have been especially good at helping me see the “bigger picture” and ask the important questions. Questions such as: Would lowering total gun violence necessarily lower the incidence of mass shootings? How do we close the “private sales background check” loophole? Would banning assault weapons even be effective at this point (considering how many are already in circulation)? What would be effective and how do we access this type of data? You get the idea. Complex stuff.
So, on to the rant (I hope you are as
excited as I am). While I've grown in respect for those arguing gun
rights, I am more and more bothered by posts such as this one:
or
this one:
or this one:
or even this one:
(Disclaimer: if it was you, dear
reader, who posted these memes, please do not take this as a personal
attack. I am going after the meme here -not the meme-poster)
If someone can explain to me the
redeeming value of these types of politically-charged memes, please
do. I can certainly see purpose, but I wouldn't call it “redeeming.”
I can see how they serve to “fire-up the base.” I can see how
they lead to mob-think mentality and an added certainty that your
chosen group is right because they are very good at pushing emotional
buttons while ignoring considerations such as reason and civility.
So, let's take the first one. Let's
assume that all the numbers are accurate (which I didn't check, but I
would hope the person who posted it had). Even if accurate, the
figures lead to a very distorted take-home message. There's a quote I
recently came across that really hit home with me: “Figures don't
lie, but liars figure.” Like I've said before, if someone is of the
opinion that our efforts are misdirected in going after gun control
–that there are much more effective ways to save the greatest
number of American lives, I would respect that opinion. I would love
to discuss it. Clearly though, that is not the take-home message of
this particular internet meme; rather, it seems to be to trivialize
the negative effects of gun violence on our society in a most
insensitive manner. What do these numbers mean to someone who has
lost a loved one in a senseless act of gun-violence? How can a
figure, like the one presented here, begin to account for the toll
that tragedies like Sandy Hook take on our National morale?
I'm discovering that what really
bothers me about political memes isn't so much what is said, but all
the things that are left unsaid --the second meme being my
case-in-point. It conveniently looks over the profound differences in
nature that exist between a car and a gun (e.g. a car was invented to
transport people from point A to point B, a gun was invented to hunt
and kill), the profoundly different ways their misuse as well as
their appropriate use affects society, and the profoundly different
ways we potentially deal with each problem. It also jumps to the
conclusion that guns will be completely taken away, when, so
far anyway, I haven't heard any politician putting that idea forward.
But none of that matters because it accomplishes what it was meant to
accomplish; it pushes on all the right emotional hot-spots.
Even the third meme, which I find least
offensive, still gives me some pause. I appreciate the comparison it
is making (really, I do), but as you follow this comparison further,
some important differences become apparent. Like the idea that
increasing the availability of fire extinguishers, as opposed to
guns, isn't going to increase the likelihood of more fires occurring
(i.e. the need for the fire extinguisher in the first place).
And
the last meme. It really seems innocent enough. But think of how easy
it would be to find some contradictory statement from a different
general authority (or even from the same general authority) given at
a different place and time and to then use that quote to “challenge”
the first quote. I also don't like quotes like this being taken out
of context without the whole background being given. Mostly, I just
don't like seeing our general authorities being paraded around on
facebook like puppets being made to support this or that political
opinion (I know that sounds harsh. Does anyone else feel this way?)
Sharing quotes by general authorities to bare testimony or to uplift
others seems like a different matter entirely.
Before
I sign-out, it's confession time. Amid all this meme-angst, I
actually sought out a
pro-gun control meme. I wanted to make a statement. I wanted to
“fight back.” And I had a very specific meme in mind. It was
going to be The Doctor (from BBC's Doctor Who) looking totally
awesome, saving planets right and left, feared by villains throughout
time and space, and armed with only a humble sonic-screwdriver. There
would also be some pithy quote or text to drive the message home. I'd
like to say it never got posted to my wall because I saw the error of
my ways. Because I realized the hypocrisy. Because I didn't want to
add to the meme-induced idiocy. I'd like to say that, but it wouldn't
be true. It never got posted because I couldn't find one out there,
and I lacked the ambition and know-how to make one myself. And yet,
as I type this, I am
starting to see some value in the memes that increasingly fill our
social-media world. As long as we don't view any particular meme as
an end in and of itself. As long as we view it has a starting point
-as a springboard into deeper waters.
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