Are We Seriously Unbalanced...Seriously?

[cmj685]

Guys and gals,
I was not sure exactly where to put this so I decided to put it in our "main" forum, hoping to elicit some consideration and conversation. The topic is whether we are seriously unbalanced in terms of the importance we give certain subjects...and don't give certain subjects. And whether ignoring the tough subjects (which might actually take action on our parts) in favor of sitting at the keyboard typing little remarks on really irrelevent topics is going to come back to hurt us badly in the future. What brings the subject up was a talk I had with a friend, a great guy and extremely discerning in a lot of areas, a real friend of people who love guns, and a friend of our forum. He was speaking of his great disappointment with the way our forum has evolved. His remarks went something like this: "I think the contrast hit me when the thread about the 1st anniversary kept growing, now at 7 pages. It is mostly trivial posts about "I gave hammAR money, I'm going to give, I did give, ad nausem. And then I look at the political threads where some critical action may be required, and you can hear the crickets. Look at the most recent. "Ed Matthews for Congress". Seven total posts and only two guys total contributing. There was a little better response in "Betty McCollum in the 4th Congressional" which ran from April into May but then died on the third page. The contrast is hard to miss. I'm not saying everyone must support our conservative politicians. But the fact that there wasn't even any one on the forum who cared enough to either discuss or dissent was discouraging to me, and seemed to say something substantive about the guys who frequent the forum. The apathy on the forum for important topics is overwhelming."

I have to admit that I felt personally pricked by his remarks. I am one of the kind of guys who loves to sit at the keyboard and attempt erudite analysis on largely irrelevent subjects, but hates getting involved in anything that would actually require getting up, going out, and getting involved. But I wonder if the time might be almost past too late for us to start getting more involved in real issues, lest when November comes, we find ourselves in deep doo doo in a country whose mood is steadily turning against us?

[David]

This site is 453 different things to the 453 different registered users on it (not even mentioning the lurkers who haven't registered). That's never going to change. It's not good or bad, it's just what it is. Every one of them has different priorities and interests, and those change over time even for each person. Not saying your point isn't valid, just saying that in terms of the Internet, there's no such thing as "balance."

I used to get bent whenever the forum I operate would stray in a direction I never intended. But after four years of doing it, I've realized that it's got a life of its own, and its character and flavor will evolve just like the users do. I can't count how many forums I've stopped visiting because I lost interest or because the forum went in a direction different from where I was going.

The thing that's kept me around here is not the activism, not the topic, and not anyone in particular. It's the sense of community. It's composed of people who share interests, sure, but many of whom know each other, and see each other outside of this virtual space. Thus, it's different than a website that is just a website. The message board is reflective of and is a byproduct of an actual, real-world association between people. It's not a "blog" led by some charismatic leader, it's not an exclusive club, and there isn't any one issue that unites everyone (as hard as that may be to believe). The people on here communicate with each other because they like each other. That's why I hang out here, and I suspect that everyone else around here has some personal reason for their presence, too.

Did you notice the evolution of forums as this place got going? A couple of rooms at first, then more, then more, then different forum categories...that's all representative of the evolution of the place, and it's also evidence of the community focus vs. the issue focus.

So, like any other organization of people, things will change over time, and different emphases will cycle in and out daily, weekly, etc. Next month activism might be higher on people's agendas. Or maybe it will be more inside jokes. Who knows?

[JohninMinnesota]

I can speak to my own situation - as a father of five children (8, 14, 22, 23, 27), a grandfather of three, a self employed small business owner with 4 employees, an urban farmer with a bunch of birds that require daily attention, president of my gun club, and a hobbyist with way too many hobbies... finding time to get involved in politics becomes a labor of passion and a frustrating one at that.

I do vote, and I do my best to convince those I connect with of the issues that affect us, maybe the least of which is personal safety in our society. I made a decision as a high school kid that I wasn't going to be a victim, and only after reaching my 40's have I decided to carry a gun. You cannot take away my personal right to defend myself, even if you deny me the right to carry a pistol, but when you tax me into submission and chip away at my liberties with laws that are supposed to stop criminals I get motivated to fight back. The best way to fight in this day and age is have a place to get your message out where others with like minds can get motivated to group up with their collective "presence" and make it known that we exist and have a voice. This does work - look at our Minnesota Personal Protection Act, and the castle doctrine legislation - plenty of people did get involved and did show up to voice their opinions and work to get legislation passed. We are fighters for sure, just a bit shy on time in most cases.

I don't think everyone is cut out for the political arena. Who among us (we independent minded gun owners in particular) is capable of dealing with the underhanded, two-faced, dishonest, boot licking, pandering downright dirty rotten bunch of slime balls we call politicians? (I hate it when I have to hold back my honest opinions) Grant Cermak is one who understands the system and is diplomatic enough to get in there and fight for us using those - less than direct - tactics that are acceptable and effective in that arena. Maybe Ed Matthews is another, I have avoided getting involved in that thread due to my own personal commitments to my current life... I just don't have time to help out right now any further than when an opportunity presents itself. Having this online community is a good way to keep people reading about the issues and to give folks a place to read about it all from our perspective, and that is one reason I praise Rucker's efforts, as well as those who come here to "moderate" and help out with financial donations. We have our very own soapbox!

I think the bottom line is that we have an overzealous bunch of legislators who are out of touch enough with self defense and the essence of the criminal element, along with a desire to make things better without having a clue what they are doing, resulting in a bunch of laws and regulations that restrict those of us (sheepdogs if you will) that choose to defend ourselves. To whit:

“Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victim may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”

And what David wrote... let's see what was the topic? Balance...yes, and where did I put my coffee? Hey, get the dogs out of the chicken coop!!!!!!!!

[Aceq2jot]

The thing that's kept me around here is not the activism, not the topic, and not anyone in particular. It's the sense of community. It's composed of people who share interests, sure, but many of whom know each other, and see each other outside of this virtual space. Thus, it's different than a website that is just a website. The message board is reflective of and is a byproduct of an actual, real-world association between people. It's not a "blog" led by some charismatic leader, it's not an exclusive club, and there isn't any one issue that unites everyone (as hard as that may be to believe). The people on here communicate with each other because they like each other. That's why I hang out here, and I suspect that everyone else around here has some personal reason for their presence, too.

Amen

You hit the nail on the head and expressed what I am sure a lot of us are thinking.

Its is community here, a place to sit and take your shoe's off and talk your peace and not have the fear that you will get banned or harassed because your opinion disagrees with another's. People go out an have breakfast or the Bar and then the shoots are one hell of a social event. And when the time comes and people need to get out in force they all know each other and have no hesitation on going to stand up on an issue as they know each other, and feel comfy with each other.

[BRIT_in_the_weeds]

The 1st anniversary thread is 7 pages, because the majority of the folks are happy to be here, A YEAR LATER

THANKS AGAIN RUCKER

I've never looked at this board as being activist driven, no agendas, no self promotion....................egos.......abound, in a non grand poobah way.

Are we a collective, I don't think so. Are we like minded, maybe in some areas.

CMJ.......what was the focus when this board started? What is the focus now?

[Srigs]

Maybe we are unbalanced.

I'm a member of about 20 forums. Some (like this and TCC) I visit couple times a day. Some a few times a week and some once a month. Each forum provides a different focus from local to national to focused like S&W or Kel-tec forums to general like THR or AR15.

MNGT and TCC have helped kick start me from just an internet junky to actually getting off my butt and being active so in the end the forums have been a good influence on me. I enjoy the banter at times, I enjoy meeting people on the forums and have learned a lot.

Am I on the internet to much?... most likely but I'm working on that

[ttousi]

huh ??

[cmj685]

I knew I could count on you, ttousi, to understand and respond incisively !

[ttousi]

I knew I could count on you, ttousi, to understand and respond incisively !

Had to inject something slightly off target before hamster.

Actually the word community has been used several times above and that is about the best descriptor I can think of. Some common interests that bring and hold us together but, at the same time not all all consuming ideology.

Better?

[rtk]

I truly thought provoking post. I tend to agree that this is many things to many people, some for the pure entertainment value, some for camaraderie, some for the educational and training benefits and a few out of need to satisfy their Napoleonic personalities and the majority likely a combination of a few.

RTK

[TC95GT]

Politics looks to be the fourth most posted in room out of a total of 28 according to the topic and post count. The individual threads in Politics aren't as long as many of those in the various General Discussion or Off Topic rooms, but I would venture a guess that most forums follow a similar pattern. That is that General Discussion(s) usually overwhelms the other rooms for number of posts, topics and thread length. I would also believe that a lot of the replies in GD rooms are quick hits. Alot of stuff like +1.

The apathy on the forum for important topics is overwhelming."

I don't know if it is apathy. Speaking only for myself, sometimes I get overloaded with politics, the 2A or right to carry. That doesn't mean I don't feel they are extremely important. In fact I feel just the opposite. Who knows maybe as we move along this will change as others have said. Maybe your post will help move it in that direction.

[BRIT_in_the_weeds]

CMJ.......what was the focus when this board started? What is the focus now?

ANSWER THE DAMN QUESTION!!!!

[Stradawhovious]

The apathy on the forum for important topics is overwhelming."

That's not really a fair statement. Just what is an "important topic", and why, if we are being apethetic towards this on the board, should someone else take offense? Fact of the matter is this; If you feel that action is needed in order to secure a positive outcome in relation to a topic that you feel is important, then by all means do it. What you cannot, I repeat CANNOT do is hold others accountable for not having the same beliefs, actions, attitudes and passion for activism that you do. Just because these views are not actively persued on the forum does not mean that forum members are not taking action outside of the forum. I understand that there are several issues at hand, now more than ever, that warrant attention. This attention can come in many different forms, including sitting at your computer jaw jacking about how things need to change, however here you are just preaching to the choir. Activism within the confines of the forum will accomplish nothing, while activism outside the forum by forum members may or may not have a positive outcome. So before you go pointing fingers and saying we are all a bunch of slackers, find out what happens in our daily routine, and see what some of us are doing outside of the forum.

I believe that there is nothing, I mean NOTHING that I personally can do politically to help our cause, however what I can do is help educate those that have been corrupted by the leftist hatespeak giving us a bad name. This is actually a very rewarding and theraputic excercise that I practice frequently. This is what I am doing for "action". I apologize that I don't come on the board and give a daily blog as to the actions I take in my life, I guess I just don't need to try to justify myself to, and receive kudos from, a bunch of like minded people (as you feel I should be doing).

I have learned a great deal from this forum, and will continue to learn in the future, because this forum is holding true to it's name "MNGunTalk.com" not "MNSecondAmednmentRelatedActivism.com" Maybe your friend that is also a friend of this forum (badmouthing aside) might consider starting a forum focusing on the latter. That way you won't have to be upset with the masses for enjoying this forum for what it is, and has become.

Rant over,
My .02

[BRIT_in_the_weeds]

CMJ...............NOW ANSWER THE DAMN QUESTION!!

[Aceq2jot]

The apathy on the forum for important topics is overwhelming."

That's not really a fair statement. Just what is an "important topic", and why, if we are being apethetic towards this on the board, should someone else take offense? Fact of the matter is this; If you feel that action is needed in order to secure a positive outcome in relation to a topic that you feel is important, then by all means do it. What you cannot, I repeat CANNOT do is hold others accountable for not having the same beliefs, actions, attitudes and passion for activism that you do. Just because these views are not actively persued on the forum does not mean that forum members are not taking action outside of the forum. I understand that there are several issues at hand, now more than ever, that warrant attention. This attention can come in many different forms, including sitting at your computer jaw jacking about how things need to change, however here you are just preaching to the choir. Activism within the confines of the forum will accomplish nothing, while activism outside the forum by forum members may or may not have a positive outcome. So before you go pointing fingers and saying we are all a bunch of slackers, find out what happens in our daily routine, and see what some of us are doing outside of the forum.

I believe that there is nothing, I mean NOTHING that I personally can do politically to help our cause, however what I can do is help educate those that have been corrupted by the leftist hatespeak giving us a bad name. This is actually a very rewarding and theraputic excercise that I practice frequently. This is what I am doing for "action". I apologize that I don't come on the board and give a daily blog as to the actions I take in my life, I guess I just don't need to try to justify myself to, and receive kudos from, a bunch of like minded people (as you feel I should be doing).

I have learned a great deal from this forum, and will continue to learn in the future, because this forum is holding true to it's name "MNGunTalk.com" not "MNSecondAmednmentRelatedActivism.com" Maybe your friend that is also a friend of this forum (badmouthing aside) might consider starting a forum focusing on the latter. That way you won't have to be upset with the masses for enjoying this forum for what it is, and has become.

Rant over,
My .02

That was nicely said Thank you and i agree 100%