The moderator of Hard Ball on MSNBC recently chided Wayne LaPierre, head of the NRA, for defending gun ownership by stating many Americans have weapons because of their fear of riots and mobs. The obvious implication was that LaPierre was using the race card to justify gun ownership. Does Chris Matthews have that short a memory? I know I don’t.
The threat became personal for me when high school mobs from Kansas City’s east side converged on City Hall to precipitate the April, 1968 Kansas City Riot. A popular saying at the time was: “We’re gonna burn out ol’ whitey.” Thank goodness for the Missouri National Guard. I wished I’d had a cannon. For more on my experience see the web site of Journal of the Silent Majority. There’s a photo of the bursting of the first tear gas canisters in front of city hall
The past is the kryptonite of the Left, but as President Nixon used to say, “Let’s look at the facts.” My sample comes from one year – a treasure trove of uncomfortable truth: 1967, Facts on File’s Five Year Index 1966-1970, “NERGROES (RIOTS)” p. 522-523.The books are large. You can’t miss them. Libraries would gladly inform the Media of their existence. Listings of riots in 1968 explode after the death of Martin Luther King Jr.
Arizona: Phoenix riot of July 25
Michigan: Detroit riots July 23,
Chicago disorders and riots beginning May 21
Massachusetts: Lansing riots of July 14-15
Minnesota: Minneapolis riots of July 19 and July 21
Missouri: Kansas City disorders of July 9
New Jersey: Newark riots beginning July 12; Elizabeth riots July 17, Englewood riots of July 21 and July 23, Passaic riots of July 27-28
New York: Rochester riots July 23 and July 25; Mt. Vernon riots July 24-28, Newburg riots July 29-30
North Carolina: Durham riots July 19-20
Ohio: Cleveland riot April 16; Cincinnati riots June 12-16; Dayton riots June 12-15
Rhode Island: Providence riots July 31-August 2
Tennessee: Nashville riots April 8-10
Texas: Texas Southern University riot May 16-17
Wisconsin: Milwaukee riots July 30-August 3
Is it wise to insult the collective intelligence of 80 million Baby Boomers who lived during those times? We saw the nightly news on CBS, NBC, and ABC. What became of the stock footage? There are also millions who witnessed the riots like me and I qualify - a National Guardsman on all corners of my block and an M-60 tank parked three blocks away. The situation is even more precarious today because inner city armories have disappeared. There goes the response time just like in 1992; should MSNBC forget the Los Angeles Riots and the story of the Koreans who defended their businesses against the mob? The Media’s effort to revise or ignore history insults our intelligence.
Millions of Americans have had to face real threats and answer the question: “What are you gonna do when they come for you?” My politically incorrect answer is “I’m proud of that cannon on my hip.”
