The No More Names bus tour, organized by Mayors against Gun Violence stopped in Concord today. There were people on hand (including Quakers and members of the clergy) to read the names of all those who have been killed by gun violence since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
The scaredy gun crowd showed up and made a big, ugly spectacle of themselves. They were a mob of angry white men, shouting at ministers, shouting at anyone who wasn't one of them. One particularly charming fellow threatened to shove my camera up my ass. There's only one amendment in their Constitution, and it's not the same one that I'm a dedicated practitioner of.
I told him I was a member of the media, and he said he didn't give a shit if I was the Pope. Then he bellowed "You can't be the Pope - you don't have a dick!" I said, "I guess that means I can't be you, either." He decided that was the end of our witty banter.
I chatted with a heckler for a while. I asked him if he didn't think it was rude to shout at people. He said that it usually was, but that they weren't answering him. He wanted to talk to them, he said. I pointed out that screaming at people might not be the best way to begin a respectful dialogue. He was stymied. He really didn't know what to say to me. All these people have to say is GUNS! SECOND AMENDMENT! FREEDUMB! DON'T TAKE MY GUNS AWAY!
One heckler screamed "My mother was raped because she didn't have a gun." That pretty much absolves the rapist of any responsibility. Another shouted at the person reading names, "Why don't you kill yourself?" Another shouted, "You're reading names on a list - it doesn't mean anything."
A man was arrested after attacking John Cantin, whose daughter was murdered in Manchester in 2009.
When the police came, a lot of the gun crowd skittered away like cockroaches. They got their game back though, and began bellowing again. A call must have gone out, because a bunch of guys showed up with big guns and multiple guns. It was a fascinating response from those folks who always insist they are peaceful, law abiding folk. They showed what lies behind the mask today. It's angry, it's white, it's male, and it's ready to attack anyone who dares disagree with it.
This guy with the gold emblem on his shirt came very, very close to assaulting Mo Baxley.
As the names of the dead were read, the gun crowd shouted "Shame on you."
Shame on us, NH.
