Gun Rights Activists (on the interwebz)...

Jan 2009
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s. greenlake *****
So a lot of "industry" folks are speaking out.. I think it's good to listen to what some of these folks have to say.

It seems like we have two kinds of guys, wild and crazy vs. well spoken.

I am not sure what I want from this thread.. maybe a good place to collect good commentary, or maybe a discussion about what is good, vs hurtful to the rest of us protecting the 2nd.


Travis Haley
Runs Haley Strategic. He's got a ton of videos out there. Very well spoken. In my opinion rational, and I think helps. Check out his channel if you get a chance. Here is a video he put up recently about his thinking around our situation today:

video -> Travis Haley Speaks on the Second Amendment and Reflections as an American - YouTube




James Yeager
He's an outspoken "redneck" instructor. He recently went on a rant, and subsequently got his concealed permit yanked by the Tennessee powers that be. I've been watching his videos forever. He argues on the internet, he has his own forum where his guys hang out. He hates .40's, mosin nagants, and AR-10's He drops a shitload of F-Bombs.

Here is his "rant" which he edited out the offensive part:

video -> Pack Your Bags Part 1 - YouTube

This is the part he chopped out:

video -> James Yeager (edited out portion) Pack Your Bags Part 1 - YouTube


He has put out a couple more vids "pack your bags 2, and3"
He has a lawyer with him in the 3rd vid.. and does some decent backpedaling.


My question is.. are these both good for our 2nd amendment rights?
I believe it's a pretty good representation of how our community feels. There are guys we all know who are pretty damn fired up, and there are a lot who may be taking a more intellectual approach.

How much is enough (anger/frustration)? What's the right amount of voice? How do you talk to your friends/family co-workers.. what do you say to folks who don't believe firearms are an important privilege to protect?


Also.. are there any good videos you've seen with well thought out statements.. or that are just plain inflammatory but good to watch?
 

mjn

Jan 2009
394
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Tri-Cities, Wa
The Haley vid was excellent. Long... but well worth the time.

In my humble opinion, it is commentary like Yeagers (and I've never watched him before) that can do more harm than good. Not impressed at all. The part that was removed should have gotten him in trouble.
 
Jan 2009
1,318
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Kirkland, WA
Meh, I personally don't think it matters one way or the other.

Yeah, Yeager is loud and very "Alpha", but that's his background. It's not like that guy was ever a needle-point instructor. He's a combat veteran, law enforcement veteran and owner/trainer of one of the largest combat training facilities out there (for civilians). And even when he pisses me off, if I watch his entire rant, I tend to leave with the feeling he's "right" -- even if I don't like it.

Everyone got bent out of shape about his comments that were deleted. Like he was really advocating going on a killing spree? I have no doubt what he meant by his comments -- but it was an opportunistic moment by the anti- crowd to grow some teeth.
 
Jan 2009
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s. greenlake *****
And even when he pisses me off, if I watch his entire rant, I tend to leave with the feeling he's "right" -- even if I don't like it..

That's pretty much exactly how I feel.

I might not say things the way hes says them.. but I usually agree. I have watched a ton of his vids.. how he sets up caches, trucks, get home/bug out bags..


Anyway I guess it's like motorcycles.. we all are in this together and there are a lot of "individuals" or big personalities..

If we don't all get on the same page, there won't be a page to get on?


Any other guys you watch/listen to?
 
Jan 2009
1,684
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s. greenlake *****
This is a pretty good writeup about it on guns.com


LETTER TO THE EDITOR: James Yeager, I Understand. - Guns.com

guns.com said:
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: James Yeager, I Understand.
The following was written and submitted to Guns.com by Will Carey

Back in the late 90s, comedian Chris Rock used to perform this routine about how even though he didn’t agree with the fact that the widely accepted belief OJ Simpson murdered his wife and her lover, he understands the Juice’s motivations if he did it. The whole thing was quite edgy back in the Clinton era and pissed a ton of people off. Well, I’m no comedian but as a life long gun owner, Second Amendment advocate and big time fan of Guns.com, I’ve got something to say about James Yeager and his “I’m going to kill people” videos. I understand.

Now before I’ve got badges banging at my door too, let me point out that it would take a team of lawyers to interpret what I just wrote as a threat and just because I understand Yeager’s motivations in making these videos, doesn’t mean I have any respect for him for making them. In my experience it’s a stupid idea to do anything while you’re mad, and the videos are embarrassing. I wish it was that easy too, that ensuring gun rights was just a matter of calling out the misguided, big mouths like Alex Jones, but the fact is we already have real obstacles and real enemies to contend with like Bloomberg, Cuomo and Feinstein. And this is why, James, I understand.

I understand because I believe your videos succeeded in at least making a good point poorly: a lot of people today, myself included, are feeling powerless and I think we feel this way because it’s rare that we see the people who we’ve trusted with power held appropriately accountable when they abuse it. Yes, Yeager abused his position as a defense instructor when he encouraged folks to take to the hills and even his Second Amendment rights when he threatened to shoot people. He should have his gun taken away until he cools off realizes what an idiot he’s being, which is what happened almost immediately. But the thing that keeps me up at night isn’t the thought that James Yeager might have a gun, it’s the fact that rarely these days do I see such swift and definitive action befall equally blatant politicians. That’s something I don’t want to understand.

From reporters wagging their fingers at gun owners with one hand, while breaking gun laws with the other, to security leaders who allow American guns to kill American citizens in foreign hands, to a President toying with the idea of enacting his will over the will of the people, we’ve bitterly come to accept that those in power will evade meaningful consequences for their actions. As a result, I don’t think the average American let alone average gun owner feels confident that we have a great system of checks and balances in the courts and legislature in place to deal with the wicked. When I watch Yeager’s video with these glasses on, I don’t see a terrorist promising mayhem but rather a scared, misinformed neighbor flexing the only muscle he feels he has left, the Second Amendment—and that I do understand.

To be sure, a check on tyrannical governments was what our Founding Father’s had in mind when they ensured the right to bear arms to all law-abiding citizens; the fact that governments don’t like it and people do only proves that we need it. While I wouldn’t use the word tyrannical to describe the Obama White House, I think they do a piss poor job of taking accountability for their bad decisions and Eric Holder is a living testament to this. By and large, this doesn’t make US citizens (the people to whom they are accountable) feel very confident in the state of the union and by extension, about their prospects in life.

So is James Yeager making those videos really so surprising when you consider a lot of the world’s revolutions originated in such feelings of powerlessness? I’m not saying we should do it. But I understand.
 
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