Sleeping With The Gun Enemy In Nevada
BY Herschel Smith8 years, 10 months ago
With Hopkins’s approval, I spend three days observing from behind the counter at Westside Armory, on the condition I won’t risk driving away customers by interrupting to ask to quote them by name. On the floor, I listen to the sales patter and consumer comments. I observe diligence, for the most part, about following the rules. And yet I also witness some troubling slip-ups, including one that leads to a visit to the store by two agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. “We’re not perfect,” Hopkins says.
Yea, that’s right. A Bloomberg hack was allowed in the building to write his propaganda. One thing that struck me was the nexus of memes.
The persistence of demand for firearms in the U.S. becomes the subject of a get-together at the store with Stuart Anderson Wheeler, a visiting fellow big-game hunter who runs an eponymous business in London that manufactures bespoke hunting guns. Anderson Wheeler finds American gun culture perplexing, especially the shrill tone of the National Rifle Association. “I mean, all the talk of terrorism and shootings—it’s pretty extreme. Can they be serious?” he asks.
“They know what sells,” says Hopkins.
“I’m all for guns,” Anderson Wheeler responds. “But how many does a person need?”
“You Brits don’t have our traditions,” Hopkins says. “To Americans, owning a gun is a connection back to the settling of the Western frontier: cowboys and Indians and all that.”
“And fear,” says Anderson Wheeler.
The store owner and a hunter (not just a Fudd, but a British Fudd), engage in a bit of condescending snark towards American gun owners. “Fear.” “Extreme.” “They know what sells.” That’s right, Hopkins. It’s the extreme language of the NRA or the NSSF which convinces us to buy guns. If it weren’t for them, we’d just park our ass on the couch and watch sitcoms at night and football games on the weekend.
Truthfully, it’s folks like these who don’t understand how the NRA and NSSF is being dragged kicking and screaming into the twentieth first century. They are even less informed than the progs, because at least the progs get the significance of their gun control schemes and why we buy guns. Their (NRA and NSSF) irrelevance to the current trends is missed by the Fudds and the sellouts like Hopkins.
David Codrea noticed this (I couldn’t bring myself to read this far).
Like many FFL holders, Hopkins would have no objection to universal background checks for all gun transfers.
David comments:
Anyone in the business who’s not leading in the fight against universal registration, especially now in the time of great need, and actually telling that to a Bloomberg reporter, deserves to have his business go belly-up as far as I’m concerned. And the FFLs who look forward to it as a new business opportunity are no better than damn kapos.
Yea, Hopkins just went from being a stooge to being an enemy. Understand, Hopkins, that universal background checks will bring out the guns, and not in a good way, if you know what I mean. That is a line that cannot be crossed by anyone. It won’t happen, and your willing adultery with the Bloomberg position is most disappointing. As for this particular shop, I would drive hours before I would do business with them. I hope the good folks in Nevada read this article and adjust their business practices accordingly.
On February 19, 2016 at 9:25 pm, Haywood Jablome said:
“I hope the good folks in Nevada read this article and adjust their business practices accordingly.” Agreed. Don’t know what this idiot was thinking, but that’s the great thing about free markets. Hopefully people will vote with their pocket books!
On February 20, 2016 at 8:52 am, UNCLEELMO said:
Three observations from flyover country (me)-
#1- It’s not about fear, it’s about freedom.
#2- I find it interesting that a man from Londonistan doesn’t get the fact that it might be kind of nice to have a firearm handy when in the vicinity of a deranged headchopper (or as Mr. Anderson might refer to him, a ‘migrant escaping violence in his home country’).
#3- This myth about gun owners wanting more (and before long ‘universal’) background checks; didn’t some Totalitarian once say “repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth”?
On February 20, 2016 at 4:24 pm, Ned Weatherby said:
Agreed, Uncle. Anyone who would let a Bloomberg minion in their store is a moron and a traitor.
On February 20, 2016 at 5:29 pm, UNCLEELMO said:
I’m surprised he didn’t invite Shannon Watts to be there, too.
As we would say in the logging profession, Mr. Hopkins is dumb as a stump.