I heard a new term today. It was ‘gunsplaining,’ which apparently is the act of informing anti-gun zealots about firearms. If you point out that an AR-15 is not an assault rifle (‘AR’ stands for ‘ArmaLite Rifle,’ ArmaLite being the company that designed it), that the AR-15 is functionally no different than any other semi-automatic firearm with a detachable magazine, that semi-automatic firearms are not the same as fully-automatic firearms, or give any other actual fact on firearms, to dispel leftist myths about the AR-15, you are ‘gunsplaining’.
Like the words ‘gunsplaining’ comes from (‘mansplaining,’ ‘whitesplaining,’ etc.), accusing someone of ‘gunsplaining’ is not really making an argument, no matter how much someone may say it is. Accusing someone of ‘gunsplaining’ is, rather, an attempt to avoid having to make an argument.
Identity politics is about power. Identity politics is based on the notion that some identity groups have power over others, and that the only purpose for communication between identity groups is to either gain more power relative to another group, or to preserve power that already exists over another group. Postmodernism is a philosophy in which there are no objective truths or facts. Leftists believe both of these things, and as a result, the only ‘facts’ that count are the ones believed by those leftists hold to be victims. I’m not sure how anti-gun zealots have become a new victim group (it could have something to do with some of the victims of of the Parkland, FL shooting having decided to become political), but whatever the case, leftists have decided that the debate is now over, and that their ‘facts’ (which may be false, or may be feelings) are the only ones that count. Anything anyone says that does not fit their agenda can be discredited with that one simple word: gunsplaining.
I could do some serious ‘gunsplaining’ on this post. Lord knows I’ve done it before. My post, Stop Teaching Hate, discusses how liberal propaganda creates the climate of hate that spawns violence. My post It is Not an Assault Rifle, lists many of the actual facts leftists love to call ‘gunsplaining’. My post, Why I Joined the NRA, and Why You Should Too, outlines the special treatment leftists give the NRA, when compared to other special interest groups. Why Stop with Guns: England’s Mass Killing Problem made an honest comparison between the United States and countries that have banned guns. These are just a few of the 2nd Amendment posts I’ve written. I am an unapologetic gun owner and gun rights activist. Today’s post, however, is not about guns. It’s about conversations, and the need, in a free society, to have them.
‘Gunsplaining,’ ‘mansplaining,’ ‘whitesplaining,’ and other similar words exist to prevent conversations. These words exist so that leftists can ignore facts, and can shut-down conversations. These words exist to separate politics from reality, pushing agendas the American public does not want, by hook, by crook, and increasingly, by violence.
Imagine a world in which conservatives acted the same way leftists do – a world in which everyone ignores any facts they do not like, labels anyone they disagree with as a ‘fascist,’ and then takes license to use physical violence to stop what they consider ‘fascism.’ Right now, this kind of idiocy only happens on the left, but it happens with a surprising level of tacit support in the media, and within the Democrat party in general.
One side of the modern debate has decided that politics is not enough. In addition to letting non-citizens vote, and creating driver/voter laws that register illegal voters even without making it legal for them to vote, the left is also throwing politics out the window entirely, using violence. Should conservatives ever respond in kind, it would start to resemble a civil war. THAT should scare everyone.
Tell your leftists friends to drop the war on words.
