Denial – The first stage of grief…

So evidently our “opponents” went into total meltdown mode last night.  But the serious denial moment was capturedby Days of Our Trailers.

via DooT

How is that for complete and utter denial?  They were in such an alternate reality or so lost in their own delusions of self-worth, that they added something in before it even happened.  Have no fear though because when they got caught with their fly down, they did what they always do and scrubbed it clean.

via DooT

Now I’m trying to document as our opponents as they traverse the stages of grief.  It is worth noting that everyone goes through it much differently.  Some will quickly transition through different parts of the stages of grief.

It is obvious that many are in denial, some have expressed anger.  Next up is bargaining. As I have said before, there will be no bargaining, we have done it before and at this point I will give no quarter.  The sooner they transition to acceptance of the death of their bigoted views, the better.

It is known how our opponents fantasize about violence and the like.  As many of them transition in to anger, be on the lookout for outbursts.  If you see any, please send them my way.  I’m going to tag all of them as “Grief of the Anti-Gunners”.  I will take some time here soon and tag older posts that tie into it as well.

Their meltdown is going to be long and spectacular.  We should at least congregate and note the highlight moments.

Stage 2 – Anger

It appears that many of our opponents are moving on from denial to anger.  Via Gun Free Zone comes this example:

image via Gun Free Zone

 Slowly more and more of our opponents are going to leave the realm of denial and move toward anger.  Even Sebastian is noting that they are beginning to “behave like angry children”.

Denial – It’s their current state…

Via Tango I came across this wonderful study done by Harvard in 2007.  Lately I have reiterated more and more that our opponents are living in a serious state of denial and this is yet another nail in their coffin.

The money shot from the conclusion:

This Article has reviewed a significant amount of  evidence from a wide variety of international sources. Each individual portion of evidence is subject to cavil—at the very least the general objection that the persuasiveness of social scientific evidence cannot remotely approach the persuasiveness of conclusions in the physical sciences. Nevertheless, the burden of proof rests on the proponents of the more guns equal more death and fewer guns equal less death mantra, especially since they argue public policy ought to be based on that mantra.  To bear that burden would at the very least require showing that a large number of nations with more guns have more death and that nations that have imposed stringent gun controls have achieved substantial reductions in criminal violence (or suicide). But those correlations are not observed when a large number of nations are compared across the world.

(Emphasis mine.)  Even more entertaining though was this comment after that shot.

Over a decade ago, Professor Brandon Centerwall of the University of Washington undertook an extensive, statistically sophisticated study comparing areas in the United States and Canada to determine whether Canada’s more restrictive policies had better contained criminal violence. When he published his results it was with the admonition:

If you are surprised by [our] finding[s],  so [are we]. [We] did not begin this research with any intent to “exonerate” hand‐guns, but there it is—a negative finding, to be sure, but a negative finding is nevertheless a positive contribution. It directs us where not to aim public health resources.

Are you grinning yet?  If not you should be because remember this is coming out the liberal bastion of Harvard.  Not to mention the comment made about a study done by the University of Washington, another liberal bastion out of the Peoples’ Republic of Puget Sound.  Back to Harvard though, this is the same Harvard who said the following about the 4th of July in 2011.

 “Fourth of July celebrations in the United States shape the nation’s political landscape by forming beliefs and increasing participation, primarily in favor of the Republican Party,” said the report from Harvard.

Even 5 years ago Harvard saw the writing on the wall and indicated the burden of proof is on the anti-rights cultists.  Further often as of late we see the following across twitter from our opponents how gun ownership is at its lowest rate ever.  That guns are not being bought in record numbers, yet the facts clearly state otherwise.  Again, some of it comes right out of their own back yard such as this piece out of a New York CBS affiliate:

Statistics show a new trend — an increasing number of gun owners are now women.

For reasons ranging from sport to protection, the number of females buying guns has seen a spike in the last few years, CBS 2′s Ann Mercogliano reported.

Yet remember, gun ownership is at an all time low.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE: RGR) is on pace to beat its own record of 1,114,700 firearms produced in one year, set in 2011. On August 15, 2012 Ruger produced its one millionth firearm of the year, a Ruger® SR1911™ pistol which will be hand-engraved by Baron Technology, Inc. and auctioned off to support the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action.

Yet remember, gun ownership is at an all time low.  Not to mention “fewer and fewer people are interested in owning firearms”.

So I have a question.  If ownership and interest is at an all time low, who pray-tell is buying all these firearms?  Where are all these firearms going.  I know the ATF bought bunches of them and were sending them over the border to Mexico, but that little hole has been plugged up for a while now.

Our opponents do not understand their logical fallacies.  They cannot grasp that just because there are fewer gun deaths they’re not actually safer.  They cannot comprehend that violence is violence no matter the tool.  The honestly believe that you’re safer with more crime as long as guns are used less often.

Denial is a stage of grief and honestly this abundance of Peterson Syndrome is a symptom of their grief.  They have lost and not just by a bit either.  We dropped a 105mm Howitzer in the middle of their happy parade and have exposed them for the evil bigots that they are.  The worst part about those evil bigots though is they prey upon the fact that many people honestly want to do good and help people.  They then spread their lies, misinformation, and logical fallacies corrupting good people.

Honestly though, I wouldn’t mind if a majority of our opponents forever remained in the first stage.  If they do progress I want them to rapidly progress to bargaining and skipping over anger.  Given their propensity towards violence, especially when on the losing side, it would be a very bad and dangerous thing.  Doubly so if they started trying to engineer failure in an attempt to “aid” their cause.

Denial, it’s not just a river in Egypt.  It is the current home of our opponents and will remain so for the foreseeable future.  I can live with that.

How to know your opponents are in still in denial

Last Friday I saw this did nothing but laugh, I thought about writing something up but  doing other stuff won.

“Society has to take the glory out of guns,” the so-called “.44 Caliber Killer” told the New York Daily News in a jailhouse interview. “Young people have no business carrying a gun. I would love to speak bluntly to those gangbanging teens and wanna-bes and tell them prison is nothing like what you think. If you’re packing a gun, you’re making a big mistake, and you’ll regret it.”

Your position is in a seriously losing state if the biggest names you can get to support you are pathological serial killers.

Let’s start at the beginning of this.  Mr. Serial Killer here thinks that merely carrying a gun is a big mistake.  Tell me something, did you kill those people or did the gun magically make you do it?  Yeah, you and I both know the correct answer to that question because my gun, like so many other people’s hasn’t just magically hopped out of its holster and shot someone.

Moving forward, you state that using a firearm against someone else ruins both lives.  While for the most part this is technically true because there will be a legal investigation into any death, I’d rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6 if I found myself in the company of you or some of your compatriots.  In the end I say that because if I ever have to deploy my firearm, ultimately I will not have killed my attacker, he will have killed himself, I just merely carried the bullet around for a while.  All he needed to do was walk on by and leave me be and no harm would have befallen either of us.

The real reason this man hates firearms is because the last thing he wants is for innocent victims to be able to fight back.  He wants the predator to have an assurance of overwhelming force.  The best way to get this to happen is to have the state force disarmament upon the innocent at a threat of force from the state.

This is all that our opponents can bring to the table.  Serial killers and criminal professional athletes pardon me if I’m not shivering in fear at the idea that people are going to be swayed by the words of a serial killer saying, “Leave your guns at home.”  Yeah, there’s a reason he wants you to do that, and most people with an IQ higher than a rock can figure that out.

Gun control is dying, even while in the wake of tragedy.  Overall I’m seeing more and more outbursts of Anger as this goes on.  I’m just waiting now to see a serious outburst of anger from our dear friend Ladd.  Some may never move on from the first stage, Ladd however I think will eventually become angry, he’s been pretty nasty before.

Quote of the Day – John Robb (8/8/2012)

While there are still some details to sort out, it’s pretty clear that making weapons at home using 3-D printers from commonly available materials is going to become much more commonplace in the near future. In fact, as 3-D printing technology matures, materials feedstock improves, and designs for weapons proliferate, we might soon see the day when nearly everyone will be able to print the weapons of their choice in the numbers they desire, all within the privacy of their own homes.

John Robb – A Working Assault Rifle Made With a 3-D Printer

Popular Science (7/26/2012)


[When even Popular Science is admitting the obvious we all see, it makes me ponder how much longer our opponents will remain in denial.  Every once in a while we see glimmers of anger.

I will say this right now though.  There will be no bargaining.  We will not negotiate with those who would deprive us our rights.  Their attitude towards us has been scorched earth, if only by piece meal.  It has been us who have compromised historically, no more.  It is time to sweep these people into the dust bin of history with the likes of other bigots throughout history. -B]

ht Sebastian

Can you say “Winning”

Via FarmDad in the GBC chat room:

A new gun range is in the works for Lewisville, that hopes to offer the community a family-friendly experience and kids’ birthday parties on the shooting range.

But according to those elites in the Brady  Campaign and CSGV that has to be impossible.  For you see according to them interest in the shooting sports is at an all time low.  As we all know, this is them obviously in the first stage of grief.

Given we know they suffer from “Peterson Syndrome”*, I am wondering if their condition will relegate them permanently to the first stage of grief.  Given they disassociate from reality anyway, they can continue to live in denial without ever changing.

Think about it, what would actually cause Joan** to admit that she is on the loosing side of this proposition?  There is nothing that I can currently fathom that would induce her or her compatriots with a dose of reality to the point where they move on to stage two.  Their view of reality is so skewed and tainted they can rationalize away reality.  What is there left to move them forward?

All the while, we’re winning with instances like the above.  What’s the goal of the gun range I hear you ask?

The Eagle Gun Range hopes to offer a new experience for families seeking to educate their children about proper, safe gun use.

See, we on this side say educate and train.  The other side says ignore them and be an ostrich.  Kids on our side of the fence though know how to behave when they find a firearm.  On their side of the fence, little bobby shoots baby Randy and they scream for more gun control.  Never mind the following:

  • Prohibition of Alcohol Failed
  • Prohibition of Drugs has Failed
  • Prohibition on Murder doesn’t stop it
  • Prohibition on Rape doesn’t stop it

All those prohibitions do is affect the law abiding.  The only thing a prohibition on gun control accomplishes is the prevention of the law abiding citizen being armed to the best of their ability for their own defense.

*Peterson Syndrome seems tied to Cognitive Distortion.  I also found an article about reality distortion which seems to match as well.

Hallucinations and delusions, the phenomena that lie at the heart of psychosis, are perhaps the most enigmatic of all mental  symptoms. Both entail a mismatch between a compelling representation of reality produced by the individual’s own mind and the representation supported by objective evidence.

**I am linking her purely for Farm Dad’s enjoyment.

<+FarmDad> japate’s asshole should swallow her head when she sees that lol

Brady Campaign, The VPC, and the Stages of Grief (Stage 1)

Stage 1: Denial.

The Brady Campaign and VPC keep creating excuses saying that gun ownership isn’t rising and is in fact decreasing according to them.  Well when even CNBC is stating what we’ve all known, the fact you are in the first stage of grief, denial, becomes obvious.

Women are certainly juicing the numbers, but other factors are pushing sales higher. A record 16.4 million firearm background checks were conducted in the U.S. last year, up from 14.4 million in 2010. A weak economy and fear of President Obama pushing for gun control in a potential second term have weapons sales soaring.

“It’s booming,” says Jessica Goode, who sells guns at Sharp Shooters in Lorton, Va.  “The weapons are flying off the shelves. We can’t keep them in stock. It’s the economy. People are feeling unsafe nowadays, they want protection.”

You know I can understand a little bit of denial at the beginning, but this is just loosing its humor… Wait no it’s not, it’s still hilarious!

Anyone who has spent any time around the different parts of the culture sees the obvious.  Ownership is growing, period.  Last gun show I went to was the most packed I had ever seen it.  The local indoor range it is pretty much required advanced reservations now.  Out of the few shops I spend time in and know owners they all have said they are seeing new owners.  I have been fielding questions from family friends interested in getting their first gun.  I spent time introducing someone else to shooting personally.

Despite what these people want to think, the facts show that gun ownership is increasing in this country.  Then on top of the cold hard facts there is plenty of circumstantial evidence to further support it.

To further the trend of denial however.  Many of us who open carry now are discovering something else, no one cares.  Joe has gone to the doctor and been exposed in the People’s Republik of Puget Sound and there wasn’t a swarm of police.  The fact is, we are winning the war of normalization and it is a few people who go into pants shitting hysterics (PSH) when they see a gun.  Despite what these hysterical people think, they are not the majority of the public.

Gun ownership is up within the US and the numbers prove it.  The media is seeing it and admitting the truth.  I know it must be difficult for our opponents to realize their irrelevancy.

Denial is the first stage of grief and it is strong with both the VPC and the Brady Campaign.

Stage two is Anger.  We have seen anger out of the CSGV and many who are associated with our other opponents.  CSGV’s Facebook page is an endless stream of comments wishing violence upon strangers.  Expect the levels of anger to rise over time as they begin to be unable to support their denial any longer.

Starbucks Appreciation Day (Starbucks Buycott)

So today was Starbucks appreciation day, however my visit to the coffee house was delayed by the wife’s 12 hour shift. 

So initially I planned on buying myself some coffee and at the same time buying a bunch of Via to send overseas.  There’s an old adage that was drilled into my head by my dad growing up, “No Plan Survives First Contact With the Enemy.”  They didn’t have the big packs of Via at this Starbucks.  The wife is going to check Safeway tomorrow after her shift and if that fails I’ll be picking it up at Costco or ordering it online.  My current receipt is small but will be growing considerably once I get my hands on the Via or order it.

IMAG0082

Now, me being the guy that I am, and the fact it was snowing outside I decided I didn’t need my coat.  Walked right past the campus police officer open carrying as he walked out with his coffee.  As I’ve said before, no one cares!

IMAG0083

The wife on the other hand remained much more discreet being that’s she’s so cold blooded (I’m so going on the couch for that, but it’s true, she’d freeze without me).

IMAG0084

So we’re sitting at the table, across from where everyone has to pick up their coffee, both guns plainly visible.  What does the barista say?  Not what any of the bigots would have you think, and I quote, “Oh you guys are so cute!”  Yeah, explain that one!  We also asked the barista how business was today.  She didn’t work this morning but she said business this evening was not below average but not high either. 

I did also get an email from LC Scotty this morning.

image

I know A Girl and Her Gun also has a package enroute to me.   All of this coffee is going to be headed overseas.  So not only did we support Starbucks, but sending out a taste of home.  All the gun grabbers were living in complete denial.  How am I so sure it’s denial, here’s pictures and comments from a fellow blogger who’s just too “lazy(little kids are a pain)” to blog anymore.  She just runs on the Facebook now.  Seems she went and got 60 bucks worth of Starbucks herself plus an extra 50 from her current job specifically as part of the buycott! 

image

Tweet space was quite alive today with the boycott and buycott traffic.  Most interesting was the total meltdown that began to happen from the group that organized it and the Brady Campaign continued with their existence in the first stage of grief.  Note all the definite numbers provided above, plus Joe wasn’t a slouch either.  Just from what’s listed there in three people and the company is approximately $315 in business. Remember the Facebook group had almost 25000.   To put it in further perspective, at 10 dollars per person that’s a quarter million dollars in sales for Starbucks.

Here’s a list of other bloggers who participated. 

Lastly we have a post from Thirdpower.   For an intro, read this, followed by this, and then lastly read this.

That’s right, Thirdpower’s Starbucks today was financed by the people who arranged the boycott.  Talk about a way to flip the bird and rub salt in the wound.

So lets do a quick recap:

In January they organize a candle light vigil which we turned on its head and they became quite irritated over.  In February they attempt to organize a boycott and do nothing but show Starbucks why it’s financially beneficial to remain politically neutral.  It is bad business to discriminate or ostracize a group of customers because they want to exercise their legal rights.  Where’s the proof it’s good business to stay neutral I hear you ask?  The benefit is to the tune of what will probably be at least a quarter million in extra sales if those Facebook numbers can be believed and we figure approximately 10 dollars per person.  I consider it a pretty conservative estimate as well because I know plenty of people who also went today who weren’t on Facebook either.  Impressive isn’t it?  Not only that, but then some of us are buying coffee to then turn around and send overseas for those who couldn’t participate?  What pictures and events did the boycott organizers do today to show their support and how successful they are?  Oh that’s right they have a blank Facebook page that none of us can see.  I’ve got pictures of me to show Starbucks thank you.  They have pictures of nothing and the majority of their protestors didn’t patronize Starbucks to begin with anyway

Also Weer’d did a post tonight that caused me to have an epiphany type moment.  The boycott was organized on Valentine’s day, so in the event that there wasn’t a decrease in sales they had an automatic rationalization for an out.  Instead of seeing the lack of support they could blame it on couples going on a date filling in the gap.  Why else would they set it on a holiday where Starbucks would already be seeing an increase in business? 

Let them continue to wallow in denial. CSGV, at least Ladd anyway, has moved on to anger.  There will be no bargaining for any of them when they arrive.  They can be depressed for as long as they like, but eventually they will reach acceptance.  They lost and they will be relegated to the dustbin of history.  While we must continue pounding on them, lest we snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, we have the high ground currently.  We need to do as much as we can to continue their progression of grief.