I still got killed, but I did better than I thought I would.
Matthew Parks
There is a bit of optimism you don't usually hear from someone who is supposedly a corpse. Mr. Parks was a volunteer in a number of simulations of the Charlie Hebdo attack which were held in Plano, Texas this past week. The tests were conducted by an outfit called, The Truth About Guns. It is an organization which appears to be an offshoot of the NRA, or at least some mutant hybrid of it.
The objective of the simulation, using paint ball guns, was to prove if there had been some Charlie Hebdo staffer in those Paris offices armed with a semi automatic weapon, the nightmare could have been prevented, or at least lessened. The U.S. version of the Guardian reports the results weren't entirely to the liking of The Truth About Guns.
Two volunteers played the roles of Cherif and Said Kouachi. Others acted as the victims of the savage attack. What happened depends on who you read. The Guardian story, written by Alan Yuhas, claims the armed defender nailed one of the attackers only twice out of nine times and never got both. The Truth About Guns site says one terrorist was shot seven out of the nine tests, but admits the second gunman was never touched and was able to run as wildly amok as he wanted. In every instance, but one, all twelve volunteers playing the staff of the satirical magazine, including the guy with the gun defending them, were killed. In the single scenario where someone escaped, the person fled as soon as he, or she heard gunfire.
What TTAG doesn't say is that in each of the simulations, the participants playing the victims, and the "armed civilian" as he was called, knew the attack was coming. They might not have known the exact moment, or from where, but they did know and despite the foreknowledge and the presence of an armed person, the body count remained terribly constant. The poor schmucks at Charlie Hebdo, even if one of them had a gun, didn't have that advantage.
So much for the fanciful, "The only thing that will stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with one," argument.
It is probably time to face a gruesome reality. People like the NRA and The Truth About Guns actually want bad guys to have firearms. There is very little doubt they believe it is the most effective way they can convince people like you and me to go out and buy one so we can defend home and hearth. Hey, nothing sells a gun quicker than paranoia.
Think not?
Yesterday, Raheel Mahrus Ubaydah, nee Christopher Lee Cornell was denied bail in federal court. Mr. Ubaydah, of the greater Cincinnati metro area, has been charged with plotting to attack the capitol of the United States of America. The working theory is he was going to explode pipe bombs and shoot elected officials and employees.
His father, John Cornell claims his son was set up by a, "snitch" and is a "mommy's boy." According to Mr. Cornell, 20 year old Raheel still lives at home, is usually unemployed, and spends hours in his room playing video games.
We've certainly heard that before. In fact Mr. Ubaydah sounds disturbingly like Adam Lanza, the Newtown, CT shooter, only with religion. He was arrested by the FBI in a sporting goods store parking lot immediately after legally buying two semi automatic rifles and 600 rounds of ammunition. It was a purchase the people at The Truth About Guns and the NRA insist he, as an American citizen, should have the absolute right to make.
Now the TTAG site is saying guys like Raheel Mahrus Ubaydah are the reason you and I should immediately go out and arm ourselves.
I know, it gets a little dizzying, but these shills for the gun manufacturers remain confident in the inability of large numbers of Americans to see their despicable symbiotic relationship with the evil and insane. Indeed, as long as they can keep those fuckers armed, they can convince the rest of us we must be also.
According to them, this awful duplicity is called, The American Way. Tragically, too many of us have bought into their cynical and deadly bullshit.
Yes, even in this day and age it would seem, P.T. Barnum was right. There is a sucker born every minute.
sic vita est
1-17-15
No comments:
Post a Comment