Is America's Approach to Gun Control Racist?

[KevinWestern]

I’m not singling out a single politician here, I’m trying to look at this on a macro, societal level (Congress, Media, ect).

Why is it that minority groups in inner cities can be getting gunned down in droves for years with very little national media coverage or outcry, yet the second a number of (mostly white) children become victims of gun violence almost instantaneously we see the President, Vice President and media align in a massive anti-gun campaign that takes precedent over all other issues.

And to top it all off, the main media focus (spearhead) of the recent campaign was banning “Assault Weapons” which are responsible for literally less than 0.01% of all gun homicides in a given year. Why was the handgun – which is responsible for a great majority of gun violence in the US in our inner cities – largely ignored in this media campaign?

Is one group valued as more important than the other?

I usually avoid playing the race card, but I really do think this deserves some attention and (hopefully) a sound discussion.

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[hjmick]

Is the approach to gun control racist? No. Stupid maybe, but not racist.

Now, if want to argue that it is racist to start the conversation only after a bunch of White kids get shot, you may have something...

 

[KevinWestern]

Is the approach to gun control racist? No. Stupid maybe, but not racist.

Now, if want to argue that it is racist to start the conversation only after a bunch of White kids get shot, you may have something...

Well here’s the thing, I consider the approach somewhat racist as well (I mean, it’s debateable).

But say we have two towns – A & B.

In town A one child is killed by a weapon X. In town B one hundred kids are killed by weapon Z. If the gov’t goes after weapon X, aren’t they being illogically preferential to the people of town A?

You know what I mean?

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[bucs90]

Great topic. Yes, when 20 black kids in inner city Chicago get killed, in separate incidents, it gets far less national attention than when 20 white kids are killed in one single incident. However, I'd argue that if 20 black kids were killed all at one time in an inner city Chicago school, I think we'd get exactly the same amount of media coverage. BUT, the message would be different. We'd hear about rap music, inner city culture, parenting, etc, etc, etc, rather than "mental illness". White killers have often been described as having mental illness, while black killers are often just described as ghetto thugs.


I remember a friend of mine from SC 15 years ago visited me when I lived in the Atlanta area. He's an old high school friend. I must say, he is kinda....a "polite racist". He holds no ill will, but, makes a few inappropriate observations. We all know someone like that. Anyway.......he went to the big mall in Conyers, GA on his way in to buy something, as I was still at work. That mall is predominantly visited by blacks, because that area is mostly black.

When he arrived he joked that he carried his personal pistol into the mall with him (concealed). His inappropriate joke/reason? He said "Man, I was the minority! I had to have my gun in case something happened haha!!"

Guess he just summed up why many blacks also want to carry a gun, when they are the minority, especially in our nation's history.

 

[KevinWestern]

Great topic. Yes, when 20 black kids in inner city Chicago get killed, in separate incidents, it gets far less national attention than when 20 white kids are killed in one single incident. However, I'd argue that if 20 black kids were killed all at one time in an inner city Chicago school, I think we'd get exactly the same amount of media coverage. BUT, the message would be different. We'd hear about rap music, inner city culture, parenting, etc, etc, etc, rather than "mental illness". White killers have often been described as having mental illness, while black killers are often just described as ghetto thugs.


I remember a friend of mine from SC 15 years ago visited me when I lived in the Atlanta area. He's an old high school friend. I must say, he is kinda....a "polite racist". He holds no ill will, but, makes a few inappropriate observations. We all know someone like that. Anyway.......he went to the big mall in Conyers, GA on his way in to buy something, as I was still at work. That mall is predominantly visited by blacks, because that area is mostly black.

When he arrived he joked that he carried his personal pistol into the mall with him (concealed). His inappropriate joke/reason? He said "Man, I was the minority! I had to have my gun in case something happened haha!!"

Guess he just summed up why many blacks also want to carry a gun, when they are the minority, especially in our nation's history.

Another thing too, what about the children of the middle east? Is a school that gets blown up in the middle east from our Flying Death Machine squad in Afghanistan somehow less real, less important than a school getting shot up in the United States full of white children?

I feel like this Drone thing has gotten just a bit out of control under the current Administration, and again another reason why I don't feel like our President is being 100% sincere.. Just me though.

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