Is The National Rifle Association the front for White Power?

As a hunter (Elk, birds, missing both and only hitting rocks and trees), I have been very perplexed about the purpose of the National Rifle Association. According to their own websites "A Brief History of NRA," it's soul purpose was to promote rifle marksmanship, mostly because during the civil war the troops were horrible shots. By 1903 the organization began promoting youth designed programs around gun safety and marksmanship.

I like the original purpose of the NRA. I think anyone who buys a rifle of any sort should learn to handle their weapon carefully and with confidence, not to mention to hit what they aim (I have already noted my dismal abilities, but alas some have talent, and I do not).

What is fascinating about this so called brief history is how quickly it devolves into political misinformation. It jumps to 1934 to highlight the fact it began lobbying our government, then fast forward 41 years to 1975 and the beginning of its outright "Defense" of the Second Amendment by establishing the "Institute for Legislative Action." Glossing over the fact that this has nothing to do with its initial charter.

I am not a member of the NRA for one basic reason, it is solely a lobbying firm and has no interest in me, a hunting enthusiast. You can point out that it still spends millions on marksmanship and youth programs, but that money pales to the amount that is spent on lobbying our government. It is almost impossible to learn how much money they spend on these "other" works but let me highlight this for you: The NRA is a 501(c)(4) organization that oversees  these 501(c)(3) organizations, NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund, NRA Foundation inc., NRA Special Contribution Fund, and NRA Freedom Action Foundation as well as a 527 PAC (I got this info from Wikipedia, but is easily verifiable elsewhere).  All for the purpose of "protecting" us from the boogieman, oops, those that would take away our Second Amendment Rights.

Now that I have laid this framework let me get to the nut of my thesis: This is all done not to protect US Citizens from having their guns taken away, but to ensure that "white America" has guns to protect themselves from some unknown threat (I assume "those others").

What proof do I have for painting the NRA as a bastion of "White Power?" Well one only needs to see when they support someone's use of guns and when they fall deadly silent. Another blatant example is their own leadership. I spotted four people of color (Karl Malone being one, wow) out of 31 on the board. There are other examples like this advertisement. Really white cops with arms folded? What is more creepy than that? Especially when our police are to be our uninfluenced protectors of society, o wait that is an alternative universe.

The sole white agenda perpetrated by the NRA can only be seen as a white issue when you take these things listed above into consideration. It really has nothing to do with "protecting" the Second Amendment but with giving the white person permission in protecting themselves from "them." NOTHING they lobby for is for my benefit as a gun owner. Under my rights, with or without the NRA, I have my rifle and shot gun. No one is going to take them away, except for a thief. In this case I want my guns registered so that they can be tracked and taken from those who should not be in possession. But instead of doing what is good for the citizens of the USA, they fight for only narrow issues that support only part of our citizenship, namely white guys who own way too many rifles.

I should spend more time on this argument and tighten it up, but I just wanted to get this thought out there to see if anyone can intellectually argue against the thesis.

Sports!

So came up to my local bar to watch the Sounders. Mariners on a side TV. Detroit/Red Socks on the large screen and audio. Had to ask to have Sounders on.

What am I missing?


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Location:Lakepoint bar and grill