So much for the well-armed militia.

The United States has a very strong contingent of citizens who claim that unrestricted gun rights are vital for a citizenry that wants to protect itself against a violent and tyrannical government. Eventually, the brutality of police to be found all over the country, and large scale violence against protesters in towns like Ferguson and Baltimore, has to be their proof of concept, right?

I mean, I am pretty darned leftist. I prefer guns controlled to just floating out there. I oppose open carry laws, and think a person needs a darned good reason for a concealed carry.

But if you wanted to sell me on the idea? Point to Ferguson. Point to Baltimore. Show me the government doing to its citizens PRECISELY what you predicted for years, and while I'd still have an ick feeling, I wouldn't really know how to respond.

But no one is. I have yet to hear a single comment from the sizeable gun lobby to that effect. Maybe I've just missed it and someone could send me a link. But honestly, I don't think it exists. And I think I know why.

The gun lobby isn't actually about a militia to protect us against the government. It's about enticing middle to upper class Americans to spend a LOT of money on guns due to fear. Fear of Government is a decent selling tactic, but the GOOD one is fear of the folks we see on TV.

Fear of people of the lower economic classes. Fear of urbanites. Fear of people of color. Fear of gangs. Fear of thugs. The NRA and the gun manufacturers they support know that so long as middle to upper class America continue to fear such people, they will continue to sell all the high-end guns and ammo they have. Sure, the occasional "the government is coming for your guns!" can get a good Black Friday sale going, but it is fear of those other people who really keep sales going.

And so we probably won't hear much from people saying that things would have gone better for Michael Brown or Eric Garner if they had been armed. The same people who champion the righteousness of Cliven Bundy's armed stand-off with the feds won't be shrugging and saying that Baltimore would be saner right now if the protesters all had open carry licenses.

Because arming the common citizen against a tyrannical government is not now, nor has it ever been, the primary guiding star of the proponents of gun rights. Because if it was, they would be championing the protestors, or encouraging them to arm themselves. They would be crowing that they were being proved right as we speak.

And they're not. So whatever it is they're really about, it's not that. I wonder how many of them will notice.