CNN Story Tries To Be Cute

CNN.com/Fortune Magazine is running a story today about the slowing of firearms sales. Ever since the election of President Obama, gun and ammunition sales have increased because of a fear that the administration’s policies will lead the country to economic ruin and draconian firearms laws. To make fun of those of us who fear the President’s “hope and change” message, the story is full of puns and double meanings. There is a well established rhetorical tactic that says if you can’t win an argument with logic you should ridicule the opponent and the opponent’s position.
The attack starts with the title and subtitle of the story. “America’s gun spree could run out of ammo”.

“Fears of limits from a liberal president are firing sales, but gun-makers only have so many weapons in their arsenals.”

A “shooting spree” is a term that is often associated with criminal shootings even though the word spree means a frolic. Spree is misused to convey irony associated with violence.  To use “gun spree” instead of the more neutral term “shopping spree” taints those of us who exercise our 2^nd Amendment Right as criminals. To say that manufacturers only have “so many weapons in their arsenals” is a too cute scare tactic. According to Webster’s New Dictionary, an arsenal is technically a magazine of stores for warfare. Therefore gun makers and buyers must be going to war with someone. It isn’t a stretch to infer that the Administration and its policies are the enemy of these law-abiding companies and citizens. More fear mongering from CNN.

The story mentions Ruger’s SR-556 and says “[T]he rifle is useful according to the company for shooting varmints and for ‘personal defense’, presumable pesky biped varmints.” Biped varmints are humans. To say those who shoot rodents are just as willing to shoot people infers that SR-556 owners are murderous psychopaths. Almost everyone who has shot someone in self-defense feels terrible about it. Using deadly force against an attacker isn’t cute or humorous.

When describing that gun and ammunition sales have increased over the past year, the story says, “There’s plenty of anecdotal evidence of mania in the sector.” Mania is a mental illness so therefore those who are fueling the sales increases are crazy. This is one more example of media bias against those of us who exercise our 2^nd Amendment Right.

Ridicule is an effective method of attacking an opponent. It makes them look stupid and any argument they make illogical. But this doesn’t help the public weigh the pros and cons of an issue. Hard news should give us hard facts, not quick laughs. Leave the puns and ridicule for the tabloid media outlets that don’t let the facts get in the way of a clever one-liner.  Is this CNN story anecdotal evidence that a once great hard news network has fallen to the level of a tabloid news network?