Just for the fun of it, and because it’ll piss off liberals, let’s re-write some lyrics. The song lyrics in question are to “If I Had a Hammer”. Written by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays in 1949 and originally recorded by The Weavers, the best known version is by Peter, Paul and Mary in 1962. Here goes:
If I had a hammer
I’d hammer in the morning
I’d hammer in the evening
All over this land
I’d hammer out murder
I’d hammer out mayhem
Between progressives and the patriots
All over this land
It might be worth noting that Pete Seeger was a progressive and the song was written in support of the progressive movement in the 1940s. Although progressivism in this country at that time centered on labor issues, it was nonetheless influenced by the world-wide communist movement. Seeger himself ran into some trouble while serving in the military because of his socialist leaning.
Okay, another of my convoluted introductions. The point is, though, that given the current media spasm over gun control, no one is marching and protesting to prevent other forms of murder.
According to the most recent (2014) FBI stats on homicides by weapon, there were 1,567 deaths caused by “knives or cutting instruments”; 435 deaths caused by “blunt objects (clubs, hammers, etc.)”; and 660 deaths caused by “personal weapons (hands, fists, feet, etc.)”. This is only a small portion of the entire list. In an article by Alex Tabarrok, this fact is pointed out:
In 2014, 248 people were killed by rifles. Rifles would include “assault weapons”. Thus, more people are killed by knives than by assault weapons. Indeed, more than twice as many people are killed by “hands, fists, feet, etc.” than by assault weapons.
The data may be uncomfortable to both left and the right. The left because banning “rifles” would obviously not save many lives even if one assumed no substitution effect towards other weapons and banning “assault weapons”, however defined, would do even less. The right because handguns are by far the primary weapon used to kill.
Putting aside gun stats for a bit, let’s go back to the hammer issue. If hammers are so lethal, why are they so readily available? Shouldn’t the following be taken into consideration before selling a hammer to anyone?
2015, near Lillooet, British Columbia (Canada), 11 people were attacked by a hammer wielding man at the Bridge River Indian Band offices. One death occurred.
2009 — a Texas couple beat their 13-month-old daughter to death with a hammer because of “demons”.
2017 — also in Texas, a 14-year-old girl was kidnapped and beaten to death with a hammer. Her body was later found in a trash dump.
2014 — in St. Louis, a group of black teens pulled a white motorist from his car and beat him to death with a hammer in a racially motivated hate crime.
This is just a short list of hammer deaths. Given the brutality a hammer can cause, why are there no boycotts of Ace Hardware, Home Depot, True Value Hardware, or even Wal-Mart? Why isn’t every construction crew made to register their deadly hammers so we know who has them?
Knives have killed even more people according to the 2014 stats. 1,567 deaths as opposed to 248 rifle deaths and 435 “hammer, blunt object” deaths.
A good example of how anyone, at any age, can get a knife and commit murder occurred earlier this month. In Palm Beach, FL, 17-year-old Corey Johnson, who is a self-radicalized jihadist, killed a 13-year-old boy and attempted to kill two others in a knife attack while at a sleep over at a friend’s house. This is a teenager, just a couple years younger than the Parkland shooter. However, he was using a knife. Why no marches against knife ownership?
I’ll go out on the proverbial limb here as a journalist and answer my own question. The reason why there are no marches, protests, boycotts, etc., regarding hammers, knives, and other lethal weapons, is because it would not fit the liberal, anti-American narrative of wanting a defenseless, compliant, subservient citizenry completely unable to protect themselves.
This line from the 2nd Amendment is pretty succinct: “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” The Supreme Court has ruled that this right does indeed pertain to individuals. And…”arms” always refers to firearms. Had knives, hammers and/or other blunt objects been mentioned in the Constitution, it’s a sure bet liberals would be after them as well.
It’s the same reasoning as to why liberals have created “speech codes”. The 1st Amendment (in part) says this: “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press …” Because it’s in the Constitution, liberals hate it. They’ll find any way conceivable, legal or otherwise, to circumvent the Constitution if it furthers their anti-American agenda.
Barak Hussein Obama did not feel the need to hide liberals’ true intentions. On more than one occasion he stated (in part) that the Constitution was something of an impediment to what he really wanted to do; he felt hampered by it; and in January 2017 right before leaving office, he said in a farewell speech that the Constitution was “… just a piece of parchment.”
Contrary to all this liberal hatred for our rights, God has this to say about such leaders:
“Woe to those who enact evil statutes and to those who constantly record unjust decisions, So as to deprive the needy of justice and rob the poor of my people of their rights, So that widows may be their spoil and that they may plunder the orphans.” (Isaiah 10:1-2)
Image: Excerpted from: https://pixabay.com/en/tool-hammer-forge-3152370/
….AND NOW FOR SOME SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION
I’ve been talking on and off about my upcoming solo CD project. The album, entitled SALT, is set for a late May release. The title comes from the Matthew 5:13 verse. It features Petra’s John Schlitt on vocals, as well as some other incredible musicians. I’ll keep you posted when the exact release date is known. Also, please feel free to check out www.facebook.com/DeGroffProjects and
www.facebook.com/RottweilerRecords
Also, www.facebook.com/ghfrocks
