Guns Are For White People

[onehandle]

Everybody's white. That's the conclusion from a survey of gun magazines I bought the other day. The survey, I admit, was not conducted in accord with the best research practices: I asked the guy at the subway kiosk for as many gun magazines as he could give me before the #4 train pulled in. He handed me three for $17.

All the magazines have ads for, well, guns, and loads of accessories (love the "Sneaky Pete" concealment holster). Naturally, they have stories on guns -- whether "intimidating, big-muzzle looks" or a "Tank-tough Recon Tactical with added strength and reliability for patrol." In addition, there are features on gun life, such as columns in Guns Magazine called "Campfire Tales" and "Odd Angry Shot."

There are pictures of guys with guns, gals with guns, animals with guns, ammo with guns and guns with guns. Curiously absent are pictures of black people with guns, brown people with guns or Asian people with guns. The good guys are white. The bad guys are white. In the Gunworld depicted in these pages, pretty much everyone is white.

This point was so striking, in fact, that I decided to count the faces in the ads and stories, figuring arithmetic would refute a lazy first impression. Including illustrations and photos, here's my tally:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/30/guns-white-people_n_3676742.html

[sinkingfeeling]

1. Or gun magazines are for white people.

[Eleanors38]

7. You would think. I don't subscribe to those mags,

even though I have guns for hunting and SD. They are the new "gadgeteers," to borrow from Aldo Leopold.

[Nye Bevan]

2. Over 90% of hunters are white. (nt)

[Eleanors38]

6. 81% of gun-owners don't hunt. nt

[former9thward]

8. Gun magazines are probably oriented towards people who hunt or target practice.

I own guns but I have never hunted and I have never bought a gun magazine.

[napkinz]

3. Whites have "Zimmeranda Rights"

[hack89]

4. African Americans have a thriving gun culture

Don't worry, African Americans have their fair share of guns.

[Eleanors38]

5. Uh, same post elsewhere, including cartoon.

On edit, I wonder if the writer wants to change things back to times when "Guns are for white people" was the law. I certainly don't want a return to those days.

I have noted that Field & Stream (not a "gun mag" per se, but a big player in the "hook & bullet" press) is doing more racially diverse articles about hunting and fishing. However, the gun mags can be legitimately criticized for not covering black people with guns.

They are there and there is a market.

[napkinz]

9. n2doc also posted

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023378982