jeudi, juillet 23, 2009

The Dillinger phenomenon

The BBC had a report a few mornings ago about why American's romanticize the life and death of bank robber John Dillinger. The anchor mentioned that in our culture we have a yen for "gentleman" robbers and Robin Hood, steal from the rich, give to the poor types. We also like outlaws.

I didn't know the gangster (oh sorry, public benefactor) had been so selfless. I think I better read up on him.


Anyone draw the dots between our love of elegant gangsters and our worship of the Second Amendment? Both are lethal.


Oddly enough, at the break, the local news reported on a story out of our neighboring Garden State.

Guess what? A whole bunch of folks were indicted for gun running between states which make it dead easy for criminals to get them and states, like New Jersey, trying to keep them out of cities like Newark, where kids and cops are killed.

So....we get our white outlaws, like Dillinger. And the poor blacks, Hispanics and other minorities who live in the inner city, poor white folks in the rural areas, not to mention women fleeing violent boyfriends or fiancees get to walk their streets looking over their shoulder for the flying bullets that signal our modern day Dillingers.

Beloved outlaws.

Second Amendment heros.





http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/23/us/politics/23guns.html?_r=1&ref=politics

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