"Few things concentrate the mind more than the terrifying knowledge that a person might want to kill someone you love. It makes you aware of your acute vulnerability. [Here's] why a criminal who comes to our house will face the business end of an AR-15..."
French then links to an article he wrote for National Review -- complete with a picture of AR-15s "on sale while supplies last" -- which speaks of death threats he's received. (You will forgive me if I don't link to the story. It's not my job to feed the gibbering, moaning shade of William Buckley with the clicks he craves to ease his suffering in the shivering precincts of Hades.)
Upon reading French's chest-pounding discharge, I then gave what I believe is a reasoned, dispassionate, yea philosophical reply (edited here to eliminate the tweet-breaks):
And what if they come IN blasting with the "business end" of an AR-15? The Dayton guy killed 9 people in 30 seconds, with cops there who had the "business end" of their guns primed to go. God, the sickening faux-toughness of you cringing, rightwing cowards.
And by the way, I grew up in the so-called "real" America -- the white rural South -- that all you wingers have wet dreams about. And we slept with our goddamned doors unlocked. Why? Because back then there weren't a million fake tough-guys running around substituting AR-15s for their manhood.
And I'll tell you something else for nothing. I've had death threats ever since I started criticizing YOUR dipshit leader Bush Jr. in print years ago. I get them now from your fellow rightwing fake tough guys. And I wouldn't have one of your penis-substitutes in my house. Why?
Because I'm not a cringing little coward who would put my own children at risk with deadly weapons in the house just so I can do John Wayne cosplay oiling the "business end" of my AR-15. The "business end" of your oiled metal dildo won't keep you or your family safe from the gun culture you rightwing dipshits have been pushing for decades. YOU and all your fellow rightwing travellers have flooded the country with guns, even as your extremism -- yes, even the "Never-Trumpers" -- have pushed violence and hatred at every turn.
You want to protect your family? Then fight against the gun culture, fight against rightwing hatred, fight against the disempowerment and despair you rightwing extremists have advanced for decades, fight against the militarization and brutalization of our whole society which both you and your fellow travellers, the "centrist," interventionist neoliberal Democrats, have imposed on our collapsing, corroded, corrupted land.
"Business end of an AR-15." Jesus Christ, aren't you ashamed before your family to be so damned pathetic?
>>When I was talking to people about Corbyn in 2019 a well off man in Wimbledon, not particularly right wing or rude, told me that the reason Corbyn was a bad idea was that we needed someone good, essentially, at lying, cheating, 'playing the game' - ie everything Johnson is. Of course when Johnson came along he dealt with a health crisis the way Arthur Daley would, not the way Jeeves would. Corbyn was the Jeeves candidate.
The man in Wimbledon chose the wrong sort of person - he was quite wrong, when it really mattered we needed an honest and intelligent leader, not a salesman or saleswoman. Chris Floyd's attack - on people who think that playing games, trying to one up others etc is how we run a responsible, decent and 'successful' society - explains the situation well, but what happened to Britain because people were too into the 'business end' of their weapons and too little into decency, intelligence, honesty - that will be a warning to the mindful world for a long time to come.
The disaster brought on by the failure to elect Corbyn when we most needed a reformed and non-disfunctional government has only really just kicked off. It is close to impossible that we have even begun to see the worst phase yet.