the Godless Left. They can call the activists radicals and extremists. The real radicals and extremists are the pro gun right who will do anything to smear their opponents as un patriotic and un-American.
Screaming at Dana Leach may or may not be counterproductive , but when the NRA finally admits their culpability in gun violence , then perhaps we will leave Dana and the NRA alone. But until that day comes , and I don’t think it ever will , the left will continue screaming at her because it feels good.
The Weekly News 