Yesterday’s mass shooting [FN1] made me think about values.
First: the value of “an assault-style rifle.” [FN2] One vendor says “prices can vary widely, w/budget-friendly options starting around $500.” [FN3] Money is THE value for corporate gun manufacturers. But... 1/9

Guns are so well-made and durable that they can last 100 years or more, w/attrition rates in the U.S. of about one percent. [FN4] U.S. civilians hold an average of 120.5 guns/100 ppl, the highest rate in the world. [FN5] Ppl need to buy more guns. 2/9

Second: the value of guns for “liberty.” Beckwith has a 100% rating from the most extreme gun lobby in D.C. [FN6]. Beckwith combines religiosity, fear & self-entitlement way to leverage himself to power. [FN7] In this context, “liberty” is only a right-wing mantra. [FN8] 3/9

A look into the abyss that is Beckwith’s political philosophy reveals it for what it is: nihilism. If push comes to shove, Beckwith will make up another “chat” s/he’s had w/”The Lord.” Yeah, tell kids to “drop to the floor and crawl to one area of the room,” as one kid said yesterday. 4/9

This feels like 2008, but the lead on the Democratic Party ticket is Black and a female & the VP nominee has a huge impact. Polls have no statistical validity. Let’s say the country sees a clean sweep of blue & trump takes many w/him, including Beckwith. 5/9

People can talk violence, but this country has seen peaceful transfers of power in times of war (1944 & WWII) and Civil War (1864) Beckwith wants to scare people w/crap [FN9] in hopes they’ll do what? A half-ass version of Jan 6? I don’t think so. #BrainsNotBraun 6/9

Footnotes:
FN1. Mass shooting in Winder, GA, in which two (2) students and two (2) teachers were killed, on 9/4/24. Huffpo, 09/05/24.
FN2. Even people who flunked “shop” twice in high school can get stoked up on 2A terms at gun shows. To be blunt: it’s a goddamn gun. 7/9

Footnotes:
FN3. From Adams Arms website, accessed 9/5/24.
FN4. From a 2016 survey by Deborah Azrael, Harvard public health researcher.
FN5. Statista, “Estimated rate of civilian-owned firearms per 100 residents in 2017, by country.”
FN6. Instagram post, 7/27/24; “Gun Owners of America” touts itself as “The only no compromise gun lobby in Washington.” 8/9

Footnotes:
FN7. In case anyone forgot, Beckwith is the magaGOP nominee for IN LT Gov w/Mike Braun as nominee for Gov.
FN8. See, “Guns should not get credit for liberty,” civildiscoursenow, 8/16/24.
FN9. There is neither ANTIFA nor “deep state.” 9/9