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"What we need to unify us all is a scapegoat" is
the caption on a political cartoon spoofing the United Nations Conference of
Racism in today's Chicago Sun-Times (9-8-01). Some things never change as people
vent their frustrations on some perceived enemy they desperately need to place
blame for their own problems. Typically, this involves
exaggerations, distortions and outright lies needed to justify the hateful
actions and speech that is sure to follow.
I am reminded of the growing hateful rhetoric
directed at the law enforcement community in various segments of the 2AM
community. This is especially prevalent on the Internet where the anonymity of
an email name gives the "keyboard commando" a great amount of freedom. No
disrespect intended, as I use the Internet for the majority of my own activism.
I do use my true name on all correspondence.
The practice or tenets of a bigot are very real to
the bigot. I can no more pretend to change the mind of a fanatically committed
person at that conference of racism in South Africa than I can pretend to change the
mind of an enthusiastic participant on an Internet discussion list.
But I do believe that the majority of
the Internet community is in lurk mode and deserves to hear a variety of
opinions that may not agree with the "loudest and maddest" that is most common
or frequent. Many list participants prefer to avoid the verbal attacks that
result when questioning the "non-politically correct" babble that prevails.
Our actions and words affect those who agree with
us as well as those who oppose our Constitutional Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
Most important, I believe, our actions and words should be directed at the vast
majority of "undecided" or "non-committed" citizens that will eventually make
the difference in the polls of public opinion and the ballot box.
Anyone in the Second Amendment activist arena has
heard, "Dial 911 and Die" used to emphasize the need for the individual's need
for self protection. It certainly makes
sense when incorporated in the original dissertation accompanied by the research
that compares the gun laws of Nazi Germany with the expanding firearms laws in
America.
Taken out of
context, however, it seems often to be abused. The Nazi/Gestapo/Nuremberg
references are serious topics that deserve more than a sound bite treatment. I
can't help but believe that it might be offensive to those who suffered the real
consequences of that world tragedy, and comparing modern America to Hitler's
Germany seems a bit far fetched. You and I and "the choir" knows what it means, and there isn't a cop in the
world that will claim that he can respond to every victim of crime in a few minutes, but what about
the big grey area of citizens that we have to win over in order to recover our
rights?
I have travelled to downtown Chicago a number of times to join a
little band of supporters protesting Mayor Daley's anti-gun efforts. A half
dozen guys with Hitler/Nazi and "Dial 911 and Die" signs stand around
in T-shirts and ball caps and wonder
aloud why no gun owners show up to join them. Duh!
Meanwhile, the mayor busses in schoolteachers and students in the hundreds,
and their speakers' list is made up of elected officials, doctors, lawyers, and
prominent members of the community. The contrast is striking.
It is sometimes important to consider the consequences
of your actions -- to weigh the value and influence of your speech. You can
claim that "Dial 911 and DIE!" is an important message, but to who?
190 million calls are logged each year by 911 operators across the country.
go to:
http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Emergency911/CommCenter/CommunicationsCenter.html
where it says: The Chicago Emergency Communications Center Call volume (9-1-1)
logs 10,000-13,000 9-1-1 calls
per day, and 98% of those calls are answered in less than 2 seconds the most
efficient emergency call center in the world. In 1999, the OEC answered more
than 4 million 9-1-1 calls.
3-1-1 Service of the OEC answers 8,000 3-1-1 calls per day.
Chicago has the largest and most comprehensive 3-1-1 system in the country. The
US Department of Justice has identified Chicago’s 3-1-1 program as a model, and
representatives from Los Angeles, Houston, Detroit and Washington, DC have
visited Chicago to study our system.
Wireless 9-1-1 calls - In April 1997, Chicago became the
first city in Illinois to answer wireless 9-1-1 calls, today wireless calls account for 24% of 9-1-1
call volume.
In the 33 years since the first U.S. 911 call was placed in the tiny town of
Haleyville, Ala., the system has become so widely known that it is not uncommon
to hear amazing tales of its use, such as preschoolers still learning their
numbers dialing 911 when their parents are in trouble.
Dialing 911 is as American as apple pie. Have you called
911? How many of your family, friends, co-workers or club members have called
911? How valuable is a sound bite when explaining it to the average citizen
causes them to look at you as if you had three eyes?
How many hundreds of thousands of your fellow citizens
are employed in the Emergency Medical Services that serve every community, every
single hour of every single day? Check out
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=emergency+medical+services and
you may share my opinion that the EMS community makes a valuable contribution to
our society. More importantly, they are productive VOTING citizens of your
community that deserve more respect.
If you have the time to surf the web and are
interested in viewing police officers as fellow citizens, try
http://www.topsitelists.com/bestsites/angryize/topsites.html or
http://www.worldwide-topsites.nu/law/index.html to view these citizens in a
more favorable light.
I am as convinced as anyone that there is a
serious threat to firearms freedom in this country. I feel that high level of
frustration that comes from the never ending list of anti-freedom firearms laws
piling up over the years. I just cannot believe that targeting law enforcement
and the EMS community of honest, hard working citizens with a catchy sound bite
has the value that some seem to find.
As with any bigotry, when you peel back the
dehumanizing, hateful rhetoric, you find your friends and neighbors. I am
convinced that the tide is turning and the actions and attitude of the current
administration is providing hope for gun owners. See
http://www.2ampd.net/Articles/Pyle/a_new_sheriff_in_town.htm. I don't intend
to offend the many activists who participate in the various discussions, and
hope that as with any discussion of important topics, we can sometimes agree to
disagree.
I will attend, to protest, the next anti-gun
performance hosted by Da Mayor in Chicago. I'll be wearing a sport coat and glad
handing the cops surrounding the audience while the other pro-gunner activists
are huddled into a protest area in the rear to wonder who's side I am on and
whether I am the "plant" they suspect :-).
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