My photo
Wellington, New Zealand
welcome to my corner of the blog world! i love step, boxing, zumba, scrapbooking, photography, watching movies, walking the hills of my suburb, my family, and life in wellington. take some time to have a look around and be sure to say hi!

Saturday, July 18, 2009

would you like an AK-47 with that?

for me, this is what's wrong with the world today.

for a minute, let's forget about global warming
let's forget about how the car manufacturing business in the US is in dire straits, and focus on car dealer mark muller, who's giving away an AK-47 with every truck purchase.

he was interviewed on CNN recently. at the start of the 5-minute interview, he spent 9 seconds talking about how many cars he sold during the LAST promotion when they gave away HAND GUNS with every truck purchase, and how they hope to top that with this current promotion.

when asked by the interviewer whether he thought he was being slightly irresponsible for giving away semi-assault weapons, he replied that she was 'grandstanding' - (yeah, because giving away a gun with a truck ISN'T grandstanding. no, not at all).

the rest of the interview was spent justifying the use and ownership of guns (of any type).

topics covered included: the local crime rate (specifically the "P" problem in missouri); how criminals have 'lost their souls', that God wouldn't want him to be a victim; and that with a gun, at least he has a 'sporting chance'.

these are some of the pearls of wisdom that came out of his mouth:

"felons buy cars too" (pointing out that they give a voucher for the gun, so that gun rules and regulations can be adhered to).

"because we sell cars" (when asked why their motto is "God, guns, guts and american pick up trucks")

"You don't think God would want us to defend ourselves" (in response to the interviewer's question as to why God is in their motto. this was closely followed by:

"you don't have a problem with God, do you?" [way to deflect dude]

"they didn't have guns back then" (when the interviewer tried to make sense of his explanation and pondered 'would jesus carry a gun?'

"the only 911 call i wanna make is chambering a round" (when noting the 15 minute police response time in his area).

the often speechless and flabbergasted interviewer barely held her own, and was probably questioning her decision to get out of bed that morning!

9 comments:

Debbie said...

This is the kind of news that drives me nuts! How did the crazy people take over?

Elizabeth said...

I have to tell you that I have some personal interest in this story!

The link you sent had a story from Fox4 News as the top post on this Max71 blog. Turns out that is the first TV station I worked at in Kansas City! I worked with one of the anchors and also the reporter, John Pepitone.

So I am way more sidetracked by the TV news people in this story instead of the actual story. Is that wrong of me?

Stacey said...

That is just stupid!

So...whats the "P" problem?

Anonymous said...

Are you kidding? It's pure genius.

People aren't buying cars right now...people ARE buying guns though...so much so that they can be hard to find sometimes.

So, how do you entice people to buy something they DON'T want? Give them something they DO want with every purchase.

Sounds like a great idea to me.

Here's my question: there seems to be a consensus here that the idea is "stupid" or irresponsible...but no one has explained why.

He's ensuring that the proper background checks are done and that prohibited persons aren't able to take advantage of the offer. He's not offering an illegal product, but something that the purchasers could go buy themselves without having to spend the money on a new truck. He's offering something that his customers apparently want...or do you think someone like you would suddenly become a gun rights supporter if you were to be given a voucher for a gun purchase?

Specifically how and why is this a stupid, irresponsible thing to do?

Finally...I've gotta ask: What, exactly, is a semi-assault weapon?

Is that something that you use to sort of assault someone? Is semi-assault a misdemeanor or a felony?

Anonymous said...

That is insane! What normal person needs an AK-47 I ask you? Gah!

I'm pretty sure this would be illegal in Canada. I hope so, anyway.

What are gun laws like in New Zealand... how are guns viewed?

Great post, Sue!

Michelle said...

Wowwww. That's pretty special. These are the people who I don't understand ... ok, an example of one of the many types of people I don't understand. It's yet another reason that I'm glad I live in the suburban areas and not rural areas though!

scrappysue said...

"It seems to me that you're just passing judgment on others based upon your own preconceptions and lack of understanding", says sailorcurt.

it would appear that myself and my commentors are not the only ones with preconceptions, which is why you probably have a google alert set up so you can visit a scrapbooking, photography, family blog (because you do that so often) and jump on your high hourse and get all offended because we don't subscribe to YOUR pro-gun way of thinking.

this discussion is now over.

Anonymous said...

I didn't visit a "scrapbooking, photography, family blog". I visited a blog entry regarding a car dealer who was giving away a perfectly legal product as a promotion to increase his sales.

If you didn't want to discuss the subject, why did you blog about it? It sure doesn't have anything to do with the aforementioned topics.

I believe in the Second Amendment to the US Constitution. I believe in the natural right of every human being to defend themselves and their families with the best tools available for that job. So much opposition to gun rights is driven by lack of understanding and incorrect information, I think it's important to correct that misinformation and provide that understanding. That's all I was trying to do here.

I was never offended and I'm still not. I was simply offering a different perspective. I feel that I was polite and civil and never once did I answer in kind when your readers implied that I and people like me are "stupid", "irresponsible", "insane" or unworthy of living in suburbia. All I did was ask why they felt that way. Upon what basis are those opinions based?

Apparently, you're not interested in different perspectives. That's fine. You don't have to be.

I realize it's sometimes difficult to face the fact that differing viewpoints exist and that yours may not be based in the best possible information...but sometimes intellectual honesty demands that we take a critical look at our beliefs and preconceptions. What good are deep seated beliefs and preconceptions when they're based on fallacy and ignorance?

It's a shame that so many people are so intolerant these days that they can't even entertain an opposing viewpoint...but that's the world we live in.

Jaina said...

Wow. Just, wow. There are no words.