Dear Joe The Plumber, You Are A Dick!

On his blog Joe the Plumber put Second Amendment advocacy back a decade with what can only be described a disgusting "open letter" to the parents of Elliot Roger's shooting victims.

The letter starts (note I refuse to link the post and give him more blog hits):

I’m not talking here about the three tragic murders Rodger committed by stabbing before his driving and shooting spree; I speak now only to the families of the gunshot victims in Santa Barbara:

It’s a tragedy.

I am sorry you lost your child. I myself have a son and daughter and the one thing I never want to go through, is what you are going through now. 

If he stopped there all would have been fine. He didn't--he used the "b" word:

But:

As harsh as this sounds – your dead kids don’t trump my Constitutional rights.

Actually that does not sound harsh, and I say this as a conservative and a card-carrying member of the NRA---that sounds disgusting.  You want to make a case that the tragedy had nothing to do with gun control.....go ahead, I did. I beat up on one of the politicians who used the tragedy to call for background checks even though Rogers passed a background check.

But to say something like "your dead kids don't trump my constitutional rights," makes you something less than human.

Richard Martinez, whose son (Christopher) was among the murdered, choked back tears at a news conference, blaming politicians the next day: “The talk about gun rights. What about Chris’ right to live?” Martinez said – and much more.

There are no critical words for a grieving father. He can say whatever he wants and blame whoever he’d like – it’s okay by me. You can’t take a step in his shoes – at least I can’t.

That was the passive part, now comes the aggressive part.  Because after saying there are no critical words...Joe the Plumber finds them.

But the words and images of Mr. Martinez blaming “the proliferation of guns”, lobbyists, politicians, etc.; will be exploited by gun-grab extremists as are all tragedies involving gun violence and the mentally ill by the anti-Second Amendment Left.

As a father, husband and a man, it is my responsibility to protect my family. I will stand up for that right vehemently. Please believe me, as a father I share your grief and I will pray for you and your family, as I do whenever I hear about senseless tragedies such as this.

We still have the Right to Bear Arms and I intend to continue to speak out for that right, and against those who would restrict it – even in the face of this horrible incident by this sad and insane individual. I almost said “Obama Voter” but I’m waiting for it to be official.

And later he says.

(...)Mr. Martinez and anyone calling for more restrictions on American’s rights need to back off and stop playing into the hands of the folks who merely capitalize on these horrific events for their own political ends.

They don’t care about your family or your dead children at all. They sound like they do, whereas I sound uncaring and like I say, harsh. Don’t be fooled – I care about your family and mine. The future of our very liberty lies in the balance of this fight.

In conclusion, I cannot begin to imagine the pain you are going through, having had your child taken away from you. However, any feelings you have toward my rights being taken away from me, lose those.

I am a member of the NRA who supports gun rights. I also believe that additional gun restrictions would make things more difficult for law abiding gun owners and wouldn't have slowed down the gun part of Elliot Roger's murderous rampage.

But for Joe the Plumber to play passive/aggressive critic of Mr. Martinez and the two other sets of parents who lost their most precious gift, their children makes Joe nothing more than an inhuman slug.  A slug whose 15 minutes of fame were up five years ago.

As far as I am concerned the horrible grief of losing a child gives Mr. Martinez free reign for the time being.  Joe the Plumber displayed no compassion for a guy who lost his child only three days earlier. The body is still warm for God's sake!

Criticize the politicians who exploit this tragedy for their own political goals they are used to it.  Joe the Plumber exploited the agonizing pain of a grieving parent for shock value to make a political statement and that's disgusting. So here is my open letter.

Dear Joe the Plumber;

Your desire to get some blog hits does not trump this NRA member's humanity.  Or to put it a different way, Mr. Plumber you are a dick!