I don't really care for Ted Nugent. Musically, he is just not my cuppa tea. His activities outside music ... well, let's just say we don't have a lot in common. One commonality we do share is that we are both strongly opinionated and want to share our thoughts with the world. I have this blog. Ted has many venues available to him. Based on his recent item on cnn.com about the Virginia Tech killings, I thought I'd share some friendly advice with him.
1) Don't hinge your conclusions on demonstrably false statements.
Ted bemoans that the 'good guys' didn't have guns. Uhh ... Ted. Look at the pictures from VT. See the SWAT team? See those long stick-like objects they are carrying? Those are GUNS, Ted. Now, I know you probably meant if the folks in the classroom were armed things may have turned out differently. There'd be something in that to discuss. But as stated, you make claims that are easily disproven.
2) Don't declare folks who disagree with you to be evil.
Even if they are, folks generally react poorly to being called evil. If your goal is hearts and minds, it is best not to turn them off to your message before it can even be considered. You want folks to consider the merits of your arguments, not feel morally questioned.
3) Don't treat the 'other side' like idiots.
I don't know how else to put this. We all know fertilizer was used in the Oklahoma City bombing. It is insulting to pretend anyone believes there is no difference between fertilizer (main usage: uhh ... fertilizing) and guns (main purpose: putting little holes in things).
So, just a little friendly advice there. Gun issues aren't really my area, so I'll leave actual discussion of these things to those who know more about the issue than I do.
Me? I'm pretty much evil according to Ted (all the tree-hugging hippy crap I do ...) But not so evil that I can't make the simple suggestions above.
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