The Ferguson Feel-Good Story of the Day

Seriously, if you are conservative like me, you are going to have a hard time not smiling over this.

So last Tuesday, Ferguson gas station owner Doug Merello was worried understandably that his store might be attacked by rioters or looters.  So did the National Guard come in to help?  Nope, the government didn’t help him.  So then a bunch of black people showed up with guns and...

…protected his store.  That’s right, a bunch of local residents of African American extraction decided to take up arms to protect a local business.

Oh, and did I mention Morello was white?  So we have racial harmony going here, we have regular citizens acting in the best tradition of the militiamen and women of the past, not depending on the government to save them, and certainly not letting the place get destroyed and asking the government to help them get back on their feet.

(That being said, I encourage private citizens to donate generously to help those whose stores were smashed.  I had a post on how you could help, here, and a new fundraiser for another victim of the riots can be found, here.  And I won’t begrudge any victims of the riots looking for government help, but why not make it unnecessary and lend a hand?)

But back to the story at hand, is there a way that this story could possibly make me happier?

Oh, right, the guns they used?  AR-15s, among other things.  You know that much maligned gun that the left thinks is only used by sociopaths.

This is your test...  if you are smiling, now, you are a conservative.

Seriously, at this point, the only way the story could make me smile bigger, is this guy was helping out, too:

Specifically the old cartoon Optimus, not the CGI one.

  

Joking aside, here’s a cut from Rueters:

At times, [de facto minuteman Derreck] Jordan and his friends were joined on Tuesday night by other men from the neighborhood, also armed. None of the men was getting paid to be there. They said they felt they owed it to Merello, who has employed many of them over the years and treats them with respect.

“He’s a nice dude, he’s helped us a lot,” said a 29-year-old who identified himself as R.J. He said he, like the other volunteers, had lived a short distance away from the store for most of his life.

He carried a Taurus 9mm pistol in his sweatpants and drew it out to show another customer, an older man at a pump who was brandishing a MAC-10 machine pistol.

Missouri allows the open carrying of firearms. State lawmakers recently passed a law overriding any local ordinance that banned the open carry of firearms by people who have concealed-weapons permits.

Read the whole thing.  The only fly in the ointment is when the government tried to “help”:

But they have also had a close brush with soldiers from the Missouri National Guard, who mistook them for looters, he said. The guardsmen, rifles raised, had handcuffed one man before Merello came outside the store to explain that the residents were trying to help, not hurt.

Which is awful and potentially even racist.  Seriously, if they were white dudes or Korean store owners, would they have hassled them?

But still, a great story and certain to make Shannon R. Watts and the other gun-grabbers cry.  This, my friends, is why we have a Second Amendment.

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My wife and I have lost our jobs due to the harassment of convicted terrorist (and adjudicated pedophile) Brett Kimberlin, including an attempt to get us killed and to frame me for a crime carrying a sentence of up to ten years.  I know that claim sounds fantastic, but if you read starting here, you will see absolute proof of these claims using documentary and video evidence.  If you would like to help in the fight to hold Mr. Kimberlin accountable, please hit the donation link on the right.  And thank you.

Follow me at Twitter @aaronworthing, mostly for snark and site updates.  And you can purchase my book (or borrow it for free if you have Amazon Prime), Archangel: A Novel of Alternate, Recent History here.  And you can read a little more about my novel, here.

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Disclaimer:

I have accused some people, particularly Brett Kimberlin, of reprehensible conduct.  In some cases, the conduct is even criminal.  In all cases, the only justice I want is through the appropriate legal process—such as the criminal justice system.  I do not want to see vigilante violence against any person or any threat of such violence.  This kind of conduct is not only morally wrong, but it is counter-productive.

In the particular case of Brett Kimberlin, I do not want you to even contact him.  Do not call him.  Do not write him a letter.  Do not write him an email.  Do not text-message him.  Do not engage in any kind of directed communication.  I say this in part because under Maryland law, that can quickly become harassment and I don’t want that to happen to him.

And for that matter, don’t go on his property.  Don’t sneak around and try to photograph him.  Frankly try not to even be within his field of vision.  Your behavior could quickly cross the line into harassment in that way too (not to mention trespass and other concerns).

And do not contact his organizations, either.  And most of all, leave his family alone.

The only exception to all that is that if you are reporting on this, there is of course nothing wrong with contacting him for things like his official response to any stories you might report.  And even then if he tells you to stop contacting him, obey that request.  That this is a key element in making out a harassment claim under Maryland law—that a person asks you to stop and you refuse.

And let me say something else.  In my heart of hearts, I don’t believe that any person supporting me has done any of the above.  But if any of you have, stop it, and if you haven’t don’t start.