A Satirical Discourse On Bigotry
Behold the target of the bigot in modern American society.
There is little tolerance on the political Left for white male gun owners.
Tolerance is the new holy gospel in America. Bigotry is the unforgivable sin of the Information Age. It doesn’t matter what good you might have otherwise accomplished, in the 21st century, if you can be painted as intolerant, you are an irredeemable reprobate.
Given the purported pervasive prevalence of bigotry in our society, I propose that we explore the holy dicta of tolerance as they relate to the traditionally conservative American gun owner. This stuff is important. Microaggressions can evolve into macroaggressions. If we tolerate bigotry, then we begin flirting with fascism. The next thing you know some yahoo will be trying to clone Hitler from a tooth fragment. Literally, nobody wants that.
Start With The Basics
Bigotry is formally defined as “intolerance of those who hold different opinions from oneself.” In the modern age, bigotry is the manifestation of innate animosity toward an individual or people group based upon their unwillingness or inability to conform to the bigot’s expected norms of philosophy, worldview, or behavior. Now, how might we recognize bigotry when confronted by it?
For starters, the offending behavior that drives the bigot must be harmless. I think we can all agree that a little innate disdain for Nazi death camp guards or serial murderers is both warranted and healthy. However, if the target of the bigot’s ire causes no discernible harm, then we must question the underlying motivations. Is the bigot driven by the furtherance of the public good, or is he actually trying to impose his will unfairly upon others? Such imposition reeks of rank imperialism and is obviously a throwback to a darker, more misogynistic and institutionally oppressive age.
The Landscape
Crime rates have been demonstrably falling since the 1970s, whilst rates of private gun ownership have been skyrocketing. Cherry-picking statistics and fixation on isolated tragedy can indeed drive a false narrative. However, statistically speaking, the reality is that America has become steadily safer as we have become ever better armed. It is simply that egregious examples of violence are now pumped into our pockets via our phones where, in decades past, we lacked this capacity.
In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, America saw a drastic rise in concealed carry. In 2017, there were 17,251,354 concealed carry permit holders in the United States. In a nation with a population of 328 million, that is roughly one in twelve adult Americans. Considering half of the 50 states also now allow some form of permitless carry the absolute number of Americans wandering about armed in public staggers the imagination.
In 1980, the rate of overall property crime in America was 5,400 incidents per 100,000 people. Today, the number is less than half that. These same trends hold true for burglary, larceny, auto theft, and murder. The media will not tell you that because a demonstrably safer world doesn’t earn clicks.
The Very Definition Of Bigotry
With the assistance of biased and complicit media, Leftists control the presidency as well as both houses of Congress. Among their published legislative priorities is the re-enactment of an assault weapons ban, a ban on standard-capacity magazines, and sweeping restrictions on gun ownership. All this is in the face of demonstrable reductions in crime rates since the 1980s.
Thirty-two percent of American adults admit to owning at least one firearm. It follows that 68% of American adults are, therefore, not gun owners. That makes gun owners in America a statistically significant minority. Of those 66,921,246 gun owners, at least 66,910,242 are not criminals. Why then should there be such abject animosity directed toward this one people group by those who do not share their worldview? Is that not the textbook definition of bigotry?
Ruminations
I once heard a CEO pontificate that the only thing she would not tolerate was intolerance. I came to appreciate later that what she actually meant was that the only thing she would not tolerate was anyone who did not conform to her standard of normality. Tolerance is a one-way street in America. You can sleep with road kill and be considered some sort of protected minority. However, in certain circles, if you admit to being a white hetero gun-owning Christian, you are viewed as some kind of malevolent leper. Ask me how I know this.
So the next time someone gives you a hard time about gun ownership, just politely state that you choose not to associate with bigots and move on. The oppression of law-abiding gun owners is the practical manifestation of institutional bigotry. Perhaps as a persecuted minority we could get some kind of special license plates or something. I’m not holding my breath.
