Several niche, left-leaning gun advocacy groups said that since the killing of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis, they can hardly keep up with the surging demand for firearms training.
With Donald Trump sending armed federal agents into communities around the country, even more once gun-shy liberals and leftists are considering getting armed.
And while Americans tend to think of gun owners as leaning more Republican and male, already more women, gay people and people of color have taken up arms in recent years, particularly after 2020.
They’ll buy a gun, do some basic training and never touch it again. Too bad they didn’t find this urgency when it was only brown people being targeted.
Dude shut up. It’s never gonna be enough for you, is it? “Oh well they picked up some garbage on the side of the road but DIDN’T SOLVE GLOBAL WARMING SO THEY ARE LIB SHITS!”
Oh someone joined a left leaning gun group and might want to start getting more involved? “FUCKEM I’M GONNA GATE KEEP THE REVOLUTION THEY ARE POSEURS THEY SHOULD MAKE THEIR OWN GROUP!”
So sorry some people are new to this or changing their mind and not doing something big and dramatic that looks exciting enough for you, even if they suddenly changed their minds and agreed with you 100% that’s not good enough they should’ve thought this way forever ago.
Freaking hamstringing your own movement because you hate the newbies? Don’t want to do the boring long work of permanent change? Just want to sit back and think of a communist commune Israel but don’t want to wash the dishes?
Let the people in, be welcoming, show them the ropes. Encourage people to practice with their gun instead of shitting on them. If you’re already in these groups, you should want your numbers to grow, not be a gatekeeping twat.
Pull your head out of your ass.
The .ml users are really out in force today working hard to not beat the allegations.
I’m convinced to get the .ml suffix you have to prove you’re, white, 14 years old, hate your liberal middle-class parents, and feel overwhelming resentment towards people who actually care about better outcomes because Mom didn’t let you get a tattoo of Lenin on your shoulder.
Letting liberals into leftist spaces halts progress. We end up needing to fight with them more than whatever it is we are protesting. All the stuff liberals call leftist infighting is us fending off liberals trying to invade our spaces and control the situation. We do NOT want the same things. Liberals want reform, which does not work.
And so guns are only for the hardcore progressives, or any conservative? Is that what’s happening here?
No, they have their own gun clubs they can join
Ok, well good luck with your care bear revolution, buddy.
Liberals know nothing about revolution, only colonization, which is what you are advocating for.
Oh, do you need to do that?
Take your tribalism and shove it.
For every person who wants to help that you sneer at online (because I know you couldn’t face them in reality) I will be working in the real world to help bring real people over to start working for better outcomes, secure in the knowledge that even if I can’t change the whole world and make everything better, I can reduce harm here and now and continue to push the needle towards a better world. I’ve been at it for years, and seeing cynical little shits on the internet whine and cry about seeing other people nurturing unity only makes me more committed.
You can just stay in that basement and whinge while real people do real things.
Liberals have claimed for decades they are harm reduction while somehow harm keeps growing. Keep deluding yourself. Liberals contribute to harm by keeping the wheels of facism greased up. They will accept milquetoast concessions by their party to expand ICE with reforms,. In the meantime nothing changes.
If you believe in something, and want to fight for it, your first priority should be trying to convince other people it’s a good idea. Your attitude does more harm than good; you’re incapable of thinking people can change their mind, because you’re incapable of changing yours.
It makes more sense to get people to like your idea than pushing them away, unless you think you’re going to do it with force.
And alienating people means you wouldn’t even be able to do that.
I’ve seen incels do this online for decades now. They’re not really looking for better outcomes, they want to feel that “normies” hate them so much that it validates all the hate and cynicism they feel. You can’t feel bad about not doing the actual hard things in life to organize and be liked by others if everyone else hates you and thinks you’re a monster, right?
It’s creating an environment of alienation so they can justify not wanting to change or help anyone.
Plus it keeps the US vs THEM mentality always at a forefront. Great for retention, bad for conversion.
I’m not alienating anyone, i would be willing to work with their organizations, but not to invite them into leftist spaces so they can neutralize our movements.
You quite literally just said that you don’t alienate anyone while describing how you alienate them.
Also, your shit attitude definitely alienates people. You’re the equivalent of what the Westboro Baptist Church does to Christianity, i.e. you’re a loud hateful prick that actively pushes people away from a group they want people to join by being an asshole.
For the sake of your own revolution, shut up.
They can form their own coalitions. Demanding membership in an organization you are not part of is infantile and always results in the organization failing. There was a reason The Black Panthers didn’t let white people or any other races in. But they worked with Latino groups, with Young Lords, with Young Patriots, etc but those groups fought specific causes.
The difference is that while you can’t change your race, you can change your political ideology, and if you want people to believe in your political ideology you have to actually let people into your little club. And not be a massive prick.
Or, what, you think the revolution is going to work with the seven people you personally agree with?
The idea is to meet them where they are at, not where I’m at
Yup, better not to do anything at all now.
“Buying a Gun” is next to nothing.
Buy a bullhorn and organize with your neighbors to scare ICE out of a hotel. Buy a camera and organize with your neighbors to tail ICE vehicles patroling your neighborhood, to keep your migrant neighbors safe. Buy masks and jackets that protect against tear gas, then park your cars in the detention center driveways so ICE can’t move people into these buildings easily.
There are people who are doing something. They are not the ones shopping at Walmart for their first glock.
It increases the chances that one of these ice dicks will get a taste of their own shit.
More Charlie Kirks have gotten got in the last year than ICE Agents.
That’s what they will do
that’s the point of owning a gun dude. you’re suppose to not want to touch it.
i own three hammers. how often do you think I’m using them? like once a year or two.
The idea is constant training so when you do use it muscle memory kicks in and not panic
amen
Most of them will, but even a small percentage going on to get involved in leftist gun groups is still a win.
What I’ve discovered with liberals joining leftist spaces is they like to colonize the entire movement and neuter them. They should be welcome to work with us, but not in our spaces.
The Socialist Rifle Club is a prime example.
A prime example of what? Can you explain what has happened to the Socialist Rifle Club?
It was taken over by liberals that call themselves socialist to distance from the toxic word Democrat, and they brought their fascist light into the organization demanding everyone fall in line behind them driving the actual socialists away
Is there any reporting on this or anything?
When any group grows the diversity of thought within it will grow too bringing more perspectives.
This is like saying libs should join the NRA or the Proud Boys. I’m sure they will appreciate your “diversity of thought”.
It’s not as if liberal or unaffiliated gun clubs don’t already exist.
I mean, different perspectives would benefit those groups.
You aren’t entitled to membership or the facilities of any club.
It’s like trying to play tennis at a private basketball court then acting surprised when you get told to leave.
Just go to the tennis court, bud.
Most liberals do not have a diversity of thought, theirs is the only correct course and any other options are trying to get the other side elected. They can form their own organizations and others can work with them but to allow them within the ranks of existing groups is disaster
The irony is so dense it’s become a black hole
Liberals are toxic to liberation movements. You wouldn’t understand because you’ve never been part of a liberation movement
Please keep explaining how you’re the most right
How much real world experience do you have? I’ve been at this since ACT UP during Reagan
I agree with ensuring not to subordinate leftist orgs to liberals BUT we must be open to them joining our spaces. How else are we going to bring our ideas to them? Many liberals just need a push in the right direction to seeing the web of evil that all comes from capitalism but they aren’t going to get that as readily if we are actively turning them away. We have to be willing to meet people where they are at and educate them especially these people self selecting into more radical groups who are definitely more easily agitated into broader political engagement.
We can work with them in their own organizations and share ideas and when they align closer to socialist/communist ideology then they can join us. Nearly 40 years of activism has taught me the Black Panther approach to organizing works best.
I fundamentally disagree with this as an effective tool for building a mass movement that is necessary for the change we want to foment. We cannot achieve these goals by beginning our fight as a fractured base - this is why political education is such an important part of the process in organizing new people into these movements. Not a single person raised in liberal society popped out of the womb as a leftist - every one of us had someone pull us into this fight in one way or another and kick start our development as political actors. As people able to do that for others now I see it as our duty to do so.
This is a legit concern. How do we stay radical and positive?