[BarryLee]

I suppose when I say social media I’m thinking less about the internet in general and more about things like Twitter. Recently we’ve seen a major call for the removal of all references to the Confederacy. Now, whether you think this is a good or bad thing it’s been a long ongoing debate. However, in the last week we’ve seen politicians falling all over themselves to make a change, national retailers removing items from their shelves and calls for even more significant changes. All of this while many of the public polls I’ve seen show that people are still fairly evenly divided.

Now, again, this isn’t about confederate symbols, but the speed with which this thing seemed to takeoff and the way a very vocal minority seems to be getting their way. It concerns me that many younger people receive these 140 character snippets of information and act on them without really considering the complexities of the situation or the rights of other individuals. We already see many anti-gun politicians framing the gun control debate as some sort of racial issue. I worry that the firearms community isn’t getting our voices heard. I realize the NRA makes some efforts, but really are millennials listening to them. Maybe they could encourage more celebrities or politicians to speak out on the issue, but will people pay more attention when Tom Selleck speaks for guns rights or when Beyonce speaks out for more regulation.

Sorry, maybe I’m seeing something that’s not really there, but I fear a wave is building.