Actually, we're protecting ourselves from the Reds

Yesterday, I put up a rather angry post responding to Sociology Professor Ben Agger's assertion that the recent spike in sales of so-called "assault weapons" is rooted in racism. Here it is again:

One expert sees a darker motive driving some post-election gun purchasers.

"Why are white people buying assault weapons?" said Ben Agger, a sociology professor at the University of Texas at Arlington who wrote a book about the Virginia Tech slayings. "I almost hate to say it, but there is a deep-seated fear of the armed black man, because Obama now commands the military and other instruments of the justice system. They are afraid Obama will exact retribution for the very deep-seated legacy of slavery."

By the way, I missed this line in the article yesterday.

A few say they are preparing to protect themselves in the event of a race war.

"A few" are saying that? So few, apparently, that the author of the article and his source, Professor Agger (oh--and Lewis Farrakhan--but charges of racism from him are a classic case of the pot calling the kettle . . . er, racist), seem to have a virtual monopoly on the claim.

There are very few classes of people I despise more than bigots. Question my sexual alignment, my ancestry, or my mother's and sisters' virtue, and I'll just laugh you off as a puerile blowhard. Refer to me (with my middle name of "John-Martin," after John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr.) as a bigot, though, and we're going to have problems.

There's also the little issue of the fact that citizen disarmament policies are themselves rooted in racial oppression.


David Codrea took a rather calmer (and more productive) approach than my blind anger, and did a bit of research into Prof. Agger's background, and was kind enough to email me with some of his findings. Consider, for example, this little gem:

This is not to suggest that socialism is, or should be, dropped as a political aim, to be hoped for and fought for.

Socialism is to be "fought for"? I imagine that if the bourgeois have no access to effective militia arms, that fight for socialism will go a lot more easily, won't it? That wouldn't have anything to do with your position, would it, Professor?

As the title of this post says, color has something to do with the reasoning behind arming oneself, but the color that concerns us isn't black.

By the way, I'm sure Professor Agger and "Authorized Journalist" Witt would love to hear what folks think:

Professor Ben Agger: agger@uta.edu
Howard Witt: hwitt@tribune.com

One more thing--I learned of Witt's Chicago Tribune article through "Chicagoist: Gun Nuts Stock Up After Obama Win." A look at the comments should provide a good idea of the kind of "post-partisan reconciliation" we can expect from the Obammunists.

War on Guns has much more.