Defending Charlton Heston, traditional america, and the constitution

The recent supreme court ruling on the 2nd amendment brought to my mind the actor and former president of the nra, charlton heston. For me, his public life mirrored the radicalization of the left, from the "civil rights" agenda of the 1950s and 60s to the "identity politics" agenda of the early 21st century. His courage and honesty in standing up to the leftist machine was truly inspirational. Reviewing his life gives us the opportunity to understand the change the legacy of traditional americans, race relations, the constitution, and leftist politics in america.

The greatest moment of controversy in heston's nra career came near its end. While his support of the nra and other traditional american groups had long brought criticism from the media, black activists, hollywood and academics, comments like the one quoted above brought charges that heston was racist and senile, and heston resigned from the nra's top post a short time later. He made public assertions that the high rate of homicides and other gun crimes in america were not a result of the second amendment, but were caused by a dysfunctional black urban community. It was a brave and controversial stand, and cost him alot.

How did heston get to that point? And what are the facts behind his comments about black urban culture?

First, let's address heston's "racist" background and famous conservative positions. heston seemed to follow the path to conservativism described by winston churchill: a person in their 20s who is not liberal has no heart; a person in their 50s who is still liberal has no mind. But did heston's mind really change over the years?

... Heston was much more than just a handsome face or even a great actor. He was an activist. Long before he became known for his passionate leadership of the National Rifle Association, and long before it was fashionable in Hollywood, he joined the cause of desegregation. When an Oklahoma movie theater refused to allow blacks to attend the premier his 1961 film, "El Cid," Heston joined the picket line outside the theater. Heston also accompanied the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., at the 1963 Washington, D.C., civil rights march.

http://www.gopusa.com/commentary/dpatton/2008/dp_04071.shtml

So how did a follower of martin luther king come to be so hated by leftists and black activists? Did he truly change, or did the leftist agenda change?

I would argue that the legacy of martin luther king is much more celebrated by conservative americans than by leftists. king called for a color blind society, where people would be judged by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin. In the bizarro world of leftist politics, the high standards exhibited by conservative blacks like condoleeza rice, thomas sowell and michael steele are actually used against them. These respectable blacks are said to be "acting white", while people who have never achieved anything, like al sharpton and jesse jackson and others who made a career out of being black and launching witch hunts for white racism, are considered role models. Even worse are members of the vile black urban culture, rap artists, athletes and even academics, who celebrate the worst kind of hatred, violence and intolerance -- and are celebrated for it.

heston, like most "conservatives" of today, welcomes people of good will and tolerance, regardless of race, religion or gender. But the growing decay of black urban society, used by democrats to keep blacks imprisoned in ignorance and underacheivement, is seen by conservatives (of all races) as something to be condemned and battled; not rewarded and celebrated. For the democratic political machine, urban black ghettos are a 21st century plantation, and keeping the blacks tied to a violent and dysfunctional culture keeps them a permanent voting block for the democratic party. The leftists' attacks against those blacks who break free of the democratic plantation, make the vilification of charlton heston seem trivial.

heston, like many other conservatives today, condemn the dominant urban black culture as violent and dysfunctional. Are they right? Again, yes.

Returning to the issue of the chicago ban on handguns and the recent supreme court decision: Was heston correct when he said that the blight of gun homicides in america is a product of this black urban culture, and not tied to the 2nd amendment as leftists claim? Let's examine the evidence.

Leftists love to compare the homicide rates of european nations against the us. What are the real facts?

Here's a breakdown of homicide rates in the us and western europe, from the years 2003 to 2005, number of homicides per 100,000 people:

• Belgium 1.85
• Denmark 1.31
• Germany 0.98
• France 1.63
• Netherlands 1.37
• Finland 1.30
• Sweden 1.00
• UK 1.59
• US 5.6

On a superficial view, it seems that the us has about 4 times the number of homicides as most european nations. But, let's dig a little deeper.

If we examine only murders committed by whites, the rate is 3.5 per 100,000 people. Still twice as high as european nations but far lower than the 5.6 rate of the overall population. Where does the difference come from?

Here's a fact for you. The rate of murders committed by blacks in the us is 25.3 per 100,000. That is in line with some of the most violent third world countries. heston's comment that the high rate of gun crime, especially gun homicide, is a product of the dysfuntional black urban culture is making more sense.

Here's another set of stats. blacks make up about 13% of the us population; whites, between 50 and 60%. So are you surprised to hear that, in 2005, there were 337 black people killed by whites, and 934 white people killed by blacks? blacks murder whites at a rate three times the rate of whites murdering blacks -- and they only make up 13% of the population. It might surprise you, because the media makes the murder of a black by a white national headline news, while the murder of a white by a black is lucky to get a column in the local section of the newspaper.

Identity politics was at its heyday when it destroyed charlton heston for telling the hard truth about black urban violence. But the power of identity politics and race-activists to smear and destroy is finally coming to an end.

As a good friend might do, heston was performing an intervention when he confronted and challenged the black community. He judged blacks on the content of their character and demanded higher standards. Compare this with the actions of leftists, who are actually speeding black american toward anarchy and destruction.

It's time to thank charlton heston.

http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/homicide/tables/ovracetab.cfm

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-SF-07-015/EN/KS-SF-07-015-EN.PDF

Common sense and common courtesy, please.