How to Fan Anti-Gun Fear http://www.newsmax.com/commentmax/articles/Dr._Michael_S._Brown.shtml
Dr. Michael S. Brown
May 8, 2000
Soliciting votes from today's turned-off, apathetic voters is tough. Like mutating
bacteria, voters are becoming immune to our favorite campaign tactics. If you want to
win an election, you must return to the basics. The oldest weapons in the politician's
arsenal are fear and hatred. They are always effective if applied properly. The
principles outlined in this guide can be applied in many ways, but the perfect issue, as
you will see, is gun control.
Your goal is to make voters fear guns and hate the gun lobby. These emotions can
then be transferred to your opponent. We are dealing with emotions, not facts, because
people are more easily influenced through their emotions.
To promote fear of guns you must be prepared to rapidly exploit appropriate shooting
incidents. The media will make this easy for you, since they are already extremely
anti-gun and prone to hysterical coverage of these events. Imagine surfing a wave. If
you are smart, the wave does the work and you enjoy the ride.
Make a prior arrangement with friendly media people to appear before their cameras
on short notice. To avoid wasting your time, make it clear that you are not interested
in non-gun violence like stabbing, beating or arson deaths.
Prepare a statement in advance deploring the way that easy access to guns has caused
the crime that has just occurred. Leave the details out and fill in the blanks when the
information becomes available. As soon as possible after the crime, read your
statement on camera. Ideally the victims will be innocent people, and preferably
children.
Unfortunately, most shooting incidents occur between members of rival gangs or
involve police officers shooting in the line of duty. Worst of all are the cases where an
armed citizen defends herself from a criminal. Be patient and wait for the right event.
Your statement should invoke as many emotional images as possible, since you are
trying to convince voters that this could happen to them. Use dramatic phrases like
"guns flooding the streets". Of course you will say that we need to act "for the
children" at least two or three times. It is useful to say that gun lobby organizations
have "blood on their hands". Demonizing these groups is essential now, because later
you will attempt to tie your opponent to them.
Arrange a tour of the crime scene as soon as possible. Political connections with the
local authorities will pay off at this time. You and a few associates should walk
around the scene looking shocked and saddened. Practice your facial expression and
body language in advance. Do not allow any audio recording, since cynical comments
are sometimes picked up by unnoticed microphones.
Fear is your friend. People usually fear what they don't understand, so direct your
advertising at urban voters and women. These groups are least likely to have personal
experience with responsible gun ownership. Even though gun crime is decreasing,
saturation coverage by the media has convinced most people that it is increasing. If
you can't stir up fear in this situation, you are in the wrong business.
Creating fear is not enough; you must also present yourself as a savior. Have your
staff draft at least one new gun control bill. The exact wording is not important,
because these bills rarely make it past the initial committee hearings. Gun control bills
are feel-good legislation, so choose a title with phrases like "child safety" or "public
protection".
You will be asked how your bill will reduce crime. A good response is: "It may not
have a significant impact on crime, but if it saves only one child, it's worth it." If
asked how your bill would have prevented a crime that you are exploiting, you can
answer: "It may not have saved these innocent victims of gun violence, but it's a step
in the right direction."
Gun control should be part of your regular stump speech. Use as many dramatic,
emotional phrases as you have time for. Do not mention any inconvenient facts, such
as the ineffectiveness of gun control or lack of enforcement of current laws. If anyone
brings up inconvenient facts during a question and answer session, simply talk around
the question and change the subject. If you feel that you can remember some numbers,
there are several excellent propaganda statements available from friendly anti-gun
groups.
One popular factoid says you are 43 times more likely to be killed by a gun in your
home than to use it for self defense. This is nonsense, of course, but tossing out a
number, then quickly changing the subject, can often end a debate on a favorable note.
If you are challenged later, you can say that you got the information from a reliable
source.
The final part of the strategy is to tie your opponent to the gun lobby. One of the best
tactics is to obtain photos or video of your opponent meeting with evil gun lobbyists.
Also look for statements by the gun lobby referring to your opponent as a supporter of
their misguided agenda. Pass this material to your friends in the media and stand back;
they will do the rest of the job for you.
As you make use of these principles, beware of a serious problem that has embarrassed
several politicians. Bodyguards have an annoying habit of flashing their guns or
leaving them in inappropriate places. This reminds people that you have armed
protection and makes you appear hypocritical, so take steps to prevent this from
happening. Also, if you have ever used a gun for protection, deny it. We know that
the elite can be trusted with guns, but voters may not share our enlightened view.
The truth has no place in politics. If you aren't willing to do what it takes to get
elected, you don't deserve to hold an office.
------------------------
Dr. Michael S. Brown is an optometrist in Vancouver, Wash., who moderates a large
e-mail list for discussion of gun issues in Washington state. He may be reached at
mb@e-z.net
Dr. Michael S. Brown
May 8, 2000
Soliciting votes from today's turned-off, apathetic voters is tough. Like mutating
bacteria, voters are becoming immune to our favorite campaign tactics. If you want to
win an election, you must return to the basics. The oldest weapons in the politician's
arsenal are fear and hatred. They are always effective if applied properly. The
principles outlined in this guide can be applied in many ways, but the perfect issue, as
you will see, is gun control.
Your goal is to make voters fear guns and hate the gun lobby. These emotions can
then be transferred to your opponent. We are dealing with emotions, not facts, because
people are more easily influenced through their emotions.
To promote fear of guns you must be prepared to rapidly exploit appropriate shooting
incidents. The media will make this easy for you, since they are already extremely
anti-gun and prone to hysterical coverage of these events. Imagine surfing a wave. If
you are smart, the wave does the work and you enjoy the ride.
Make a prior arrangement with friendly media people to appear before their cameras
on short notice. To avoid wasting your time, make it clear that you are not interested
in non-gun violence like stabbing, beating or arson deaths.
Prepare a statement in advance deploring the way that easy access to guns has caused
the crime that has just occurred. Leave the details out and fill in the blanks when the
information becomes available. As soon as possible after the crime, read your
statement on camera. Ideally the victims will be innocent people, and preferably
children.
Unfortunately, most shooting incidents occur between members of rival gangs or
involve police officers shooting in the line of duty. Worst of all are the cases where an
armed citizen defends herself from a criminal. Be patient and wait for the right event.
Your statement should invoke as many emotional images as possible, since you are
trying to convince voters that this could happen to them. Use dramatic phrases like
"guns flooding the streets". Of course you will say that we need to act "for the
children" at least two or three times. It is useful to say that gun lobby organizations
have "blood on their hands". Demonizing these groups is essential now, because later
you will attempt to tie your opponent to them.
Arrange a tour of the crime scene as soon as possible. Political connections with the
local authorities will pay off at this time. You and a few associates should walk
around the scene looking shocked and saddened. Practice your facial expression and
body language in advance. Do not allow any audio recording, since cynical comments
are sometimes picked up by unnoticed microphones.
Fear is your friend. People usually fear what they don't understand, so direct your
advertising at urban voters and women. These groups are least likely to have personal
experience with responsible gun ownership. Even though gun crime is decreasing,
saturation coverage by the media has convinced most people that it is increasing. If
you can't stir up fear in this situation, you are in the wrong business.
Creating fear is not enough; you must also present yourself as a savior. Have your
staff draft at least one new gun control bill. The exact wording is not important,
because these bills rarely make it past the initial committee hearings. Gun control bills
are feel-good legislation, so choose a title with phrases like "child safety" or "public
protection".
You will be asked how your bill will reduce crime. A good response is: "It may not
have a significant impact on crime, but if it saves only one child, it's worth it." If
asked how your bill would have prevented a crime that you are exploiting, you can
answer: "It may not have saved these innocent victims of gun violence, but it's a step
in the right direction."
Gun control should be part of your regular stump speech. Use as many dramatic,
emotional phrases as you have time for. Do not mention any inconvenient facts, such
as the ineffectiveness of gun control or lack of enforcement of current laws. If anyone
brings up inconvenient facts during a question and answer session, simply talk around
the question and change the subject. If you feel that you can remember some numbers,
there are several excellent propaganda statements available from friendly anti-gun
groups.
One popular factoid says you are 43 times more likely to be killed by a gun in your
home than to use it for self defense. This is nonsense, of course, but tossing out a
number, then quickly changing the subject, can often end a debate on a favorable note.
If you are challenged later, you can say that you got the information from a reliable
source.
The final part of the strategy is to tie your opponent to the gun lobby. One of the best
tactics is to obtain photos or video of your opponent meeting with evil gun lobbyists.
Also look for statements by the gun lobby referring to your opponent as a supporter of
their misguided agenda. Pass this material to your friends in the media and stand back;
they will do the rest of the job for you.
As you make use of these principles, beware of a serious problem that has embarrassed
several politicians. Bodyguards have an annoying habit of flashing their guns or
leaving them in inappropriate places. This reminds people that you have armed
protection and makes you appear hypocritical, so take steps to prevent this from
happening. Also, if you have ever used a gun for protection, deny it. We know that
the elite can be trusted with guns, but voters may not share our enlightened view.
The truth has no place in politics. If you aren't willing to do what it takes to get
elected, you don't deserve to hold an office.
------------------------
Dr. Michael S. Brown is an optometrist in Vancouver, Wash., who moderates a large
e-mail list for discussion of gun issues in Washington state. He may be reached at
mb@e-z.net