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WHAT A GUN DEALER TAUGHT US ABOUT LEADERSHIP

3/1/2018

4 Comments

 
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The surprising decision that may change gun laws forever
 
In graduate school, the one concept my classmates and I could neither agree upon nor define was “leadership.” I like to say that leadership is a lot like hard core pornography: impossible to define but you know it when you see it.  During my studies, I realized pretty quickly what leadership is not. It isn't position or title. It is not words. It is neither action nor inaction. And yet it can be all of these things when the stars collide or the bullets fly and someone decides something – the right thing – needs to be done, then actually does it.

If you had told me last week that Dick’s Sporting Goods of all places would emerge as a courageous leader in the aftermath of the Florida school shooting, I would have rolled my eyes. Dick’s Sporting Goods is part of the problem, y’all! But yesterday, incredibly, they announced they will no longer sell assault style rifles like the ones used in Florida school shooting, nor will they sell high-capacity magazines. In spite of the law, they will raise to 21 the minimum age to buy a firearm. Edward Stack, Dick’s CEO, said, “Thoughts and prayers don’t do anything,” referring to the hollow sentiments of politicians and lawmakers in the wake of school slaughters. While listening to the Florida students advocate for gun control, Stack and his senior team felt compelled to act. “As we sat and talked about it with our management team, it was -- to a person -- that this is what we need to do," he said. "These kids talk about enough is enough. We concluded if these kids are brave enough to organize and do what they're doing, we should be brave enough to take this stand."

And herein lies the secret of leadership: courage is contagious. Students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, who have neither position nor title, who cannot vote, who are still under the control of adults, who have no standing other than as witnesses and inheritors of the planet, launched a brave and passionate movement to try and force change, something our elected officials refuse to do.

Students take the lead, Dick’s follows. Then Walmart, who also raised the minimum gun-buying age to 21 and removed some non-lethal air guns and gun toys from their website. There will be more businesses following suit. One voice leads to many voices which leads to meaningful change. Just look at the #metoo movement: one brave woman spoke out against the harassment that has been an intractable fact of life for women for-EVER. Her bravery inspired thousands more. This tsunami of truth-telling has led to a shake-up and take-down of staggering proportions. It may well have changed the power dynamic between men and women forever (we hope).

Many critics say Dick’s Sporting Goods is deluded and that their decision won’t make the tiniest dent in the sales of assault rifles. But we don’t know that, do we? Courage is contagious. Now that the way is being paved, others will surely follow.

What passes for leadership these days is practically pornographic but with no happy ending in sight.  So when real leadership rears its head, in the form of a group of students, or a whispered voice, or a CEO willing to compromise the bottom line in order to do the right thing, it’s so inspiring it renews your faith in the power of the human voice to bring transformation.  So whatever small thing you think you want to do to make things better, do it. Tell others. Write about it, sing it out.
​
You don’t have to have a title to be a leader: you just need you to stand up and speak out. We're listening.

4 Comments
Larry Beahan
3/1/2018 10:56:50 pm

End the AR-15 Plague.
Since 2000 we have had 188 school shootings: 200 dead children. In the seven weeks of 2018 we have had 7 school shootings. In just the last shooting: 17 dead children.
We stand in awe and do nothing but weep, mourn and blame. We don’t use the obvious remedies. We accept this pestilence as if it were God’s will. We stand by and our children are mowed down like stalks of wheat.
We are not unlike the English in the Irish Famine. There was plenty of food but none for the poor Micks. Johnathan Swift “Modestly” proposed that the prolific Irish cannibalize their children. If the English Parliament had been jarred into action by Swift, his proposal might have saved the day.
We cannot just stop the production and distribution of the beloved AR-15. It would blight our heroic culture and put fatal bullets into Remington and Colt, corporations that are essential to our political system.
We cannot collect all the AR-15’s and beat them into plow shares or cell phones. The NRA and Militias would shoulder arms and revolt.
So, I, too, have a “Modest” proposal that will end this AR-15 plague. I modestly propose, that we supply every cute little grammar and high school kid with a 17 shot 9 millimeter Glock automatic, just as we arm them with IPads.
Imagine an angry shooter, bursting into a sixth grade, and faced with thirty 12-year olds, kneeling behind desks, automatic pistols aimed at his belly button.
And night clubs must loan every customer a loaded Glock 17. How long would an assailant last under a hail of lead from 500 crazed dancers on methamphetamine?
The English paid no attention to Swift’s proposal. The Irish paid a terrible price.
Must we Americans sacrifice all our children?

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Janice Holly Booth link
3/3/2018 09:52:37 pm

Larry, your modest proposal is just about where we'll land if things keep going the way they're going. Thanks for sharing this -- it reminds us that "packing heat" isn't the answer and in fact only exacerbates the problem. Laying it out via your proposal clearly illustrates how ludicrous the "right to bear arms" chant has become. A person doesn't have to be anti-gun to be pro-gun reform. Who wants their child to be next?

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Ken Caputo
3/5/2018 08:23:06 am

So very true. Stepping up and taking a stand. Realizing it may be unpopular but going for it anyway. True leadership is the determination in the faces of the Florida kids who survived a massacre. It's also the women who stepped up and she light on the horrible way they were treated over the years. I pray it's a perfect storm and it is all coming together to make some profund and needed changes.

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Janice Holly Booth link
3/8/2018 02:08:06 pm

Ken, I can honestly say I never thought that the institutionalized harassment and abuse of women would EVER change, and if it did, it would be so incremental as to be barely noticeable. Let this be a lesson to me -- timing is everything. Just because your voice wasn't heard before doesn't mean it won't be heard now. Thanks for reading, and for your comment.

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