I’m one of the NRA’s “bad guys”

[DonViejo]

I teach books that portray the hard truths of American lives. To Wayne LaPierre's mind, that makes me suspect

BY LORRAINE BERRY

We have rare live moments when we know we are collectively, as a nation, listening to the ravings of a mad man. I felt that way as I listened to Wayne LaPierre’s “conversation” with America regarding guns. While they waited exactly seven days and 90 minutes since the horrific events of Sandy Hook as a matter of respect, it was clear that any NRA soul-searching had resulted in a position that is so anathema to me as a professor, as a parent and as a human being that I was reduced to sputtering on Twitter and anguishing on Facebook.

As soon as the speech was over, I went looking for the transcript, which can be found here, but in the first few moments after the news conference, the html line read “Armed police officers in every single school in this nation. This is insanity talking.” Apparently, I wasn’t alone in the world thinking that Wayne LaPierre was having a moment of psychosis and sociopathy in front of a national audience. And I felt an immediate kinship with the Washington Post news poster.

By now, many will have spilled their outrage about LaPierre and his willingness to blame everyone but himself. But as someone who would be directly affected should any of his proposals actually go through (thank you, Jesus, for the Nov. 6 election result), I wanted to talk about what it would be like to try to be a teacher in an armed classroom.

LaPierre spoke of “shadow industries” that

portray life as a joke and they play murder — portray murder as a way of life. And then they all have the nerve to call it entertainment. But is that what it really is? Isn’t fantasizing about killing people as a way to get your kicks really the filthiest form of pornography? In a race to the bottom, many conglomerates compete with one another to shock, violate and offend every standard of civilized society by bringing an even more toxic mix of reckless behavior and criminal cruelty right into our homes. Every minute, every day, every hour of every single year.

-snip-

more:
http://www.salon.com/2012/12/21/im_the_nras_shadow_industry/

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