As the N.R.A. faces legal jeopardy for years of fraud and abuse, Rex Huppke writes in the Chicago Tribune, "If the N.R.A. goes away, who will frighten gullible Americans into wasting money?"
Without these expert gun peddlers, some of our fellow citizens might hold on to their money and do something ridiculous, like invest in a college fund for their children or donate it to a non-gun-related charity.
Consider the skill with which LaPierre and Co. have ginned up fear.
In 2013, LaPierre told supporters: “We, the American people, clearly see the daunting forces we will undoubtedly face: terrorists, crime, drug gangs, the possibility of Euro-style debt riots, civil unrest or natural disaster.”
Who can forget the Euro-style debt riots of ’13. Thank God I had a gun in my waistband, one in the car, five in the living room and another 17 hidden in strategic locations in the backyard, including one strapped to a squirrel. [snip]
In 2017, LaPierre said: “Right now, we face a gathering of forces that are willing to use violence against us. Think about it. The leftist movement in this country right now is enraged. Among them and behind them are some of the most radical political elements there are. Anarchists, Marxists, communists and the whole rest of the left-wing socialist brigade. For the first time, we also face an enemy utterly dedicated to destroy not just our country, but also Western civilization.”
None of that happened, of course, but a ton of people bought a ton of guns and LaPierre’s family members didn’t have to fly commercial. So everything was fine, except for America’s gun violence epidemic and all the people who got shot.There will always be the foolish frightened waiting to be fleeced by the fraudsters, but as we all know it's more evil than that. LaPierre and the N.R.A. have been responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans over the past decades who've suffered in order to line the pockets of the gun manufacturers and their N.R.A. toadies. They've been nothing more than a Republican front group for years, and their demise (the cockroach LaPierre in particular) would represent a belated but proper fumigation of American civil life.
(gif: A metaphor for Wayne LaPierre and the N.R.A.?)
