Tragedy evokes strong emotional responses. We’re human and unnecessary death makes us sad, angry, confused… the gamut of feelings following events like the back-to-back mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton often drive the narrative. For gun control advocates, the oft-used cry of “do something” invariably follows mass shootings, but these events in particular have made the mantra much more prevalent than any time in the past.
These emotional responses usually lack the necessary forethought and contemplation necessary to find real solutions. They become popular because they represent a collective expression of emotional responses. Unfortunately, the calls themselves are built on false premises.
Take “hands up, don’t shoot,” for example. This became more than a rallying cry to represent Michael Brown and the angst against law enforcement killing of African-American males. It sparked a movement that went from passive protest to direct conflict with law enforcement in the form of Black Lives Matter. Five years after events in Ferguson, the mantra is still popular whenever protesters and police are at the same venues. Ironically, it was built on a lie.
Debunked and retracted reports that Brown put his hands up and said “don’t shoot” before being shot and killed barely slowed the momentum of the mantra. If anything, many activists doubled down and screamed it louder in an effort to drown out the truth that he never actually said it, nor did he even put his hands up. Instead, he wasn’t shot trying to prevent his own demise. He was shot because he was assaulting a police officer and attempting to take his firearm.
Just like “hands up, don’t shoot,” the effects of “do something” are being made tangible. Lawmakers across the country, including Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, are attempting to do something for the sake of political expediency. The fear of going into their next election with the label of “did nothing” is too much for many Republican lawmakers to bear, so they’re flirting with universal background checks, red flag gun laws, and “assault weapons” bans. They’re doing this despite many of them being defenders of the 2nd Amendment in the past.
Tragedy changes people, but fear of retribution from a mob armed with a powerful mantra is much more likely the reason for change in many GOP lawmakers today. It would be different if they could do something that could prevent future mass shootings, but over and over again we hear about solutions that we know aren’t going to be effective, as Seb Gorka noted.
https://twitter.com/FrankelJeremy/status/1161047573278445570
There are solutions. There are ways to “do something.” But that doesn’t mean we have to invoke more gun control.
The last time DC responded to calls to “do something” was following 9/11, The “something” was invading the Middle East and the Patriot Act. As bad as those reactions were, I fear this round of doing something could be even worse for America.
We are currently forming the American Conservative Movement. If you are interested in learning more, we will be sending out information in a few weeks.
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Will America-First News Outlets Make it to 2023?
Things are looking grim for conservative and populist news sites.
There’s something happening behind the scenes at several popular conservative news outlets. 2021 was bad, but 2022 is proving to be disastrous for news sites that aren’t “playing ball” with the corporate media narrative. It’s being said that advertisers are cracking down, forcing some of the biggest ad networks like Google and Yahoo to pull their inventory from conservative outlets. This has had two major effects. First, it has cooled most conservative outlets from discussing “taboo” topics like Pandemic Panic Theater, voter fraud, or The Great Reset. Second, it has isolated those ad networks that aren’t playing ball.
Certain topics are anathema for most ad networks. Speaking out against vaccines or vaccine mandates is a certain path to being demonetized. Highlighting voter fraud in the 2020 and future elections is another instant advertising death penalty. Throw in truthful stories about climate change hysteria, Critical Race Theory, and the border crisis and it’s easy to understand how difficult it is for America-First news outlets to spread the facts, share conservative opinions, and still pay the bills.
Without naming names, I have been told of several news outlets who have been forced to either consolidate with larger organizations or who have backed down on covering certain topics out of fear of being “canceled” by the ad networks. I get it. This is a business for many of us and it’s not very profitable. Those of us who do this for a living are often barely squeaking by, so loss of additional revenue can often mean being forced to make cuts. That means not being able to cover the topics properly. Its a Catch-22: Tell the truth and lose the money necessary to keep telling the truth, or avoid the truth and make enough money to survive. Those who have chosen survival simply aren’t able to spread the truth properly.
We will never avoid the truth. The Lord will provide if it is His will. Our job is simply to share the facts, spread the Gospel, and educate as many Americans as possible while exposing the forces of evil.
To those who have the means, we ask that you please donate. We have options available now, but there is no telling when those options will cancel us. We just launched a new GiveSendGo page. We also have our GivingFuel page. There have been many who have been canceled by PayPal, but for now it’s still an option. Your generosity is what keeps these sites running and allows us to get the truth to the masses. We’ve had great success in growing but we know we can do more with your assistance.
Thank you, and God Bless!
JD Rucker
