We have a branding problem

[Aaron47pb]

Narrative matters. As @Lowlight said in his latest podcast (episode 188), the narrative is not good for us right now. Guns have always been the scapegoat, but its becoming more persuasive to the masses.

Times have changed. Most people weren’t raised with guns. Most people don’t understand guns. And people don’t like things they don’t understand.

This matters because people are not rational. We are driven by our feelings and emotions. People like to understand things. It makes them feel smart and secure.

So when the left blames guns, they are creating an “off ramp” for most people. It’s the path of least resistance. It’s a lot easier to blame something you don’t understand than doing research and actually making an informed decision.

If people were all rational, we wouldn’t have to worry about it because everyone would see how stupid their argument is. But we’re not rational.

We have a cultural problem. I think about it as a branding problem. Today it’s easier to blame guns, dismiss us, and call us wackos than to do the work to really understand guns, the 2nd amendment, personal responsibility for one’s own life and safety, etc.

So how do we change that?

I think the key is getting people, particularly young people, to understand that they are responsible for their own safety and their own freedom. They are responsible for taking ownership of their own freedom. We don’t do what we do out of fear. Being trained and able to defend oneself and others is liberating. It frees you from fear.

But how do we create a narrative like that and message it?

I think the other key is going to be lowering the barrier to entry. A lack of knowledge is a huge barrier to trying something new. It takes effort, and in many cases humility, to try something new. And even more so to ask for help. And a lot of people aren’t willing to put the effort in. Despite being curious or interested.

How do we make it easier for new shooters to approach the sport, lifestyle, etc?

 

[Sean the Nailer]

TEACH A CHILD TO SHOOT. It's that simple.

As to your first line of questioning,,,, and reversing the idiotic mentality of the masses,,,, let me throw this out there at you.

If the whole firearms user population started a diatribe of Ban Dodge's, because over 33% of all accidents in North America either involve Dodge's or are caused by Dodge's.... then and only then will a 'view' be acknowledged and cognizance COULD set in.

The problem is, what innocent manufacturer of what innocuous product could/should/would (?) be used for such a discussion? Banning drugs doesn't work, and hasn't worked for decades. Now they hand out free needles as well as free methodone clinics and all the rest of that useless crap that does NOBODY any good.

I say, lace all drugs with 50% fentanyl, and eliminate the vast majority of the problem over a weekend. But I'm very caring and supportive like that.

Now myself, I've owned a fair number of vehicles over my years, and of them, only one was a Dodge. Worst vehicle I've owned, so that's why I picked them. Just for this discussion, of course. But you (all) get my 'jist, right?

Ban Dodge's, it's for the children.

 

[uffduh]

Kudos for your questions. I've typed at least five answers and deleted them all.

Anymore, it seems that we need to appeal to a person's need to defend oneself. This doesn't necessarily answer the question of how to keep the sport of recreational shooting alive, but does at least attract interest in firearms. Maybe or maybe not, that will lead to shooting as hobby.

Scouts is mostly dead, the interest in hunting is diminishing, places I shot even ten years ago are now houses as cities expand. This will only get worse as populations grow. So I guess it's time to take a page from the libs' book and rely on fear and emotion.

The key to it all is to demonstrate that disarmament isn't the answer....the bad guys will always get guns or knives or bats or wrenches...so one must be prepared to defend oneself against the highest level of threat available, which short of nuke is likely a gun.

 

[Blue Sky Country]

Less sportsball in the elementary-junior-high schools and much more emphasis placed on outdoor adventure, motorsports and 'survival'. Camping with primitive tools and equipment, having to learn how to improvise things with knives, hatchets, etc., archery, riflecraft, all that good stuff. There is no better way to teach a child to be responsible for his own safety and the safety of others than through sportsmanship and outdoor adventure.

One of the things which we are sorely missing in today's society is value, which I had also mentioned in another thread. Kids are not being encouraged to value their accomplishments and achievements, which in turn will foster more productivity and dedication to perfection. We are currently living in a society where everybody earns a trophy and no emphasis is being put on rewarding those who had actually earned it. That is why we got an entire generation going batshit when they encounter the reality of life for the first time after being pampered and soothed in schools that only cared about letting kids have fun with no sense of responsibility. This is one of the reasons why socialism is so popular among the younger classes. It is because they don't even know what the fuck does socialism mean. All they see is easy money and a chance to take the fruits of others' labor with the least amount of payment on their own part.

Instead of focusing on more field specific and advanced subjects such as classical poetry and trigonometry in the lower grades of high school, focus on teaching essential life skills such as money management, avoiding scams and being street smart, successful resume preparation, job hunting and the interview process, taking care of a family, and exposure to essential blue collar trades like welding and plumbing via shop classes, internships and training programs. Those who want to continue higher education in academia can choose to do so in their own programs, while everyone leaves school with a firm understanding of what the real world is about.

So far, there is almost no emphasis placed on these topics in our high schools. Instead they are fucking pushing "social justice" and other assorted degeneracy into the minds of those who are at their most malleable and fragile. That is why our current society is so fucked up, with a disproportionately high number of psychological problems, antisocial behavior and self loathing that is commonly seen among those who identify with the 'incel' community. And all of those terrorist attacks that are being carried out all over the world, by individuals using every weapon conceivable because of some slight perceived offense from someone or debt that they think the world owes them, are merely one of the catastrophic symptoms of an even more catastrophic disease.

 

[1J04]

Dude, YOU GOT BRANDING PROBLEMS!

 

[uffduh]

TEACH A CHILD TO SHOOT. It's that simple.

As to your first line of questioning,,,, and reversing the idiotic mentality of the masses,,,, let me throw this out there at you.

If the whole firearms user population started a diatribe of Ban Dodge's, because over 33% of all accidents in North America either involve Dodge's or are caused by Dodge's.... then and only then will a 'view' be acknowledged and cognizance COULD set in.

The problem is, what innocent manufacturer of what innocuous product could/should/would (?) be used for such a discussion? Banning drugs doesn't work, and hasn't worked for decades. Now they hand out free needles as well as free methodone clinics and all the rest of that useless crap that does NOBODY any good.

I say, lace all drugs with 50% fentanyl, and eliminate the vast majority of the problem over a weekend. But I'm very caring and supportive like that.

Now myself, I've owned a fair number of vehicles over my years, and of them, only one was a Dodge. Worst vehicle I've owned, so that's why I picked them. Just for this discussion, of course. But you (all) get my 'jist, right?

Ban Dodge's, it's for the children.

I was writing my response to Aaron as you posted yours. I like your reply better and a few attempts of my own looked very much like yours. It's becoming increasingly obvious, though, that those of us who want to lead by example and use the 'ways of old' are becoming unicorns. I might still fart rainbows, but if I need to tell my daughter that learning to handle a firearm is for her own protection and not just for the fun of beating Dad at punching holes then I will.

Fucked up times we live in!!!!

 

[uffduh]

Less sportsball in the elementary-junior-high schools and much more emphasis placed on outdoor adventure, motorsports and 'survival'. Camping with primitive tools and equipment, having to learn how to improvise things with knives, hatchets, etc., archery, riflecraft, all that good stuff. There is no better way to teach a child to be responsible for his own safety and the safety of others than through sportsmanship and outdoor adventure.

Guess you didn't see the story the other day about the 10 yr old who was charged with assault for hitting another kid in the face with a ball during a school sanctioned game...OF DODGE BALL!!!!!! WTF?!?

But I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment. Achieving it is another matter when even the parents struggle with the concepts.

 

[Aaron47pb]

Dude, YOU GOT BRANDING PROBLEMS!

Well that’s funny. Fixed lol

 

[Aaron47pb]

I am teaching my children to shoot.

What I want to do is teach the ~30,000 college kids in my area to shoot.

 

[Blue Sky Country]

I am teaching my children to shoot.

What I want to do is teach the ~30,000 college kids in my area to shoot.

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What I want to do is teach the ~30,000 college kids in my area to shoot.
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Not just no, but hell no...

Most college age young people already have a firm political and belief mindset built up. Many of them are hardcore and unrepentant leftists and statists. No way in hell I would even let these types of people get information about gun laws or how to obtain a weapon, unless you want another crop of armed ANTIFA and John Brown gun club types running around. And then you got the other psychologically fucked up individuals like self proclaimed incels and nihilists who only want to see the world burn. Plenty of those types attend college as well. And the really scary thing is that outwardly, everybody would think they are perfectly normal, albeit a bit aloof and distant, until one day they start carrying out their fantasies of stacking dead bodies up like cordwood. You want these types to get the idea of obtaining firearms?

Once someone is over the age of 15, they have to demonstrate clearly moral behavior and positive political/social goals and outlook before I would engage in any gun talk with them. It is simply way too dangerous these days.

 

[LawnMM]

I'm not sure there's a solution. Some lessons only get learned the hard way.

They'll vote their rights away willingly until somebody's got their boot pressed to the fools neck...then, when it's too late, they'll understand for the brief moments of life left in their lungs.

Keep in mind that every great revolution or uprising in history comes after the oppression, not before. Bottom line, life's too good. So anything that doesn't charge your Prius or have broadband internet or air conditioning doesn't matter.

Until it does.

 

[308pirate]

Bottom line, life's too good. So anything that doesn't charge your Prius or have broadband internet or air conditioning doesn't matter.

Until it does.

And there you have it. Couldn't agree more: Rome's gonna have to burn first.