Coming out from the shadow? NZ airsofters going public.

[Freedom Fighter]

Originally Posted by Teiwaz

Aha. So I lack both an insider's and an outsider's perspective. I suppose it's time I admit that I am actually from the Andromeda galaxy, here as a scout to procure your superior Earth little plastic-pellet shooting technology. On my world, our toy guns shoot small bits of pink sponge, which gets in the way of our virtual tough guy internet personas.

Here's what I see, from my neither-involved-nor-uninvolved perspective, which must be pretty unique. I see people getting all pissed off about when the media portrays them as dangerous paramilitary nuts. I see people getting pissed off when the media portrays them as completely harmless, slightly eccentric hobbyists. But I also see people steadfastly refusing to give any input on how the media portrays them, and then getting all in a snit about hypothetical situations involving soccer moms which they've effectively waived any possible influence over.

We don't have to seek out the media for attention. But they're there whether we like it or not. So either we can play ball and show them what airsoft's really like, or we can GUARANTEE that they see us as insular, secretive and dangerous.

Everytime one of you wacko's crawl out of the woodwork I seem to end up dealing with you. If you do not understand what seems to be common knowledge with reference to the media and how it twists subjects to suit its own agenda then that is your problem.

Try reading the post by Arnisador above.

Still don't get the big picture? I'll make it as simple as can be ... piss off, please. I was even polite.

[Ilya_7]

5.
We have games running and plenty of airsofters, what more do you want?
- For one, I'd like to see a much more liberal airsoft market like that in the US or Asia. A liberal market normally means lower prices for AEG's and GBB's. Don't you like to have ur CA or TM at a lower price? I know I do.

yeah you could get that, or airsoft gun's become banned completely. I don't want to take the slippery slope approach but meadia simply leads to attention.

[SovietHippie]

Originally Posted by Arnisador

Out of sight, out of mind...are you familiar with that phrase?

You want examples of how the media portrays anything that is scary looking?

example 1) Last night on W5...nice episode on the ETF in Toronto. They are profiling people who are here to serve and protect, and kill if necessary (reference, the hostage taker incident last year where a gunman was shot on national tv). Yet even then, because it sounds more dramatic to the viewers, the reporter expounds on the use of "sniper rifles" as opposed to just "rifle" or even "bolt-action rifle". Minor pet peeve...certainly.

example 2) during a drug bust here in Regina, in the past week, they reveal that lots of cash was recovered, 8 kg of cocaine (or something similar) and an arsenal of weapons. Which was a shotgun, a .22, and an undisclosed caliber hunting rifle. Apparently 3 guns is now an arsenal.

example 3) during a big tradeshow two weeks ago, an out of province farmer was found dead...they assume he was crushed by some farm equipment, but have no leads. Headlines the next morning in bold print FARMER SLAIN POLICE HAVE NO LEADS. Great sensationalism.

example 4) three weeks ago, an elderly woman at our local shopping mall slipped and was run over by a vehicle driven by another senior citizen. Headlines read Woman Run Down by Veteran. More sensationalism.

example 5) last year, a 13 year old boy was shot in the eye by a driveby paintball shooting, and he lost the use of the eye. One of my teammates who works at a local paintball field was asked if the local news could interview him about the paintball hobby. They said they were just inquiring about the popularity of the sport and the safety precautions used. During the interview, the reporter asked how easy it is for a person to get a paintball gun. Buddy answers the shop ensures they are dealing with parents etc if the kid is underaged, but outside of the shop, any kid could get their hands on a gun if they wanted to, they just had to go to walmart, Canadian tire, etc. During the airing of the segment, the report went like this "Paintball guns are a hazaard, anyone can get them. This paintball owner said so ... shoot to clip of buddy saying "...any kid could get their hands on a gun if they wanted to"

End of segment. Selective editing at its best.


Point is...media needs to sell copy, or get advertisers. Tame stories aren't good for business. Sensationalism IS. And what better than to pick a bunch of people in camo and gear running around, to show how in this day and age, with all the shootings in downtown Toronto, the "shooting each other" mentality is alive and well.

Sure to you and me it doesn't make sense. Neither did any of the above noted "news" reports that were made public. It still happens.


Go look for the other thread I put up about "why are we in Afghanistan". Some good examples there of what the media does or doesn't do. Sure it would be nice to talk about all the good things that our military can do, or how lots of airsofters are quite nice people who learn and value teamwork and camaraderie in their hobby. That kind of fuzzy warm story doesn't sell copy...so it doesn't hit the news.

You want REAL proof of media bias on things that go "bang"?

Take a look for the last time you read an article or saw a segment on competative shooting sports, or hunters, that portrays a gun owner as a decent human being, who is no different than most other people.

If such articles exist, they are vastly overshadowed by the crazy whack-job gun owner (refer to Dawson College, or Spiritwood SK where Mounties were killed)

I'm basically staying out of this argument, but I have one thing to say. Did any of you see that news report about the School Fight Clubs?
Yes, that was my school, funny thing is, there was no fight club. Basically they were just regular schoolyard fights recorded on cellphones. They weren't allowed on school property, niether were the At-risk kids who sit outside to smoke and skip class... I wonder who they interviewed. They managed to track down some of the kids in the fights, and all they had to say was "Oh cool I'm on the internet." When some fellow students and myself approached one of the news teams, they replied "Don't worry about it, it will blow over in a week." Fact is everyone still cracks fightclub jokes just because I go to that school. Basically, our schools pretty successful in terms of drop out rates, and such. My point being that the media is only out for ratings, sad sad truth. I experienced this first hand.

That's my two cents.
Dalton.

[Cortexburn]

http://www.airsoftcanada.com/search.php?searchid=96701

This has been done...over and frackin over. The thread started out alright, but it turned as it does always.

For everyone who wishes to "save" airsoft by bringing on the media...read what Arnisador posted on page 3, then click on my link and read the countless threads that involve airsoft and the media and everyone's stance on that issue. We don't need to keep regurgitating this topic.

[Arnisador]

hehehe

Herman you bastich, how the hell are ya

I know what you are trying to do mang, and I applaud it. But you have to realize that in the bigger picture, the general Canadian public just isn't ready to accept guns, fake or real, in society.

If the millions of actual shooters in Canada can't get any good press or representation, its not likely that the few thousand airsofters will fare any better. I don't like it any more than you do, but that's still how things currently are.