Yesterday at lunch I was thumbing through the the Wall Street Journal news paper. The beginning of the section had the following article placed in the most prominent area of the page with the accompanying picture of a middle school aged girl shouldering a rifle.
At first I skipped the article and thought “Oh, another anti-gun article spewing the evils of guns and how they are used for deviant purposes.” After reaching the end of the paper and not the end of my lunch I decided to go back and read the article. I was shocked by what I found – or rather didn’t find based upon my initial reaction.
Read the article for yourself, Cerberus Sets Its Signs on IPO for a Gun Maker. The picture’s caption states:
“Built through a string of Cerberus acqusitions, Freedom Group is one of the largest gun makers. Here, a student in Kansas tests a Bushmaster rifle in 2008; Cerberus bought Bushmaster Firearms in April 2006.”
Be honest with yourself, what does the picture bring to your mind?
The article has nothing to do with students brandishing guns! The author wants to subtly imply firearms will be used improperly.
Why not show a picture that provokes a sense of security by displaying someone properly using a firearm? What about a soldier practicing with a rifle? Or, since our society is so consumer based – a store shelf filled with guns and ammunition.
Since the author mentioned Kansas by name, maybe the author was trying to imply little Jane Doe (girl in the picture) needs her Bushmaster rifle to survive school. Maybe schools in Kansas did away with home economics class in favor of “surviving the fall of government 101”. I doubt very much that either of these apply to Kansas, Jane Doe’s situation, or what the author was trying to imply.
The Wall Street Journal article about Cerberus Investment Group and it’s acquisitions to consolidate the firearm and munition market has nothing to do with children brandishing firearms. So why be sensational and put the picture there?
This entry contains my commentary and review of the article written in the Wall Street Journal, “Cerberus Sets Its Signs on IPO for a Gun Maker”. All quotes from the article are property of the Wall Street Journal.