This NRA recruitment campaign sells it as a paramilitary group

Well, this is pretty creepy. The American National Rifle Association seems to really believe that gun-toting citizens are the only thing standing between order and anarchy:



It looks more like a military recruitment campaign than advocacy for gun enthusiasts, and that's on purpose. NRA President Wayne LaPierre likes to say that "the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun" and believes that civilians with military-grade weapons can stop violent crime.

And apparently, according to their videos, bring an end to lying, cheating, indifference and general unAmericanism:



Although the weirdest one, for me, is this explanation that the solution to anger, road rage, and everyday violence is to give everyone a gun:



Americans have the right to bear arms specifically so that they can raise a citizen militia to remove corrupt governments. However, these ads make it seem as if an armed revolution against society's ills in imminent.

Nike accidentally endorses NRA pro-assault-rifle PSA

Meet Dom Raso. He totally isn't reading a teleprompter. He would also like you to know that you can't trust the media, but you should trust him because he totally doesn't have a political agenda.

Mr. Raso works for NRA News. He is also a Navy Seal veteran, wearing a t-shirt promoting Operation Hawkeye, an organization that works for honour and recognition of special operations soldiers killed in the line of duty.

Operation Hawkeye, in turn, gets support from Nike. Which explains the logo on the shirt.

Only problem is, the Nike logo has now been used to endorse assault rifles, or at least an insistence that civilians have access to them and be able to take them everywhere.

I wonder how Nike feels about that?

H/T Gawker

Shooting game company literally makes women targets of misogyny

Cross-posted at Sociological Images.

Via zombieindustries.com

So it turns out there's this company that makes "zombie" targets for gun enthusiasts. They have clown zombies, nazi zombies, "terrorist" zombies, dog zombies and even a green zombie named "Rocky" that has Barack Obama's ears.

And one woman.

Here's their explanation:

The Zombie virus does not discriminate and neither does Zombie Industries.  We take preparation for the Zombie Apocalypse seriously, which is why we strive to have all groups of undead monsters represented in our product selection.  In addition to the Ex Girlfriend Zombie, we currently sell 15 male zombies, 5 animal zombies & 2 aliens… to discriminate against Women by not having them represented in our product selection would be just plain sexist.

Each of the zombie targets has a story. Here is the story of "The Ex":

Be warned, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned but a man scorned is nothing to mess with! A young gent from Louisiana, we’ll call him Andre` to protect his identity, was deeply committed to his one true love and her to him, or so he thought. While partying with her friends during one particular Mardi Gras, she took several suitors over the course of the festivities. Andre` felt something odd indeed, so he paid a visit to his great aunt, Marie, who helped him see the truth. With a few eggs, candles lit and kiss upon his forehead, her voodoo curse was set in motion. Late each night while lying in bed, a smile would appear across his face, for a slight breeze would travel through a cracked window bringing with it, a faint whiff of decay and a unnatural cry of regret.

That's right. In this narrative, a man kills a woman for cheating on him. Then he has her turned into a zombie. Which you, bro, are now invited to blow to bits.

Despite the game-like zombie theme, it is notable that the single human female representation has been created specifically as a target of violent male anger towards a woman's ownership of her own sexuality.

"The Ex" is also portrayed in a highly sexual way, with what seems to be a bare lower torso and busting out chest.

Policymic writes, "Every day, at least three women are killed by an intimate partner in the US alone.  Let's make sure those numbers go down, not up. Let's make sure companies like Zombies Industries know that we're not buying it."

Some people, however, are buying it. And this is what's most troubling.

From the product reviews:

This Zombie Bitch is awesome, reminds me of a girl I knew in High School, My LMT LM308MWS should put a stop to the undead bring them on !!! Later Party till you drop Corvette forever !!!!! - Ralph Cox ( Big Money Grip) 

I love that this target looks like Britney Spears and it bleeds when I shot it. - Bryan 

And from YouTube:

It may just be me, but I think that people who are willing to pay $100 to shoot a cheap sex doll to bits while fantasizing about killing women who rejected them (and people who think that's totally cool) have some very serious problems.

Oh, and Zombie Industries was selling this shit at the National Rifle Association convention in Houston last weekend. Surprised?

Update: Amazon was selling The Ex. It is no longer doing so.

Update 2: Kelli, a Sociological Images reader, commented on the cross-post that Zombie Industries has changed the name and backstory of "The Ex" to make her more of a traditional villain:

Alexa was from Louisiana and was always drawn to the occult.  She had a wicked mean streak in her and was known for her nasty disposition, especially if she had been drinking.  She also happened to be in love with a young man, but there was a slight problem.. he was married to another women.  When he told her that he loved his wife and could never be unfaithful to her, Alexa became enraged.  She decided to seek the help of a local tarot card & palm reader who also dabbled in Voodoo.  When she told the Voodoo Witch of her plan to break up a loving a marriage.. the witch refused to help her.  That’s when Alexa lost her cool for the last time and crossed the wrong person.  She let out a slew of insults directed at the witch and told her she would get her way one way or another.  That’s when the Voodoo Witch cast a spell of her own.  Alexa never knew what hit her and before she reached her home that evening she joined the ranks of the Undead!

It's more of an admission of guilt than anything else...

Latest WTF from the NRA: Why do Obama's kids get armed guards?

I wasn't going to do any more blogging today, but WHAT IN HOLY HELL IS WRONG WITH SOME PEOPLE?!?



The Sandy Hook massacre last month ripped apart an already bipolar American gun culture. The President is responding to public demand for tighter gun control, meanwhile advocates of unrestricted civilian access to guns want to turn schools into paramilitary fortresses.

I'm on the gun-control side, but there's no point in me wading into an argument that is already using up tons of bandwidth. Instead, let's look again at just how awful that NRA ad is.

First of all, it's moronic. A couple of years ago, my son attended the same Ottawa public school as our Prime Minister's daughter. The whole time she attended in that capacity, there were armed RCMP guards discreetly positioned at the school. Of course there were. These children, through no fault of their own, are targets for a multitude of crazy, angry, and politically-motivated baddies.

But there's a deeper stench to this ad. As the Daily Beast's David Frum noted:

Generally speaking, a president's family should not be subject to political criticism. That rule was honorably upheld in the case of the Bush daughters, who grew into fine young people, and the rule should be same for the Obama daughters - especially if it's true, as has been widely reported, that this first family has faced a unique degree of threat.

This was grievous enough to warrant an official White House response by spokesman Jay Carney, “Most Americans agree that a president's children should not be used as pawns in a political fight. But to go so far as to make the safety of the president's children the subject of an attack ad is repugnant and cowardly.”

The US gun "debate" is just getting uglier and uglier.

The NRA Concealed Carry Hooded Sweatshirt #FdAdFriday

As the United States comes to grips with all the issues surrounding the Trayvon Martin shooting — racism, vigilanteism, guns, and even the victim's fashion choices — the National Rifle Association has recently introduced a new product to its online store:

You see, the victim was wearing a hoodie. And the shooter had a concealed carry gun permit. So naturally, the answer to America's social woes is to ensure all hoodie wearers are armed, too. It'll be like the wild west, but more suburban.

Their description:

"We want concealed carry to fit around your lifestyle – not the other way around. That’s why we developed the NRAstore™ exclusive Concealed Carry Hooded Sweatshirt. It’s the only garment of its kind we know of! Made from a pre-shrunk, heavyweight 50% cotton / 50% polyester blend, we’ve taken a standard 9 oz. fleece sweatshirt design and added a full-body polyester lining for added warmth, durability, wind resistance and weight distribution. Inside the sweatshirt you’ll find left and right concealment pockets. The included Velcro®-backed holster and double mag pouch can be repositioned inside the pockets for optimum draw. Ideal for carrying your favorite compact to mid-size pistol, the NRA Concealed Carry Hooded Sweatshirt gives you an extra tactical edge, because its unstructured, casual design appears incapable of concealing a heavy firearm – but it does so with ease! Includes drawstring hood, cotton/spandex ribbed cuffs and waistband, two front pouch pockets and a discreet black zipper. Includes one Velcro® holster and one Velcro® mag pouch. Colors: Black, Navy. Made in USA"

Via current.com