An Unsuccessful Conversion to the Cause
The office phone rings. Caller ID says "NRA". Nonetheless, I pick it up.
In fairness, it's unlikely that Wayne LaPierre's message would have done much to influence my views. I'm not a fan of guns, though I believe that if the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms is a personal right, as Justice Scalia told me it is in Heller, then that means what it says no matter how I feel on the subject.
On the other hand, when an unsolicited call comes on from an advocacy group like the NRA, intruding on my time, the suggestion that I'm being rude because I'm disinclined to cooperate with what both a young woman with a midwestern accent and Wayne LaPierre want from me isn't going to do much to persuade me to the cause.
And by the way, I can be rude to any unsolicited caller I want. I can even say mean things to her and hang up the phone. That's my right as the recipient of an unsolicited call. But in this case, I don't believe I was rude. Uncooperative, perhaps, but hardly rude.
There are a few things that a cold-caller can say to me that make me laugh more than telling me that I'm being rude. Talk about chutzpah. This is a young woman with a midwestern accent who shouldn't be trusted with a gun.
I'm calling from the NRA with a poll about how the United Nations wants to eliminate gun possession in the United States. I have a message from NRA vice president Wayne LaPierre to explain the poll.Do I need to hear a message from Wayne LaPierre to answer a poll question?Well, I think he wants you to hear his message.Well, I don't think I want to hear his message.Well, you don't have to be rude about it, Sir.
On the other hand, when an unsolicited call comes on from an advocacy group like the NRA, intruding on my time, the suggestion that I'm being rude because I'm disinclined to cooperate with what both a young woman with a midwestern accent and Wayne LaPierre want from me isn't going to do much to persuade me to the cause.
And by the way, I can be rude to any unsolicited caller I want. I can even say mean things to her and hang up the phone. That's my right as the recipient of an unsolicited call. But in this case, I don't believe I was rude. Uncooperative, perhaps, but hardly rude.
There are a few things that a cold-caller can say to me that make me laugh more than telling me that I'm being rude. Talk about chutzpah. This is a young woman with a midwestern accent who shouldn't be trusted with a gun.
When I got the same call -- mine came from Virginia -- I was rude. But just a little.
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That's gotta be one weird list of people to call if we're both on it.
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I think it's the "people whose phone numbers we've been able to get, somehow or other" list. The number I got the call on is unlisted, and was used to call the NRA once, several months ago; I got my first fundraising call from them a scant hour and a half later.
If I'd have known that was going to happen, I'd have spoofed another number. Like, say, the WH switchboard...
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Clearly we'd never be friends if our friendship depended on telephone conversations. I have a terrible Midwestern accent.
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You, Ms. Reed, have a wonderful midwestern accent, though I do believe it can be cured through invasive surgery if it continues to be a problem.
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You, Ms. Reed, have a wonderful midwestern accent,
This is getting way too mushy for my taste.
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touché!
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The UN-taking-your-guns thing is what the NRA fundraisers fall back on when there aren't any anti-gun bills in congress. I'm just glad Wayne LaPierre finally stopped sending me fundraising letters pretending he actually knew me. ("We were talking about your commitment to the right to bear arms...") Those were really insulting.
On another matter, there's no such thing as a midwestern accent. That's how the language is supposed to sound.
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Been to Brooklyn lately. Now that's the Kings English.
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I agree totally -- except there HR45 is in Congress. (I don't think it's likely to go anywhere mind, but it is an anti-gun bill, and it's definitely in Congress.)
As anti-UN as I am (very), I'm pretty sure that the UN black helicopters swooping down and taking my snubby revolver isn't something to worry about, though.
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I'm a member of the NRA.
You were not rude. In fact, you were quite polite. I appreciate your willingness to be polite, even over a subject about which you disagree.
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I've got nothing against the NRA. It's just not my cup of tea. And I certainly have no reason to take it out on the young woman making the call, even if I did.
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Midwesterners have no accent.
I'm an NRA member and the calls annoy the hell out of me, mainly because they play both sides when they smell the chance at making some money. They aren't coming from some secret NRA bunker, but more likely a call center someplace that was picked because of their rates.
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I'm a Patron member of the NRA (two steps above "Life") and I don't pick up calls when the caller ID says "NRA". You were not rude, you were simply not polite. That's not the same thing, and I see nothing wrong with what you said or how you said it.
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I got the same call. At first, I wasn't rude. Then I felt like the person was upset because (like you), I wasn't giving the compliant reaction they wanted. After all, I couldn't see the gun, so I figured they couldn't shoot.
Finally, I just said something like, "Listen, the bottom line is that I work hard to stop you guys. I'm unlikely to be convinced to do otherwise."
Somehow, that got through. "Thank you very much, sir. Have a good day."
And I did.
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