Many people are probably aware that Abby Spangler is planning to protest tomorrow at an Alexandria coffee shop. The best response our side could have would be to simple go and buy coffee if they want to support Starbucks, because, quite frankly, this is a trap.
Tomorrow is also Alexandria’s St. Patricks Day Parade. There are going to be a lot of people in the area from Alexandria, which, being so close to D.C. is not what you would call “gun culture friendly.” I fully believe Spangler and the Bradys are hoping for a very visible open carry protest response so they can get cameras and attention on their issue at a time when Starbucks is making clear that they want this issue to go away. We should help them make it go away. And we can do that by not counter protesting, but by merely showing up and buying some coffee.
If you feel comfortable making a comment about the obnoxious people outside, and supporting their decision, do so. If you want to tell corporate, by all means. But let them be the ones trying to keep it alive. Let them be the ones trying to hijack Alexandria’s St. Patricks Day Parade and turn it into a debate about guns. Let’s not walk into the trap.
UPDATE: VCDL seems to have similar sentiments.
UPDATE: OpenCarry.org folks also mostly seem to be on board with letting it die.
I would suggest flooding ;any of the media sources that cover the Brady protests, with messages with exactly that point.
Here gun owners aren’t the ones pushing, the Brady’s are and the media is actively aiding them if they cover the protest.
I wholeheartedly agree with helping Starbucks make the issue go away. I just had to comment on the brilliance of the Admiral Ackbar reference.
The Admiral is always right.
Since the Bradys have no grassroots, they depend upon media coverage. Who does the media love to cover? Controversial people. In their eyes owning a gun is controversial, thus they are going to cover this issue and play it up in typical ZOMG! fashion.
Let it die and they have nothing to feed upon.
I predict some OC activists will show up and help Protest Easy Guns make their point. I hope I’m wrong. But I doubt it.
Somebody should at least bring a flat of starbucks coffee to give to the nice people after they lay on the cold and wet Seattle ground.
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After they lay on the cold wet ground a nice way to warm them up is to pour a flat of Starbucks coffee onto them!
Helmke just posted another rant against Starbucks on HuffPo.
Maybe someone there can mention this story to Abby Spangler
http://www.examiner.com/x-5619-Atlanta-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m2d18-Open-carry-deters-armed-robbery-in-Kennesaw
God no. Just imagine the caps lock abuse that would result from that. Think of the children.
aha! you fell for our trap, which was to make you think it was a trap, and decide to stay away!
The biggest reason to let the issue die at this point is because…WE WON. The other’s just aren’t smart enough to figure it out.
persiflage:
I suspect it dies here if we don’t show up and beclown ourselves as it appears happened in Seattle. It was poorly thought out open carry protesting that gave Brady the opportunity in the first place. And before those folks get too uppity with “well, we won anyway,” consider that the Brady Campaign now has 26,000 new individuals they can try fundraising off of to continue their operations.
Like I said, I support people’s right to open carry. I support people’s right to dress up like a wookie to support their favorite candidate too, but that’s not to say either is an effective tool for promoting your cause.
When Jesse Jackson and Mike Pfleger were protesting Chicagoland gun shops … nothing furthered their cause like gun owners counter-protesting. It brought out the media in waves. When gun folks just quit going, Jackson stopped. It wasn’t worth his time.
At some level … we have to ensure that we ourselves don’t give these dying gun ban groups their only relevance.
To respect and honor Starbucks is to NOT show up at these Helmke/Spangler protest rallies.
Anyway, don’t we have more productive things to do?
There are times when it makes sense to counter protest. If you know the cameras are going to be there anyway. But generally speaking, I don’t think protesting is an effective tactic for our side to use. I agree with you on that.
I for one am getting sick and tired of my guns being called “easy” I mean after all, after all the time, money, and tender lovin care I give them, the least i could expect is a little faithfulness??? cheating guns.. DOWN WITH CHEATING GUNS!!
There was no beclowning at Seattle. Well, not on our side anyway (Brady’s whole premise being foolish and all that…)