Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Bring the War Home to the Warmakers

As the Philly police department scrambles to find the last of three men who shot and killed an officer during a robbery, the NRA has already come out against any restrictions on the bullet-proof vest piercing semi-automatic rifle with which he was shot.
I have one piece of advice for citizens who are outraged as this country becomes a coast-to-coast shooting gallery: Bring the War Home to the Warmakers.
The Warmakers are the NRA and the weapons manufacturers that support them. Home is their offices, gun-manufacturing plants, and the gutless state and federal lawmakers who supposedly "support the second amendment."
But in a video and computer age, simply marching, holding signs and lobbying legislators isn't enough. Instead, new avenues of protest need to be explored. They involve disrupting day-to-day activities.
I take some of my ideas from Rutgers University students in New Jersey. In response to a racial incident, a few students sat-in center-court at a nationally televised basketball game. In response to the Iraq War, some decided to block the four-lane highway that leads in and out of New Brunswick, where the main campus is located.
The response and media coverage was much greater than if they had, 60s-style, simply occupied the Administration building. That response was of course greeted partially by booing from the stands from people who wanted to see a basketball game. And blocking traffic is never popular with people simply trying to get somewhere.
Nevertheless, they got attention.
I recommend, therefore, a few strategies to deal with with the NRA, a death-cult organization to which even liberal politicians must now bow and scrape before.
1) Blockade the entrance to their shiny offices in suburban Virginia.
2) Somehow block eastbound traffic on Interstate 66, which runs next to NRA headquarters. To counter angry motorists cries (and middle-fingers), simply point at the massive building that's been paid for by blood and murder.
3)Non-violent resistance to arrest, though violence unfortunately gets more media attention.
4) A photo-collage of those killed, like the AIDS quilt. But it is hard to find public land in the suburbs for demonstrations. This also might not be a good idea since so many pictured would be black and Hispanic.
5) Hypocrite-baring. Bring guns to the Capitol. When the police say that guns are illegal in the halls of Congress, have a list of pro-gun lawmakers and ask why such controls are enforced in their offices and workplaces, but not for other people.
6) I don't know much about gun-manufacturers in the US, but each plant could conceivably be blockaded all at once across the country.
7) Symbolic gestures. On the Washington mall, carry toy guns en masse together to see what people's response would be. Then burn the fake guns. You could also build a memorial with bullets, for everyone shot in the last year. Notice I said shot, not killed, because the numbers would be much higher.
8) After much protest, become the voice of compromise. Call for an end to handguns, but allow people to keep hunting guns for, well, hunting, and for defending their homes. These guns are much less easy to disguise than a handgun.

That's all for now. Viva la revolution!

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