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Putting it together:
Group I is beyond reach. Only an act of G-d would wake some of them up, and such an act would be catastrophic and horrific.
There is a very clear theme on the gun issue amongst Israeli Jews and Group III. They approach firearms with complete reverence and seriousness. Few if any hunt (not kishrut) ( I don’t), few if any participate in competitive/recreational shooting (I do), but all are deeply committed to the safe and competent possession, carrying, and use of firearms for defense of self and family. Approaching Group III in America would be singing to the choir.
That leaves Group II. I believe this is where success could be achieved. They too have a great reverence and seriousness towards firearms, but they do not have the sense of an individual right/obligation for firearms and self-defense, and actually have an aversion towards it.
Approaching this group should be done on several levels. It needs to be intellectual, could be Torah based, even judicious use of shock-value might also help. (I once used a picture posted on TZP of a ?German soldier shooting a woman and child to explain to one of my daughters, who fully understands the difference between firepower and stopping power, why I also always want firepower)
In talking to Group II people, they (don’t we all) want to first know that the person next to them carrying a gun is not a nut, and is totally competent in carrying the weapon. That is something they automatically assume with the government/law enforcement person, but need to be able to mentally transfer that status to members in the congregation, family, and most importantly to themselves.
To conclude:
I think many threads of discussion could come from this approach to your question. Hopefully it might help with a TZP strategy.
For example, just trying to convince group II people that no requirement for carrying a weapon (?Vermont), or no requirement for even non-carry possession (many states) is safe and reasonable, even with long guns, would not satisfy their first need and would rarely succeed. This begs the question, might it be an easier case to make discussing arming and acquiring a self-defense mindset with a Group II Jewish person in New York, rather than here in Virginia. I don’t pose such a question to gain the wrath of TZP readers, but if one thinks of it, there’s substance to the question. One needs to think out of the box.
I hope this makes a useful contribution to what you are trying to accomplish.
G-d’s shalom be on all of you for the upcoming holiest of days.
Peter
Virginia
My brief bio:
I am a 62 year old emergency medicine physician, veteran of the Marine Corps, and have been involved in shooting, much of it organized competitive shooting, since I started with the Nassau County Police Boys Club rifle team on Long Island at the age of 12. Although I have had mild disagreements with some positions on your web site (none of them game stoppers), I very much agree with the TZP motto and goal.
I was born gentile, am deeply and completely Jewish in my beliefs, and would convert to Judaism if I did not live way out here in Edom (rural Virginia). I have been to Israel twice for medical training, including with the IDF, quickly learned some Hebrew with Rosetta Stone, and was granted a temporary Israeli medical license in 2012 when I worked for a week as a guest physician in the ER at HaEmek Medical Center in Afula.
Thanks to my acquaintances in Israel, and Orthodox friends in the US, I am very well versed in the religious and social issues, and the long complicated history behind them, playing out both in Israel and in the Diaspora.
You now might easily deduce my concept of firepower, stopping power, the inherent right (and Torah obligation) of individual and national (think Israel) self-defense.
Your question is an extremely good one that needs to be asked, and then acted on once a consensus and plan are reached. BUT, the options for answers are way too simplistic. I believe it is so important to get the answer to your question right, for the preservation and safety of Jewish blood, I offer you my following response.
My general take on your question:
First, on any questions Jewish, including firearms and self defense, I make the dichotomy of Israeli Jews versus Diaspora Jews. In Eretz Yisrael, I have been astounded by the fierce dedication and Zionisn to the Jewish State across the religious spectrum, from the very religious (ultra Orthodox are another story), to the very secular, from very liberal to very conservative (several suicidally liberal political groups aside).
While we all know of Israel’s draconian gun laws (this too must change, and change soon), the overall societal awareness, acceptance, and practice of armed self-defense there is telling. It is also very seriously and responsibly undertaken; something to which the writers at TZP are obviously very deeply committed. Gun laws aside, there is a dramatic difference in gun psychology between Israeli and American society. I will play on this further below.
A more specific take on your question:
American Diaspora Jews can be demographically divided into three groups on the gun/self-defense issue.
Group I, a large portion of the Jewish population (probably including some of the dear, and loving members of the shul I occasionally am able to go to, but I don’t know the answer since I’m too timid to ask), is in denial, and have their heads very deep in the sand. They have been brainwashed into believing only government/law enforcement can/should protect them. I’ll leave it to the Rabbis and sages to figure out why this is, but it is.
Group II are Jews who are not in denial, do not have their heads in the sand, and have a conscious or subconscious awareness of what history and the Hebrew prophets tell us, and the direction humanity, and specifically the Jewish people, are heading. However, they have been raised amongst, and are surrounded by Group I, have had little, more likely no, serious exposure to firearms. All they see is the MSM, the position statements of several of the largest Jewish organizations on the issue (not at all good), and the Michael Bloomberg’s of America.
Group III are socially conservative, moderate, or even liberal Jews, whether observant, shomer masoret, or even secular, who otherwise totally get it. They are either already armed or believe they have the right to be at any time should they choose to do so.
Putting it together:
Group I is beyond reach. Only an act of G-d would wake some of them u
All my Jewish friends or my friends in general already shoot with me but I did pick that option as the best way to sway those who are not enlighten to the upcoming festivities and what their survival will require. That (going to the range) has worked on some family members in the past.
IMHO the hour is getting pretty late and those not already on board will be missing the boat anyway.
When tyranny becomes law
Revolution becomes duty!
I didn't provide a reply to the question because I have no idea how to convince people who intentionally put their heads where the sun doesn't shine. Perhaps the best way is to let history happen as it will, and then the only Jews who survive the next round of genocide will be those who arm themselves and fight.
Not that I actually think that is a 'good' idea, but it's what may well happen. Or, maybe when Israel is attacked - if ever, given that the willingness to resist is often enough to scare away trouble - the diaspora Jews will see the value of fighting back against enemies.
Poll worked fine on Firefox, Linux Mint 13.
That was easy
Poll worked nicely, Claire. No complaints here. :D
Poll worked fine in the latest Firefox on my iMac running Mac OS X 10.10.5 (Yosemite)
As for the poll, obviously ALL of the options are good. But I'd start with getting rid of the fear of firearms by taking them to the range, going through Jeff Cooper's Four Rules of Gun Safety on the trip and a physical illustration of each one at the range before allowing them to touch a gun.
https://billstclair.com/safetyrules.html
Most people have no real concept of violence. That must be the first step. Teach them when, how and how quickly violence can occur. Gary
Poll works fine. I had to pick 'Other' though. I hate that.
Really easy-to-use poll, and had no difficulties. IMHO ...Just like Christian church leaders, I sincerely believe the Jewish Synagogue leaders should be the truth-bearers to their people, and the truth is.....self-defense is in G-d's Law!
I have no Jewish friends or neighbors where I live (in Baptist-land), but I think a multiple approach would be best. And for non-Jews, too: Most of the Above.
The Poll worked fine.
I had no problems using the "POLL" feature.
I agree with the above Larry Arnold. There can really be no BEST answer to this age old problem. We must never forget that the persecution of Jews in 1933 started with the taking of all firearms from "all persons now and formerly of the Jweish faith..." Breslau, Poland. (New York Times, April 23, 1933
.... Never forget that once you cede that your rights are merely privileges granted at the whim of a government, they can be taken away at that same whim.
Worked on an iPhone.
The question seems a bit vague. Are you asking how TZP can convince people, how people who actually know Jews can convince them, or how I as a non-Jew with a very small Jewish community in my small town can do so?
But that may have been your intention, and I'm just being an anal sociologist.
The new poll feature worked flawlessly on my Chromebook -- and, generally speaking, that's saying something. As to the question's content, I do not really feel qualified to judge regarding the specific target demographic; my go-to solution is always to demonstrate rather than lecture, so I would always opt to go to the range. :-)
When I went to your web site on my mobile phone the left hand column does not appear where you have the link to the poll and other items, even when I requested the desktop version. I had to go to your web site on my computer to access and vote in the poll. So, if the majority of the people that go to your web site use a mobile device they will not even know the poll exists since the left column does not appear. My phone is a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 so I do not know if this holds true for iPhones.
Don't have any Jewish neighbors or friends outside my sister's family. She married a non practicing Jewish man with a large family. Some practice one form or another of the religion, and some none at all. My sister has studied Judaism, but mostly from a historical perspective.
I'm an agnostic, more or less, and also have very little contact with any of the bunch besides my sister, which is also fairly limited. She and her husband are fully on board with individuality and the right to self defense. The rest of her husband's family vary from the usual learned helplessness to fairly rational self responsibility. On the few occasions I've met them, neither guns nor self defense came into the conversation. As a guest in their home, stirring controversy like that didn't even occur to me. Their lives and fate are their responsibility, not mine. I hope the best for them in the apocalypse to come.