The NRA Group Hug, The Revolution Yes, and Fun and Entertaining Targets For Young Americans

The aim of Zombie Industries is to design entertaining and fun targets that allow young Americans to get outside and learn about gun safety with their families.
Zombie Industries CEO, Roger Davis



You bet. It was just that annual group hug between patriotic good ol' boys who love to hunt. Indeed, peace and love were in the air among all those grass roots constitutional scholars who have nothing more controversial in mind than to support the second amendment.

Well, now that the NRA convention has wound down in Houston it is time, perhaps, to reflect on what we've learned the last few days.

First, Wayne LaPierre's pal, Sarah Palin and a couple of other people claimed that pro gun control forces ruthlessly exploited the Newtown, CT shooting and the parents of the children killed there for political purposes. It didn't take long for LaPierre to pick up on that idea by wondering aloud during a speech how many people in Boston wished they'd had a gun a couple of weeks ago. Then he babbled out his catchphrase, "The only thing that will stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun."

MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell quickly pointed out that every position the NRA has taken only made it easier for the brothers Tsarnaev to secure firearms. Those would be the ones used during the Watertown shoot out and the one used to murder Sean Collier. Collier was a trained and armed MIT police officer and the only person in the entire tragic affair who was shot to death by the accused pair. O'Donnell also noted that LaPierre's idea of good guys with guns are people like himself and the rest of the NRA membership and they had nothing to do with the killing of one suspect and the capture of a second. It was, in fact, an effort by a number of different police agencies, the very same people the NRA ultimately believes they will have to protect themselves from.

That leads us to a recent Fairleigh-Dickinson University/PublicMind poll. It found that 44% of registered republicans believe the nation is headed toward an armed revolt in order to protect "liberties." The poll doesn't define what those liberties are. However, odds are that most of those who think there is some sort of conflagration on the way have become convinced it is the only way they can regain control of the nation. Yes, screw the legally elected government. Who needs to organize and wage a responsible political campaign that most of the American public can support? We have guns, we're white and we're going to do whatever the fuck we want.

Proving this sort of bullshit is rooted solidly in delusional paranoia the same poll shows that 32% of republicans think important facts about the mass murders in Newtown have been covered up by the government. What those facts may be aren't explained. It could be they feel the number of kids killed was exaggerated, or that Lanza was another victim of the nefarious MK Ultra program. Or, in the end, some might think it was all just a merry mix up.

The organization elected a new president. He is a former Alabama lawyer named Jim Porter. He remained relatively mum, letting LaPierre do the saber rattling. In the past however he has spoken at length about the American civil war, which he calls, "the war of northern aggression." He has also referred to Barak Obama as a "fake president" and stated that the entire Obama administration is "anti freedom."

Finally we get to the happy go lucky guys at Zombie Industries. CEO, Roger Davis' idea of fun and entertaining targets for young Americans are in effect dummies made of a biodegradable substance that bleeds and bursts apart when shot. Yes, I suppose that is one way to teach young people about gun safety. "Hey little guy, here is what it looks like when you blow the head off of a fellow human being." The targets come in several varieties. There is one of a clown. There is also a heart warming "ex-girlfriend" target. And, of course, to pander to all those would be freedom fighters there is a Nazi figure and an Osama bin Laden one. Right next to those two evil visages there was one named, "Rocky." Rocky has a grotesque, but definite resemblance to the President of the United States of America.

Davis insists that the target wasn't designed to resemble Obama, but was meant to represent an African-American. I guess when you're a NRA type all African-Americans look alike. One employee of the company snickered, "Lets just say I gave my republican father one for Christmas."

Lets sum up then. A huge number of these Rambo wannabes think an armed revolt is inevitable and the country is run by a "fake president." So now, instead of letting their kids play the insidious video games that LaPierre blames the Newtown shootings on, they're going to teach their children how to assassinate the commander in chief of the armed forces of the United States--fake blood, guts, and gore thrown in at no extra charge.

Oh yes, good clean fun and far more innocent and inspiring than games such as Resident Evil 5 and Grand Theft Auto.

The Obama look alike mysteriously disappeared from the Zombie Industries booth at the convention over the weekend. There is confusion over why. Initially it was thought that in a rare fit of public relations common sense the NRA asked ZI to take it down. Later a spokesperson for the company claimed they had simply sold out of them. Whichever the case the squishy guy remains available for purchase.

What any of this horrific nonsense has to do with hunting is beyond me. Adolphus Busch IV, of Budweiser beer fame must have similar questions because he resigned his life time membership with the organization a number of weeks ago. A disgusted, George H.W. Bush did the same thing not long after the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.

I don't know exactly what the NRA started out as, but I have to think its founders would not recognize this crude and violent outfit now. Back then people had brains and some sort of sense of civilization and decency. That certainly isn't the case now and hasn't been for decades.

Slate and @GunDeaths report that as of yesterday at least 3,852 Americans have been shot to death since December 14, 2012.

That isn't political exploitation. It is a simple fact.

There is some liberty for you.


5-7-13