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THEIR VIEW: APOLOGY OWED TO LIONS CLUB FOR HAYS GUN COLUMN
Las Cruces Sun-News, NM
March 11 2013
By John Bacon / For the Sun-Newslcsun-news.com
Posted: 03/11/2013 02:00:00 AM MDT
When Harry Aslan was elected president of Lion's Club International,
he was a leader that epitomized the standards of conduct on which the
service club was founded and intended. His private life was not unlike
the persona he projected when he was traveling or speaking. He was
proud of his affiliation with the mission of Lions. He was proud of
his American heritage. He was also proud of his Armenian roots. Harry
Aslan's family came to America to escape the Armenian holocaust. He
knew full well what tyranny of government and hatred of segments of
society could be. His family had been devastated and slaughtered.
He vowed that never again would his family be put at risk of
the affects of such hatred. He vigorously supported the use of
gun shows for financing of the primary mission of his club being
the distribution of eyeglasses to the poor. He viewed the service
enterprise as a symbolic reminder that never again would his family
or his heritage be threatened by a government supremacy that killed
defenseless citizenry. Guns were not the problem. The absence of guns
killed over a million of his ancestors.
Prior to walking through the local Lion's gun show Saturday morning,
I had read that morning's Sun-News "Their View." The author, one of
the stable of Sun-News progressives who have arrived here to spend
their pension funds ridiculing socio-economic flunkies in their midst,
is the fellow who seems to need to hide his identity behind sunglasses.
He is the one with the affinity of presenting his education as an
accord of eminence.
I had a copy of the article and intended to share portions of it with
some of the yellow vested club attendants who administered the show.
They were busy. The place was packed to the rafters. I was taken by
the faces in the crowd and I endeavored to pick out of its ranks the
"immature males of any age virtually all white, most are rural, and
many live in southern, south-central, or western mountain states"
the bewhiskered one had written so disparagingly about. It could have
been the banker, the retired businessman, the surgeon, the policeman,
or me for that matter.
Most club members had not seen the column because they had to get to
the show early to help open. Their responses were various as I read
excerpts. Interestingly, most observed objectively that they no longer
read the green sage's stuff anyway because it was predictable and
condescending. I was struck by that. I was also struck by the multiple
responses admitting they no longer read the paper. They no longer took
the paper. It had long ago lost any semblance of their view of issues.
My own opinion is similar. In fact, it altered my entire view of a
still distasteful circumstance. I changed my intention of responding
in kind to the angry old white man to a more fundamental assessment.
There is little benefit in going toe to toe or mano a mano with a
mouthpiece for a liberal news outlet failing a huge portion of its
readership.
The Sun-News has control of what appears on its pages. The Gunboys
article was purposely run on Saturday morning, Feb. 23, because the
gun show was going to open. There is simply no question of what was
orchestrated. There is no justification in the phrasing "their paranoia
derives from their race and region." How dare you Sun-News for allowing
that to be printed. This is overt antagonism that cannot be tolerated.
As I was entering one of the many display areas, I observed a friend
who was engaged in a spirited discussion with another gentleman. They
obviously knew each other as a lively back and forth was in progress.
They were also shadowed by at least two security types. A closer look
revealed that the security was present for none other than the first
gentleman of New Mexico, Chuck Franco. He was one of the many Gunboys
in attendance.
The greatest irony of the poison penned by the desiccated miscreant
came to light. I actually unfolded and read from near the end of
the column's venom where it related, "Gunboys fear the cultural and
demographic changes which are marginalizing them because of their
educational and socio-economic deficiencies." Which of these two are
your referencing?
Sun-News, this community deserves more. This was offensive. It was
inflammatory and a public apology is in order to the Lion's Club and
it's thousands of gun show attendees.
You can start with the first gentleman.
John Bacon is a Doņa Ana County resident. He declines to elevate his
educational and professional background to substantiate any social
elitism that seems to frequent this column.
http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-opinion/ci_22755945/their-view-apology-owed-lions-club-hays-gun
Las Cruces Sun-News, NM
March 11 2013
By John Bacon / For the Sun-Newslcsun-news.com
Posted: 03/11/2013 02:00:00 AM MDT
When Harry Aslan was elected president of Lion's Club International,
he was a leader that epitomized the standards of conduct on which the
service club was founded and intended. His private life was not unlike
the persona he projected when he was traveling or speaking. He was
proud of his affiliation with the mission of Lions. He was proud of
his American heritage. He was also proud of his Armenian roots. Harry
Aslan's family came to America to escape the Armenian holocaust. He
knew full well what tyranny of government and hatred of segments of
society could be. His family had been devastated and slaughtered.
He vowed that never again would his family be put at risk of
the affects of such hatred. He vigorously supported the use of
gun shows for financing of the primary mission of his club being
the distribution of eyeglasses to the poor. He viewed the service
enterprise as a symbolic reminder that never again would his family
or his heritage be threatened by a government supremacy that killed
defenseless citizenry. Guns were not the problem. The absence of guns
killed over a million of his ancestors.
Prior to walking through the local Lion's gun show Saturday morning,
I had read that morning's Sun-News "Their View." The author, one of
the stable of Sun-News progressives who have arrived here to spend
their pension funds ridiculing socio-economic flunkies in their midst,
is the fellow who seems to need to hide his identity behind sunglasses.
He is the one with the affinity of presenting his education as an
accord of eminence.
I had a copy of the article and intended to share portions of it with
some of the yellow vested club attendants who administered the show.
They were busy. The place was packed to the rafters. I was taken by
the faces in the crowd and I endeavored to pick out of its ranks the
"immature males of any age virtually all white, most are rural, and
many live in southern, south-central, or western mountain states"
the bewhiskered one had written so disparagingly about. It could have
been the banker, the retired businessman, the surgeon, the policeman,
or me for that matter.
Most club members had not seen the column because they had to get to
the show early to help open. Their responses were various as I read
excerpts. Interestingly, most observed objectively that they no longer
read the green sage's stuff anyway because it was predictable and
condescending. I was struck by that. I was also struck by the multiple
responses admitting they no longer read the paper. They no longer took
the paper. It had long ago lost any semblance of their view of issues.
My own opinion is similar. In fact, it altered my entire view of a
still distasteful circumstance. I changed my intention of responding
in kind to the angry old white man to a more fundamental assessment.
There is little benefit in going toe to toe or mano a mano with a
mouthpiece for a liberal news outlet failing a huge portion of its
readership.
The Sun-News has control of what appears on its pages. The Gunboys
article was purposely run on Saturday morning, Feb. 23, because the
gun show was going to open. There is simply no question of what was
orchestrated. There is no justification in the phrasing "their paranoia
derives from their race and region." How dare you Sun-News for allowing
that to be printed. This is overt antagonism that cannot be tolerated.
As I was entering one of the many display areas, I observed a friend
who was engaged in a spirited discussion with another gentleman. They
obviously knew each other as a lively back and forth was in progress.
They were also shadowed by at least two security types. A closer look
revealed that the security was present for none other than the first
gentleman of New Mexico, Chuck Franco. He was one of the many Gunboys
in attendance.
The greatest irony of the poison penned by the desiccated miscreant
came to light. I actually unfolded and read from near the end of
the column's venom where it related, "Gunboys fear the cultural and
demographic changes which are marginalizing them because of their
educational and socio-economic deficiencies." Which of these two are
your referencing?
Sun-News, this community deserves more. This was offensive. It was
inflammatory and a public apology is in order to the Lion's Club and
it's thousands of gun show attendees.
You can start with the first gentleman.
John Bacon is a Doņa Ana County resident. He declines to elevate his
educational and professional background to substantiate any social
elitism that seems to frequent this column.
http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-opinion/ci_22755945/their-view-apology-owed-lions-club-hays-gun