Editor’s note: This commentary is by Bob Stannard, an author, musician and former lobbyist. This piece first appeared in the Bennington Banner.
[T]here is so much going on today that it’s entirely possible you miss some stuff. After nearly two years special counsel Robert Mueller released his report which received high praise from the president, until he had it read to him. Once his corruption and obstruction attempts were read back to him he now hates it. Oh well.
Then there was the Notre Dame fire that partially destroyed this iconic cathedral. Billionaires from around the world jumped in with large donations seeing this as a great opportunity to get their family name carved into a wall of donors. Even our president, not a big fan of churches and/or France offered his construction expertise, which was quickly declined. France has enough trouble right now without stiffing those who might work on this project.
There has not yet been one word from our president on the burning of three black churches in Louisiana by white supremacists. Apparently, if the parishioners of a church are black and the arsonists is wearing a MAGA hat then that’s just fine. No billionaires have stepped up to help rebuild these churches.
Bernie did well on Fox News concluding his appearance by saying, “I hope I wasn’t too hard on you.” Priceless. And when the host asked the audience about “Medicare for All” he was taken aback by the resounding positive response. Our president and his part-time press secretary, Fox News host Sean Hannity, both chastised Fox News for having Bernie on. That was a first.
However, what’s really caught my attention is crazy people with guns – again. This time we’re in New Mexico where a felon, Larry Mitchell Hopkins, who has his own hateful, right-wing, alt-right radio show that he uses to instill hatred towards anyone who is not a white, Christian, gun-toting crazy person. Hopkins also goes by the name of the late country music singer, Johnny Horton Jr. Don’t ask.
Mr. Hopkins/Horton has anointed himself and a handful of like-minded followers as the arbiters of border patrol and immigration policy. They don their camouflage outfits, complete with baubles and bangles, grab their fully loaded automatic weapons and stop people from coming into the country. What they fail to realize is that many of those they are stopping are asylum seekers, which is legal. That plus the fact that they have no authority to act as border patrol agents. It’s not a job for trigger-happy fools.
Thanks to the ACLU, the New Mexico attorney general learned of these armed yahoos and promptly had them arrested. We can only hope that all of them will remain in jail a very long time so that the rest of us can be safe.
Our country has always had its share of counterculture, paranoid conspiracy theorists who run around trying to be something they’re not — successful. But things are different now, aren’t they? Our leader has opened the door and empowered these dangerous people. Much like when George W. Bush, at the behest of Karl Rove, empowered the snake-charming religious zealots in order to win an election, we now have escalated the lunatic fringe to a position of acceptance.
Sorry, but that doesn’t work for me and most Americans. What do you see and feel when you’re walking down the street and see some bozo all decked out like a tactical military soldier, complete with sunglasses, helmet and automatic weapon? How does it make you feel when you walk into a supermarket, a mall, or anywhere and you see someone toting a rifle or carrying a pistol? Do you feel safer or do you feel threatened?
I grew up with guns. My dad taught me how to shoot at probably too early an age, but learn I did. Before I ever shot a gun I had to learn to dismantle and reassemble it. Carrying a gun around to make yourself feel like some sort of tough was totally unacceptable. Guns were to be used for two and only two purposes: target shooting and killing game. That was it. No comments on self-defense were forthcoming. Maybe it was because of the times. It was 1961. I don’t recall being raised in fear and taught to hate others. That said, there were certainly unfounded worries of Communists invading us (not so sure what they’d want with Vermont, but who knows? Fear is fear).
Like Mr. Hopkins/Horton many of those who feel the need to carry a firearm do so because they are insecure. Hopkins/Horton wanted to be a cop, but in no way, shape or form would ever qualify. The next best thing is to be a pretend cop.
We have more than our share of troubled souls and we all know it. No one ever feels safe when we see someone openly carrying. No one, that is, except for the one who is armed. We need to seek some middle ground on this and I’m not sure how. The NRA will tout the Second Amendment of the Constitution saying that we all have the right to walk around carrying AR-15s and scaring the hell out of every man, women and child. I don’t think we do and we shouldn’t. There is no place in a civilized society for armed pseudo tough guys. We’ve got a lot of work to do. The good news is that it appears as though the NRA could lose its nonprofit status. That’s a good place to start.
