"monkey" commemts

[Airman193SOS]

Mr. Shelton,

Caveats and all, please be careful with that type of thing. Why risk firing up an anti-gun person over something like that, especially when it could just as easily have been avoided?

I enjoy your show, I simply advise discretion.

Dave, E-6, 193 SOS

By the way, thank you for your service.

[tscentral]

Mr. Shelton,

Caveats and all, please be careful with that type of thing. Why risk firing up an anti-gun person over something like that, especially when it could just as easily have been avoided?

I enjoy your show, I simply advise discretion.

Dave, E-6, 193 SOS

By the way, thank you for your service.

I call BS. "that type of thing", what type of thing. Eric expressed his concerns about using the expression and why, and why using it was correct. There was and is no other way to express it. Black, white, yellow, red, and all the shades in between, we are all primates. So the monkey grab is appropriate terminology for such an issue.

Self censorship can and has gotten out of hand. Let me offend someone and let them call me on it. Let them tell me why, and let me tell them why. It is and has been called communication. But it seems to fallen out of favor in the name of soap-boxing  and sound bites.

Hunter

[Matt G]

 :'(

[AR15DEADON]

Wow are we in a new world.  You are either a racist or you are not.  Monkey comments...  Don't we have bigger things to worry about?  Like our new president?  And was that just a racist comment??  Hell no get over it.  He's a socialist not a monkey.  I would not insult the intelligence of a monkey.  I would classify Mr. Obama as a post turtle not a monkey.

Deadon

Wake up world.

[Eric R Shelton]

Guys, I appreciate you coming to my defense.  Let me weigh in on this one...

Dave, an E-6 and apparently an Airman, has some valid concerns.  Believe me, I was hesitant to do that bit.  We live in a P.C. world, for better or worse.  (And I tend to believe, the latter.)

I'm not sure what Matt was saying with that emoticon, but that's ok, too.

Hunter said it best.  I expressed my concern when Michael Bane said it, but then I realized the context it was in.  Heck, Tony Brown over at the Firearms Cafe calls himself the Armed Ape.  So is that inappropriate?

I can't control whether my listeners are seasoned shooting veterans or brand new to the world of firearms and just think I'm speaking a different language.  I can't appease both parties, either.  But I can and do, is operate on the presumption that my listeners are intelligent and rational people.  I try not to "talk down" to anybody, use the correct terminology, and when I say something about "Mexican carry" people seem to realize that I'm not throwing around racial epithets, but rather using an accepted term.

Same thing with the monkey comment.  I made it clear that it was the monkey IN ME, that very easily could have done something dangerous and stupid.  It was my primate urge to grab with all fingers.  And I'd be willing to bet that Sean or Kenn would have called me a monkey or an idiot in agreement if I had done it.

What saddens me most is that this is even an issue.  Like the Tuskegee airmen said, "Everybody bleeds red."  There's another quote saying we're one race- human.  I believe both of those.  I grew up in a church with people from Africa (not African descent, I mean FROM Nigeria, Sierra Leonne, etc.), the Phillipines, Chile, Canada, England, and a big portion of my church still speaks spanish coming from Mexico.  I've dated girls of every color under the rainbow.  I truly believe the reason fears of racism still exist is because we keep bringing it up and accusing others of it.

Now Dave didn't accuse me, and I think he's right that what gets said in a public forum should be carefully considered.  All I'm saying is it's a damn shame we've confused censorship for progress.

[Matt G]

My poor attempt at humor, however slight, was in lieu of the fact that I, along with others, feel that we (society) have to walk on eggshells constantly.  Lest every syllable we say is thrown under a microscope and psychoanalyzed for anything that someone else can use to strengthen their agenda.  Almost anything people say at any time can be taken out of context and used by someone to attack someone else with.  If someone says something that you don’t agree with... so what?  This is America after all and societal checks and balances would normally take care of so called idiotic statements not individuals.  Ever sensible, intelligent, and normal person knows what was said was in no way shape or form a direct attack against anything.  If you believe that….  I got nothing for you.  (Rant complete)

Genuinely non-offended

Matt

[Kevin]

Could you imagine Mel Brooks making "Blazing Saddles" today?

I've got to agree with MattG on this one.

Kevin

[AR15DEADON]

Can't we all just get along???  Eric keep up the good work and don't get too  PC on us please.  That's why I listen to Pod Casts and not the News Media.  And they need to make an icon that is throwing up!!!!!  Like when someone says main stream news media.

Take care and God Speed Sir.

AR OUT!!!!

[Airman193SOS]

For the record, I am a Technical Sergeant, which is the Air Force equivalent of an E-6. It wouldn't take much at all to figure out who I am given what I have posted to this point, and I have no intention of keeping it a big secret, the name I have chosen is merely one that I have used for a long time and I'm sticking with it for consistency's sake.

Anyway, the criticism of my comments is well-received, and I understand exactly where you guys are coming from. Under ordinary circumstances I'd agree with you.

However, these are not ordinary circumstances.

We have an anti-gun president about to take office, we have an anti-gun dominated Congress about to be seated, and this is about as bad as I have ever seen it for gun owners (and I was alive and well in 1993 when the first AWB passed). I simply think that, perhaps, discretion might be in order. They need no help from us to try to take away our rights, so why give them any sort of ammunition? All that can do is seal the deal amongst anti-gunners.

I got the import of what Mr. Shelton was saying, I really did. But it would be so easy to intentionally misinterpret the comments or take them out of context, and the next thing you know we're fighting the racist boogeyman on top of trying to maintain our rights. You've seen it happen, from Michael Moore to Arianna Huffington to Keith Olbermann conservatives and gun owners have been misquoted, and I don't see the need to go down that road again.

That's all I meant by that. No more, no less.

[Eric R Shelton]

Again, I don't think you're far off.  You know the incoming president never even occurred to me?  For all the talk about the Obamessiah, it's like I'm constantly being reminded (because I kid you not, I do forget) that he's the first "President of color".

I just truly don't see/think about a person's skin color.  But others do.

And that's reason enough to take TSgt Dave's concerns as a valid point of view.  Thankfully, I'm small enough potatoes that I don't think anything will really come of it.  Michael Bane on the other hand?  He's got more of an audience, and while I'm not saying anything disparaging about the man (I think he's cool.), it does make me wonder if the shooting community might "come under more fire" (pun intended) for using terminology that gets the oversensitive types' undies in a bunch.

It doesn't have to be fair.  Heck, we should all know by now that life ISN'T fair.  So we have to be pragmatic about our situation, and smarter than those who would try to strip us of our freedoms.

[Matt G]

At what point does "Discretion" turn into obedience.  Freedom of speech baby.  No caveats, no "Howevers", no nothing period.  You give these "Anti-gunners" way to much credit. WE STAND THE HIGHGROUND!  We have the second amendment on our side and until they repeal it, which they wont, I will never quiet down my displeasure for people who would malign and destroy the Constitution.  And woe on to our service members who would be called upon, however unlikely IMO, to enforce such laws.  And as far as "Racism" goes people need to read the damn dictionary and stop using the word as a generic term to describe someone who doesn’t give you what you want or agree with you.  Land of the free, home of the Brave and GOD BLESS.

Matt

[AR15DEADON]

Damn it men grab the pair God gave you and don't let a bunch of Freedom haters take them.  When you fall in the middle you lose.....ie   John Sidney McCain III........Stand up and fight......  What's right is right.  I don't look in the mirror and go O No I said something that was right but it hurt someone's feelings.  I don't, nor should you.  At age 5 you know what's right and what's wrong.  Use it.  And if you all think that our biggest problem in the future is "Monkey Grabbing" you need to reevaluate yourself and your thoughts.  We have much bigger problems than that I assure you gentlemen.

Take care and God Speed.

AR

[N.U.G.U.N.]

Political Correctness has never lead to anything but hidden thoughts and innocents persecuted.  That said, rest assured if you run for Congress in 20 yrs...someone will that that sound bite and chop it up and make you sound like a racist. His name will probably be Michael Moore.