> predominantly white gun owners, organized by a
> politically-reoriented NRA ...
The NRA is a small organization relative to the population of gun owners in the US; they have something like 4M members. I wouldn't ascribe actual organization attributes to them; they are best seen as a lobbying organization, with influence travelling up and not down. They publish three *different* monthly membership magazines, because even the people who can be bothered to send them money each year don't agree with each other about what it is they care about, gun-wise. Only one of the three magazines has a political angle to it ...
My experience with NRA members is that they pride themselves on having chosen the "right" magazine for them and they eschew "those guys" who get the other two.
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A man is rescued from a desert island after 20 years. The news media, amazed at this feat of survival, ask him to show them his home.
"How did you survive? How did you keep sane?" they ask him, as he shows them around the small island.
"I had my faith. My faith as a Jew kept me strong. Come." He leads them to a small glen, where stands an opulent temple, made entirely from palm fronds, coconut shells and woven grass. The news cameras take pictures of everything -- even a "torah" made from banana leaves and written in octopus ink. "This took me five years to complete."
"Amazing! And what did you do for the next fifteen years?"
"Come with me." He leads them around to the far side of the island. There, in a shady grove, is an even "more: beautiful temple. "This one took me twelve years to complete!"
"But sir" asks the reporter, "Why did you build *two* temples?"
"This is the temple *I* attend. That other place? Hah! I wouldn't set foot in that other temple if you PAID me!"