Novus America wrote:Mexican Liberation wrote:You're in a room with a guy and both of you are raging about how we need to do something about "them". You're just venting, but he shows you pictures of his arsenal at home and says he's going to do it right now. And he does because you continued to egg him on instead of calming him down. And you tell the police you were against it from the start, but still did nothing to convince him you're not really serious, or try to get him the psychiatric help he needed. Wouldn't it be fair for the police to consider you an accessory?
The NRA has not done that. Did its leaders sit down with these guys? No.
And no it would not be okay for the police to arrest you as an accessory.
Agreeing with a criminal is not a crime, (which the NRA did not do anyways) being and accessory requires you to willfully and knowingly provides material support.
There is an epidemic of conspiracy theories in this country. Everyone knows there is a mental health crisis, and some people have been radicalized by politics, left and right. They are not well, and can cause serious harm to others if left untreated. Some already have. Not once has the NRA told its people to maybe get themselves checked if they actually start thinking about doing this kind of stuff. If anything, it feeds into their delusions, "they" are everywhere, and can take away our freedoms at any given moment, so you better be ready. Not once has the NRA reassured its people that the enemy they are frightened of isn't as dangerous as they think. It hypes "them" as a legitimate threat to mankind that must be destroyed at some point in the future.
You're right that it would not be fair to prosecute the NRA as is, it could be argued it's just a bystander in this convoluted mess, but in its current form and its practices, its hands aren't totally clean either.