It’s a popular thought of anti-gunners to think that they are the forward-thinking ones, the people who think well of other people and genuinely want to make the world a better place. And, to be fair, in some cases, they probably do want to make a positive difference in the world.
The problem with even this latter group of anti-gunners (the ones who actually want to make the world a better place) is that they assume that they are better than everyone else. Now, they won’t tend to say that, and, frankly, some of them probably don’t realize that themselves. That doesn’t change the fact that it’s true, and a recent comment by prominent anti-gunner Michael Bloomberg just puts this elitist (and, often, racist) point of view on display. Karl Herchenroeder writes,
Bloomberg claimed that 95 percent of murders fall into a specific category: male, minority and between the ages of 15 and 25. Cities need to get guns out of this group’s hands and keep them alive, he said.
Now, you may think that Bloomberg didn’t say anything racist there, but the inherent bias in his statement is revealed when you find out the actual statistics. Dan Zimmerman gives us some perspective:
Except Mayor Mike is wrong. In fact, he’s not even close. Since 2000, minorities have committed about 55% of the murders in this countrywhile whites were responsible for about 45%.
It’s a good thing Bloomberg didn’t put a bigoted, fake news item like that into a tweet or he might find himself banned from the platform or denounced as a white supremacist.
Tom King of the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association pointed out the obvious:
“Mayor Bloomberg’s statement that black males should not be allowed to have guns echos similar sentiments made by southern white supremacists in the 19th century,” Tom King, the association’s president, said in a statement. “So called ‘Black Codes’ were enacted by various southern states to discriminate against black Americans and maintain the system of white supremacy that made slavery possible. These included restrictions on firearms possession.
“If a politician said this about anything other than guns, the mainstream media would be all over them,” Mr. King argued. “Michael Bloomberg isn’t just any politician, he is the leading voice for gun control in America. He should be held accountable for this slander.”
So, when you find out the truth of what the statistics really are, you realize that Bloomberg’s “good intentions” (like typically anti-gunner good intentions) come from a place of elitist and, often, racist viewpoints.
And they claim that pro-gun people are the ones who don’t respect minorities.
So, next time an anti-gunner comes at you with an argument about how you hate minorities because you support gun rights, tell them the truth: it’s their elitist attitude of believing that minorities can’t be responsible people that shows the real racism in the gun control debate.