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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsI cannot express how wrong I was: Country guitarist changes mind on gun control after Vegas
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2017/10/02/i-cannot-express-how-wrong-i-was-country-guitarist-changes-mind-on-gun-control-after-vegas/
WhiskeyGrinder
(22,463 posts)How interesting to see a white male reject and decry the violent outlaw culture he propagated through his entertainment.
enough
(13,263 posts)suffering people are nothing.
Amimnoch
(4,558 posts)With them it's ALL about "me".
Worse, they normally thumb their noses at things that DO actually and really benefit them if it also benefits those "others" they don't care so much for.
Fuck em.
ananda
(28,885 posts)As long as there is a cross-country mindchange,
I don't care how it happens!
whathehell
(29,096 posts)TrollBuster9090
(5,955 posts)But in the meantime....FUCK YOU, Keeter! It was just an unpreventable tragedy when nutcases were slaughtering kids in an elementary school, or Batman fans at a movie theatre, or gay men at a night club. But when they take a shot at YOU, THEN and ONLY THEN something needs to be done?
politicaljunkie41910
(3,335 posts)realize that they and their family members are not safe either. The never-evers will eventually have to come to grips with the fact that as the saying goes, "they came for our children and I did nothing because it was not my child, and then they came for me and no one was left to stand up and fight for me, but me."
paleotn
(17,989 posts)RandySF
(59,413 posts)sarisataka
(18,819 posts)whathehell
(29,096 posts)after all.
Thegonagle
(806 posts)Multiple people telling him to f--k off.
I say welcome to the sane side of the issue, friend, we need you and always will going forward.
Beaverhausen
(24,472 posts)fuck this piece of shit
Aristus
(66,478 posts)Dead children - he doesn't care.
Dead black parishioners - he doesn't care.
Dead gay people - he doesn't care.
Dead country music fans - NOW he cares!
lunatica
(53,410 posts)Forget about anyone else, including his fans.
Dreamer Tatum
(10,926 posts)...you need to approve the terms under which they agree with you.
What a winning strategy!
Lazy Daisy
(928 posts)and don't feel a bit bad about it either.
My first thought when reading his statement was "fuck you and everyone like you"
Maybe tomorrow I'll find my empathy & decency. But today all I have is "fuck you" to all the gun humpers
lunatica
(53,410 posts)It's your right.
paleotn
(17,989 posts)On something as fucked up as our gun laws? You're kidding, right?.....
Eliot Rosewater
(31,126 posts)LoveMyCali
(2,015 posts)he now sees the "A good guy with a gun" theory doesn't work. There were several "good guys" there with weapons and they couldn't stop the gunman.
FakeNoose
(32,817 posts)We can't be telling people to fuck off just because it took them a while to see the light.
The important thing is that they finally DO see it, and they're willing to publicily admit their mistake. This is big!
This guy has followers and fans, they'll get the message and maybe change their minds too.
Everything changes one voter at a time, never give up hope.
Phentex
(16,334 posts)they only care when it affects THEM
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)It's going to take a lot more pro 2A victims before we ever see anything done in this country.
adigal
(7,581 posts)Day late and a dollar short.
jmowreader
(50,567 posts)Dead children? "If all the teachers in that school would have had guns, they could have stopped the gunman."
Dead black parishioners? "If there had only been someone there with a gun, he could have saved the day!"
Dead gay people? "If those (insert favorite homophobic smear) had been packed like good Americans, no one would mess with them."
Dead country music fans? "It's 'a good guy with a gun,' not 'a good guy with an A-10.'"
LisaM
(27,843 posts)I'm glad he had the guts to point it out.
He saw firsthand that more guns was not the solution.
Squinch
(51,027 posts)Xolodno
(6,406 posts)...all the parents were in on the hoax
They will refuse to believe any gun violence until it hits them personally. If a gun nut shot up the school where Alex Jones kids go, then he might...and mean... might rethink his position.
SammyWinstonJack
(44,130 posts)sarge43
(28,946 posts)AwakeAtLast
(14,134 posts)Glad he's on the train, but why make 1,000 ft. leap?
Achilleaze
(15,543 posts)go into overdrive to harass and try to silence the voices of sanity and common sense.
tblue37
(65,490 posts)This is the typical failure of imagination and empathy on the right. Only their own suffering counts.
CanonRay
(14,120 posts)or they don't give a shit.
Dark n Stormy Knight
(9,771 posts)the failure to imagine what suffering others are experiencing, and to be adamantly opposing the very idea of trying to understand and consider their situation, is a particularly common problem in the GOP.
uponit7771
(90,367 posts)renate
(13,776 posts)If we're all "FU" when people admit their mistakes, they're not going to be open about their change of heart. And if they're not open about their change of heart, other people won't see their change of heart and listen and learn from it.
It's hella annoying that horrible things only bother some people when tragedy strikes them personally, but it's also human nature, and I think we should be extra welcoming when people out and out admit that they had been stubborn in the past. Otherwise we won't make any progress at all.
femmedem
(8,208 posts)I get so discouraged sometimes by the unwillingness to accept new allies.
groundloop
(11,527 posts)True, he should have realized much earlier what he sees now, but at least he's come around to admitting he was wrong. Maybe, just maybe, he'll bring others with him.
halobeam
(4,873 posts)I'm glad he changed his mind. One more person who now, will try to get others to see it and learn what he "saw" and learned. I'll take it. Better late than never, so true.
hatrack
(59,593 posts)Dem_4_Life
(1,765 posts)If country singers and band members would speak out more and reach more of their fan base then they really could change things. There are a lot of people in red states especially that could be influenced by them. Not to say there aren't any democratic country music fans because there are a lot however a LARGE portion of country music fans are republicans. If they saw some of these type of celebrities speaking out it could make a huge difference. They would follow the it must be popular to have that viewpoint type of thinking.
Dreamer Tatum
(10,926 posts)"You didn't agree with me from the Big Bang onward? Well, FUCK YOU."
renate
(13,776 posts)People with opposing views are damned if they don't change their minds but they're also damned if they do, which is ridiculous. It's just not a practical way to get people to feel safe about admitting their past mistakes.
sarisataka
(18,819 posts)The FUCK YOU doctrine
When/if we accept support of the children of those who ever disagreed with us on any topic we'll have more victories than we know what to do with
Beaverhausen
(24,472 posts)...of our many other mass shootings but NOW that his people or whatever were shot at, he changes his tune.
If you think this kind of person deserved some accolades, then have at it.
Dreamer Tatum
(10,926 posts)News flash: people act in their self interest. People demanding absolute demonstrable fealty to a single, accepted point of view is what got us the current resident of the White House.
"Accolades" my ass. I'm concerned with change.
Beaverhausen
(24,472 posts)but I just cannot for the life of me understand how someone is not moved by the shooting of 20 6-year-olds, or 9 people at prayer or 50 + people at a night club and not realize we have to do something. And I'm glad that I am not that person.
jmg257
(11,996 posts)in this instance.
Not a matter of not being moved before, but of seeing how useless their typical 'I'm carrying' recourse was.
Bradical79
(4,490 posts)It's a pretty strong influencer. "If only the teacher had a gun!", "If only the nightclub patrons had guns!", "If only someone in that theatre had a gun!", and so on.
I'm glad he finally realized the absurdity of the action hero fantasy pushed by the NRA, conservative media, Republican poloticians, and conservative preachers.
jmg257
(11,996 posts)Dreamer Tatum
(10,926 posts)Demonizing them for not agreeing completely is a losing tactic when large numbers are at stake.
All it will take for the NRA to lose its grip is for the right couple of people to say, 'Enough.'
Skittles
(153,214 posts)not everyone behaves like fucking assholes until something affects them
OKNancy
(41,832 posts)Squinch
(51,027 posts)caused this. And we are the cause of the next one, right?
Because we might be hurting the feelings of all those good people who didn't give a rat's ass about those six year olds. Or the folks in the nightclub. Or the worshippers in the church. Or the kids in the high school. Or on and on and on.
But it's our fault for being mad.
Dreamer Tatum
(10,926 posts)I couldn't give a country fuck on a rickety raft what you're mad about.
I just care that more people are willing to contain gun violence.
Squinch
(51,027 posts)And I hope you are holding your breath till those people's "willingness to contain gun violence" changes anything. Because my bet is that very few of them have discovered the shame of their position, and we'll be right back here with you blaming the absolutely wrong people again within the year.
Orrex
(63,232 posts)"You didn't reach your conclusion the way I wanted you to reach it, so fuck you!"
Yes, we're the party of empathy.
LuvLoogie
(7,046 posts)Why shouldn't they be made to face the anger and derision wrought of their arrogant selfishness. Have at it being the go-between, but don't dismiss the anger of those who have been fighting the Right's callous and condescending self-righteousness toward we ignorant, unarmed snowflakes.
Fuck their delicate feelings. Five and six year old were gunned down, and their blood sacrificed to the 2nd ammendment--and still these fucks had to protect their unshirted access to their nickel-plated binkies.
Now some guy sees the light because some gun slinger interrupted his guitar solo?! He SHOULD be ashamed! And he SHOULD expect some derision. We're ALL fucking adults here.
Dreamer Tatum
(10,926 posts)But all you really want is the tide to turn on gun control. This guy could be part of it. There is no "coddling." He doesn't know you, doesn't care about you, nor you him.
LuvLoogie
(7,046 posts)at fucking Thanksgiving, church, the next time he says he's gonna buy a gun. My response to you/him applies without me.
JI7
(89,279 posts)These are posts on a political forum.
Nobody is saying these people should not support and campaign for gun control.
It's just pointing out the hypocrisy to others on this forum.
This thread is insane. And all to predictable.
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)27% is not 'most.'
CanSocDem
(3,286 posts)...on the use of guns. I was an indiscriminate wild life killer for many years. One day I shot a little bird with a .22 and on that day I gave up guns for good.
.
moda253
(615 posts)On am 950 a few weeks back here in MN there was a fellow that was talking about reframing the discussion to gun safety (no not gun safety classes) related issues as we step towards working common sense solutions (if only a start).
This fellow and perhaps other country stars could run with this idea of selling the idea towards responsible common sense legislation that could end a lot of gun violence.
However we do it it needs to include people like this and we need to get them on board right now while their feeling it emotionally.
7962
(11,841 posts)Maybe a law limiting the number you can buy would be a start. Something that many gun owners, like myself, would support. But if the first instinct is to go for taking handguns, et.al., then it will be a failure and nothing changes.
Leith
(7,813 posts)We can't wait until every gun luvver has a personal tragedy to come round. What the hell will it take to get through to them? It sure wasn't 20 dead first graders. It wasn't 50 people partying in a night club. It isn't innocents caught in crossfire.
matt819
(10,749 posts)The only time they can appreciate the other side of an issue is when it affects them personally.
Guns, health care, disaster response? Don't care.
Guns hurt my people, don't have money for my own health care, what do you mean there's no money for disaster relief in my home town? OMG, something has to be done.
Are they missing a gene? Are their brain synapses not firing. Did their mothers not breastfeed? Are they stupid?
Sure, it's great that they can change their minds, but is this what it has to take.
Hey, Keeter, why don't we talk about unarmed black people being killed by the police?
Hoyt
(54,770 posts)LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)Being a small minded person as directly implied in-thread, I've failed to change my mind on many occasions until it became personal.
I'm not as evolved as most. Experiences change me.
ProfessorGAC
(65,239 posts)Well said, indeed.
gopiscrap
(23,765 posts)along with the lead story on every broadcast tonight
world wide wally
(21,757 posts)LakeArenal
(28,858 posts)Thanks for the enlightened moment.
LakeArenal
(28,858 posts)Wouldn't it just be Schadenfreude if Dump is the one that comes after their guns..... I'd laugh if it all wasn't so horrible.
Justice
(7,188 posts)it until my brothers on the road and myself were threatened by it. We are unbelievably fortunate to not be among the number of victims killed or seriously wounded by this maniac."
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)politicians with their guns. We might finally see some changes then. Only when it affects them will things change.
former9thward
(32,097 posts)The only other thing quoted from him was "We need Gun Control Now!". Ok. What does that mean? It means anything anyone wants it to mean. Everyone from someone who wants all guns to be illegal to a NRA member can easily get behind that statement. Not to jump on him but it seems everyone who wants "gun control" just says that without being specific.
Native
(5,943 posts)TrollBuster9090
(5,955 posts)It was just an unpreventable tragedy when all the nutcases were doing was shooting KIDS in an elementary school, or movie fans at a Batman premier....but as soon as they take a shot at YOU....THEN something has to be done.
All I can say is...FUCK...YOU...!
AllyCat
(16,235 posts)mountain grammy
(26,658 posts)Welcome to the world.
AllyCat
(16,235 posts)oxbow
(2,034 posts)...maybe some good can come out of this
IronLionZion
(45,562 posts)if they were fully automatic and have the ability for that piece of shit to fire off 600+ rounds so quickly. Think about it. It must be illegal, right? What the hell was he using?
oberliner
(58,724 posts)http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/las-vegas-shooter-stephen-paddock-guns-legally-bought-shops-background-checks-passed-a7979816.html
IronLionZion
(45,562 posts)LAS VEGAS SHOOTING: GUNMAN STEPHEN PADDOCK USED LEGAL 'BUMP STOCK' TO LET HIM FIRE SO QUICKLY FOR SO LONG
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/las-vegas-shooting-stephen-paddock-bump-stock-gun-weapon-rifle-how-explained-a7979871.html
It baffles me what is legal and illegal in this country
Mosby
(16,383 posts)DinahMoeHum
(21,812 posts)and thanks for the explanation of why the "good-guy-with-a-gun" meme is BULLSHIT.
Orsino
(37,428 posts)The assholes dying in groups of three or four weren't doing it right. No, to attract this musician's attention, you have to die in big numbers, and right next to him.
Imagine how bad climate change would have to get to move this immovable mind.
IronLionZion
(45,562 posts)honey instead of vinegar. Build support for change
klook
(12,171 posts)The support of a white guitarist in a C&W band would be a huge help for sensible gun control.
Of course, he'll probably get Dixie-Chicked, and, hell, the guitarist can be replaced a lot easier than the lead vocalist if there's enough of a backlash... but still, it's good to see somebody like this speaking out.
Hope the band will stand by him, and I hope the guy will become an activist for sane firearms policy.