How to convert your liberal friends (to win next election)

[Kythas]

Unfortunately, most liberals are guided by their feelings and emotions instead of facts and logic. When pointing out to them the statistics on how 2.5 million crimes per year are prevented by handguns, they cling to the "34,000 children are killed by guns each year". Pointing out that the "children" in these statistics are as old as 19 and this includes gang-on-gang murders, they still cling to the "how terrible that so many children are being killed" emotion.

Much like the health care bill. We who oppose national health care are the evil ones because we're selfish in wanting to keep our own money and not give it to people who would otherwise die in the street because they can't afford medical care. Never mind that nobody is dying in the street due to no medical care, that emergency rooms are forbidden to deny treatment due to not being able to pay, or that under the bill passed yesterday an insurance policy for a family of four that is purchased outside the public exchange will cost $15,000 in 2016. If the poor can't afford insurance now, how can they afford that? Oh, yeah, and if you don't have insurance, you can go to jail for 5 years and/or be fined $250,000. This is all according to the Congressional Budget Office.

If these facts don't sway liberals, nothing will.

[Zee]

What if I don't have any liberal friends?

I'll be your friend.

Okay your in. Now let's see, the 2nd Amendment to the constitution is...oh wait, you're already on board there. Hey! This is easier than I thought.

It is easy if you stick to the issues. Does anyone ever ask how many potential voters that have been lost because they have substituted the issue of 2nd Amendment rights with attacks on personalities?

How many potential voters can I afford to offend? Do my broad statements about certain groups all but guarantee those votes aren't changing? All voters are potential allies.

I had a saleperson from Yellow Pages actually mock me because I wondered if the ads were for me. At that point the issue was not the Yellow Pages but should I be dealing with someone who offends me on a personal level. No ad was sold.

Why emphasize the differences in thoughts and beliefs that are not related to the issue of RKBA? Focus instead on the common goals.

[03Lightningrocks]

What if I don't have any liberal friends?

Then go out, round up a few, and convert 'em!

I am not sure how to go about finding them. I tend to hang out in places people of intelligence frequent.

You need to get out more. They're everywhere!

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NO!!! Please tell me they aren't allowed to roam the streets with the rest of us!!! The very thought of it is terrifying!!!!!!!!!!

[Excaliber]

What if I don't have any liberal friends?

Then go out, round up a few, and convert 'em!

I am not sure how to go about finding them. I tend to hang out in places people of intelligence frequent.

You need to get out more. They're everywhere!

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NO!!! Please tell me they aren't allowed to roam the streets with the rest of us!!! The very thought of it is terrifying!!!!!!!!!!

I'm afraid I've got bad news for you......

[drjoker]

OMG, the healthcare bill passed?

May God have mercy on us all.... Socialism and communism lite, here we come....

[03Lightningrocks]

OMG, the healthcare bill passed?

May God have mercy on us all.... Socialism and communism lite, here we come....

Only the house....not to panic just yet.

[nitrogen]

What if I don't have any liberal friends?

Then go out, round up a few, and convert 'em!

I am not sure how to go about finding them. I tend to hang out in places people of intelligence frequent.

You'd be poor at converting liberals; as you obviously feel that you are better than people you disagree with. This type of attitude is probably the biggest thing that keeps gun owners seen as a fringe group, and the biggest thing that needs to go among us all.

[Zee]

You'd be poor at converting liberals; as you obviously feel that you are better than people you disagree with. This type of attitude is probably the biggest thing that keeps gun owners seen as a fringe group, and the biggest thing that needs to go among us all.

Amen, brother.

[kirock7]

+1

[KD5NRH]

You'd be poor at converting liberals; as you obviously feel that you are better than people you disagree with.

Well duh. If those people were as good as I am, they'd be smart enough to agree with me.

[mr.72]

Liberals, by definition, are open and tolerant. Liberals should be the easiest to talk to because they are apt to listen.

I have not found that to be even remotely true.

Not even occasionally.

The liberals I have talked with (such as many of my family members) tend to be very resistant to actually having a reasoned conversation about anything unless you already agree with their position. Yeah, they are open and tolerant as long as you already agree with them.

The second amendment is not about duck hunting. I believe in gun responsible gun rights. Not everyone shows to be responsible and shouldn't have a gun until they become responsible.

Well, then, I propose those who think this way might be interested in amending the Constitution in order to avoid rebuke by those who believe in our current Constitution. Maybe it could say:

"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed, as long as they are proven to be 'responsible', according to appointed liberals."

Anyway, consider my view when you try to be heard by someone who may be a little biased against your position. Maybe it will help the issue.

It may very well be your view that is subject to disagreement. What, then?

I am not sure you can convert liberal friends, at least not in any way that will get them to vote for conservatives. Sure, maybe events in their lives can cause them to consider the value of being armed, but it is a real stretch to expect them to ignore the bulk of their other beliefs and become a single-issue RKBA voter. For example, I am sure Mr. Zee likely voted for Obama, regardless of his position on RKBA. And likewise, I might actually support at least one position of a Democrat running for office and oppose at least one position of the Republican they are up against, but on the whole, I am still going to vote for the one who represents the majority of my views.

Seems the thing that happens that causes liberals to begin to support the RKBA, at least for the chosen few (including themselves, of course), is finding themselves vulnerable or victim to some crime wherein access to a gun would have been a distinct benefit. Then one day, they may actually find that their faith is valuable, when they experience some crisis through which they discover that they like the idea of a higher power. And maybe they wind up having children who become teenagers and they suddenly, intuitively understand the danger of moral ambiguity. And when they have pay 5 digit or larger tax bills, they make a full conversion to conservatism and get off of the big government bandwagon. Only then will they actually vote for pro-2A candidates on the whole.

So the process of converting your liberal friends is to just leave them alone and hope that they live long enough to wise up.

Maybe this thread belongs in the Political Issues area...

[Purplehood]

Liberals, by definition, are open and tolerant. Liberals should be the easiest to talk to because they are apt to listen.

I have not found that to be even remotely true.

Not even occasionally.

The liberals I have talked with (such as many of my family members) tend to be very resistant to actually having a reasoned conversation about anything unless you already agree with their position. Yeah, they are open and tolerant as long as you already agree with them.

My friend, you need to talk to more Liberals! Out on the street, I am considered a Right-wing Conservative. On this board I am a Liberal, and I am friends with the 2nd Amendment.

Really!

[03Lightningrocks]

What if I don't have any liberal friends?

Then go out, round up a few, and convert 'em!

I am not sure how to go about finding them. I tend to hang out in places people of intelligence frequent.

You'd be poor at converting liberals; as you obviously feel that you are better than people you disagree with. This type of attitude is probably the biggest thing that keeps gun owners seen as a fringe group, and the biggest thing that needs to go among us all.

I have more interest in teaching Chickens to play Piano than converting liberals into true Americans. I actually pity liberals. Liberals cannot be converted and they typically have no desire to see the light. They believe they are better than or somehow more enlightened than the rest of us. I am presently gritting my teeth as I sweat out the next year of a liberal dominated house of representatives bent on taking away the freedoms so many have died for. Liberals are presently burying this country in massive debt and the only response from them when challenged on it is to proclaim the evils of George Bush. I won't be spending much quality time talking to the very people who I feel represent all that is wrong with America.

I do know Democrats that are the salt of the earth. They are conservative democrats. They would punch you in the nose if you referred to them as a liberal. At times I feel the two are confused as being the same when they are obviously not! Fortunately for all of us, very few true liberals exist. The last polls taken showed somewhere in the area of 20%. The funny thing about libs is that they think they are the majority...LOL.

[Excaliber]

There seems to be a bit of confusion over understanding how to recognize a liberal. The following behavioral indicators may help:

If a conservative doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one.
If a liberal doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.

If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn`t eat meat.
If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone.

If a conservative sees a foreign threat, he thinks about how to defeat his enemy.
A liberal wonders how to surrender gracefully and still look good.

If a conservative is homosexual, he quietly leads his life.
If a liberal is homosexual, he demands legislated respect.

If a black man or Hispanic are conservative, they see themselves as
independently successful.
Their liberal counterparts see themselves as victims in need of government
protection.

If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation.
A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him.

If a conservative doesn't like a talk show host, he switches channels.
Liberals demand that those they don't like be shut down.

If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church.
A liberal non-believer wants any mention of God and religion silenced.
(Unless it's a foreign religion, of course!)

If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it.
A liberal demands that the rest of us pay for his.

If a conservative slips and falls in a store, he gets up, laughs and is embarrassed.
If a liberal slips and falls, he grabs his neck, moans like he's in labor and then sues.

If a conservative reads this, he'll forward it so his friends can have a good laugh.
A liberal will delete it because he's "offended".

[Purplehood]

My "delete" key isn't working. Can I get some tech-help, here?