Urban Outfitters prides themselves in unusual gifts such as Ghettopoly a satire game based on Monopoly complete with crack houses and housing projects. This year their holiday gifts were no exception with a new offering of glittery ornaments in the shape of handguns. It didn’t take long for these new gun ornaments to catch the attention of the various gun-rights hating groups with too much time on their hands. Soon demonstrators followed by news crews at an Urban Outfitter store boosted sales of these items. The free advertising helped the on-line catalog sell completely out. As of this morning, there are a few Urban Outfitters retail stores that still have some in stock as of this morning, such as the one in Westwood CA.
We have to laugh at the gun-banning crowd. Every time they are marching many more guns and NRA memberships are sold. Then when laws are proposed to ban the guns, hundreds of thousands more firearms hit the streets. I’m convinced nobody can sell guns to Americans better than well-organized gun control groups and misguided politicians. That’s certainly true as Urban Outfitters laughs all the way to their bank.
It has to be safe to say that because of the gun control movement and the gun laws that were passed since the primary effort in 1968 that there are many millions of guns in American homes today that would never have been manufactured, sold or purchased. Humans always want anything that’s difficult to obtain and firearms are no exception.
After the Assault Weapons Ban became law the membership of the NRA was never higher. As that onerous law expired and nearly every state allowed law-abiding citizens the right to carry concealed weapons, membership in the NRA dropped significantly.
Here is video of the Urban Outfitters in Westwood, California with their quickly selling out ornament.
I think handgun ornaments are in bad taste, but that's just my taste. Weapons just don't seem compatible with the spirit of Christmas. On the other hand, if someone wants to have a handgun ornament on their tree, I don't think anyone should prevent them from doing so. Heck, why stop there? Why not use real guns? I think chrome plated revolvers would reflect the light from the tree bulbs better (please make sure it's unloaded first, and not pointed at my window). Instead of popcorn you could string shell casings. A holster would make a nice stocking, and maybe you could make colored lights with used shotgun shells. Guns are so festive.
ReplyDeleteAre guns 'Christmas-y'? No less than a fat guy in a red suit promoting the materialistic exchange of commercial goods. But Christ DID advocate armed self-defense: "...But now, he who has a purse, let him take it, and likewise a sack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one" (Luke 22:36)
ReplyDelete...Consider that the sword was the finest offensive weapon available to an individual - the equivalent then of a military rifle today. In this context one can see that 1 Timothy 5:8 commands us to protect ourselves and our families; Those who refuse have denied their faith and scripture considers that to be a worse sin than being a nonbeliever.
Mr. Flatt:
ReplyDeleteLet me restate my original point. I think guns and Christmas are antithetical. I did check your website though, and I agree that it is not good for any government to have a complete monopoly on violence. That is why the second amendment of the Constitution was written.
But are you saying that Jesus was an advocate of armed violence? How does "turn the other cheek" fit into your theology? How about "those who live by the sword..." or in your words, "the equivalent then of a military rifle today"?
Now I am sure you have some Biblical exegesis that explains this discrepancy, but you need to be more convincing with your Timothy quote, or "command" in your words, which seems to be misquoted in your post. Timothy is talking about "providing for one's own". Your connection between "providing for one's own" and, in your words, "protecting ourselves" needs to be more convincing if you are going to argue that Jesus (who Timothy wasn't even claiming to quote) was a gun advocate.
Finally, if you are going to use religious texts to promote the stockpiling of weaponry that was invented more than a millennium after these Scriptures were written, then why not open this up to non-Christian religious texts? Most world religions provide some rationale for violence, what makes your interpretation of the New Testament better than any other religious text? And don't give the tired "because we have the truth" BS that every other fanatic spouts out when asked to prove their justifications for killing other people. I'd really like to be convinced by someone.
BTW I agree with you that Christmas is overly materialistic. I just have a problem reconciling your Biblical quotes with what Christ actually said.
I don’t go along with the over the top, concepts of pacifism of having any relation to Christianity. Our naturally gifted (by our creator)instincts of fear and self-preservation make self-defense a legitimate and worthwhile exercise. The use of deadly force to prevent violent crime is moral, proper and legal.
ReplyDelete