At Liberty, he can avoid all pretense that in the minds of many conservatives this is indeed a war against Islam-which is exactly what ISIS wants.
"Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr. urged more students to carry guns on Friday, arguing that if the victims of Wednesday’s attack in San Bernardino, California were armed, they would have been able to protect themselves from the attackers."
“I’ve always thought that if more good people had concealed-carry permits, then we could end those Muslims before they walked in and killed them,” he said during the school’s convocation, before teasing the students about his own gun.
“If some of those people in that community center had what I have in my back pocket right now…,” he said. “Is it illegal to pull it out? I don’t know,” he joked, to laughter and loud applause. “I just wanted to take this opportunity to encourage all of you to get your permit. We offer a free course,” he said. “Let’s teach them a lesson if they ever show up here.”
"Falwell later told the Washington Post that he decided to carry a .25 pistol following Wednesday’s attack, which authorities are ascribing to two individuals who may have been radicalized by the foreign terrorist group ISIS. The son of the late religious leader Jerry Falwell Sr. also clarified that his reference to “those Muslims” was short hand for Islamic-inspired terrorists. “That’s the only thing I would clarify,” Falwell told the Post. “If I had to say what I said again, I’d say exactly the same thing.”
"Virginia residents who complete training and satisfy state requirements may apply for a concealed weapons permit. Students and faculty members at Liberty University may carry concealed weapons on campus but not in the residence halls. The Christian college is closely aligned with conservative politics, but is at odds with major religious groups, who overwhelmingly favor stricter gun safety measures."
"Research also shows that armed civilians are unable to successfully intervene in mass shootings and that higher gun ownership actually correlates with higher instances of firearm-related deaths. One recent study found that for “every 1 percent increase in gun ownership, there was a 1.1 percent increase in the firearm homicide rate and a 0.7 percent increase in the total homicide rate.”
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/12/05/3728760/university-president-urges-students-to-carry-guns-and-end-those-muslims/
"Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr. urged more students to carry guns on Friday, arguing that if the victims of Wednesday’s attack in San Bernardino, California were armed, they would have been able to protect themselves from the attackers."
“I’ve always thought that if more good people had concealed-carry permits, then we could end those Muslims before they walked in and killed them,” he said during the school’s convocation, before teasing the students about his own gun.
“If some of those people in that community center had what I have in my back pocket right now…,” he said. “Is it illegal to pull it out? I don’t know,” he joked, to laughter and loud applause. “I just wanted to take this opportunity to encourage all of you to get your permit. We offer a free course,” he said. “Let’s teach them a lesson if they ever show up here.”
"Falwell later told the Washington Post that he decided to carry a .25 pistol following Wednesday’s attack, which authorities are ascribing to two individuals who may have been radicalized by the foreign terrorist group ISIS. The son of the late religious leader Jerry Falwell Sr. also clarified that his reference to “those Muslims” was short hand for Islamic-inspired terrorists. “That’s the only thing I would clarify,” Falwell told the Post. “If I had to say what I said again, I’d say exactly the same thing.”
"Virginia residents who complete training and satisfy state requirements may apply for a concealed weapons permit. Students and faculty members at Liberty University may carry concealed weapons on campus but not in the residence halls. The Christian college is closely aligned with conservative politics, but is at odds with major religious groups, who overwhelmingly favor stricter gun safety measures."
"Research also shows that armed civilians are unable to successfully intervene in mass shootings and that higher gun ownership actually correlates with higher instances of firearm-related deaths. One recent study found that for “every 1 percent increase in gun ownership, there was a 1.1 percent increase in the firearm homicide rate and a 0.7 percent increase in the total homicide rate.”
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/12/05/3728760/university-president-urges-students-to-carry-guns-and-end-those-muslims/
In a way, Falwell, Jr. gives the whole game away-it's about Muslims. If white male extremist kills a bunch of people then you pray for the families of the victims and then just forget it.
If the killer was Muslim then it's terrorism. If the killers hadn't been Muslim would he have felt the need to make this speech? No.
"If white male extremist kills a bunch of people then you pray for the families of the victims and then just forget it."
ReplyDeleteYes, and the irony is that students on the Liberty University campus are very unlikely to encounter any Muslims (how many Muslims do they admit each year? How many apply?).
Don't forget this one: Missouri lawmakers propose lifting gun ban on college campuses:
http://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/missouri/2015/12/05/missouri-lawmakers-propose-lifting-gun-ban-colleges/76848752/
Or this one: crazy friend of family kills 7-year old after she hugs him at soccer practice (he shoots mom too, before offing himself):
http://www.heraldcurrent.com/7-year-old-girl-killed-after-soccer-practice-and-mother-in-critical-condition-at-taylor-sportsplex-shooting/23225/
Or this one:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/article48184775.html
Or this one:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/police-kill-armed-man-wisconsin-bike-shop-standoff-article-1.2456732
These people encouraging guns on campus are taking a huge political gamble: what if they get their way, and gun violence spikes... perhaps an incident or two make the national news (perhaps a standoff condition with a gunman): this is going to look terrible for them.
O/T: Mike, this is a fun video (two dutch guys put a Koran book cover on a Bible and read random people on the street sketchy Bible verses, and ask them what they think):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEnWw_lH4tQ
Also, I thought this was interesting, from a piece about the female shooter in San Bernardino:
"Dr. Nisar Hussain, a professor in the pharmacology department at Bahauddin Zakariya University, told the Los Angeles Times that she was veiled when attending the school.
“She was religious, but a very normal person as well. She was a very hardworking and submissive student. She never created any problem in the class. She was an obedient girl. I cannot even imagine how she could murder people,” he said in an interview with the Times."
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/12/06/family-members-say-tashfeen-malik-became-more-religious-in-years-prior-to/
Obedient and submissive? Sounds like exactly the kind that would believe some asshole conman telling her she'd go to paradise if she killed a bunch of infidels.
As Jerry Coyne says, science is based on doubt: the most important thing is to avoid fooling yourself. Religion is based on the exact opposite concept: do everything you can to fool yourself.
Coyne sums it up pretty well, starting here and going for about a minute.
DeleteThanks for all the great links. The idea of arming everyone to fight gun violence is absurd and you wish you could just laugh it off. Unfortunately, though, it's worse than that: these folks are serious.
ReplyDeleteI will say though that it is true that what is so sobering is that these two killers seemed so normal. Not all psychos act psycho.
Remember what Hannah Arendt said about the banality of evil.
That was what a lot of people noted after the Boston bombings as well. You'd never guess the younger kid at least would be involved in anything like that. He just seemed like a normal college student.
This couple had fit in well at work, No one thought of them as potential Jihadists or anything.
Yes, I even heard Rick Santorum trying to justify guns at bars (to Chris Matthews).
DeleteI have a feeling this is one of those times when conservative departure from reality will provide them with some negative feedback... feedback that will be hard to ignore. They've bought into this marketing concept that
more guns = peace
So we'll see how that turns out. I think the results will start flowing in pretty quickly. If their social experiment fails, the irony of it won't escape the notice of the "normal person" press (though the right wing media-sphere may do it's best to sweep that under the rug). I'm sure Alex Jones (for example) will just claim those are more "false flag" events, because it's inconceivable that he could be wrong about it: it's a matter of faith.
Yes, I mean I don't like to get too optimistic-as this so often leads to disappointment-but I think you may be right.
DeleteWhat I see as good news is that the mainstream press-the Times, the Daily News-are for once picking sides.
When the Daily News or the Times puts this on the front page it's impossible to ignore and the conservatives are getting very peevish about that.
Yeah.. was it Erick Erickson that went out and shot his copy of the NY Times? I guess in reaction to their gun control op ed. I just saw the headline that said "Red State editor"... I assumed it was him. Ooooo... he showed that nasty newspaper! Way to go Erick. What a moron!
DeleteRight but as absurd as that is, the beauty is they have to respond. It's becoming impossible to ignore the conversation. Erickson is just making them all look even sillier.
DeleteAnd I think as the headlines multiply it becomes more and more implausible a line to take
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see a bunch of normal news media spend one week and focus on EVERY gun related crime that occurs.
ReplyDeleteWell the Washington Post has a tracker. But yes, the more the publicize and document the better.
ReplyDeleteMike, here's another empirical claim about reality that we can soon check:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.politico.eu/article/trump-islamic-terrorism-will-get-solved-when-obama-gets-the-hell-out/