Many on this site remember Jay Mohr for slamming the Second Amendment on Twitter in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings.
Naturally, people became upset. Social media users wrote tweets personally attacking the comedian and podcaster. However, something felt off about the whole thing. Did he really mean to attack the Second Amendment? After all, Mohr has described himself as a “libertarian” before, is openly religious, supports the military, supported Mitt Romney for a brief while and has even admitted to owning a gun in the past on his Mohr Stories podcast.
Does this sound like a liberal to you?
In a recent episode of his Mohr Stories podcast, Mohr gave his thoughts on his tweet and the reactions it inspired. Guest Forrest Griffin asked Mohr whether he liked guns, and Mohr responded, “Yes. It’s the complete Second Amendment right.” Mohr said the tweet was more of a call for peace than a call for a repeal of Americans’ gun rights. He went on to say that there is “zero” connection between guns and the Boston bombings.
Mohr said the tweet was “one I wish I could take back.” He also praised first responders and described himself as a “gun guy.” This, of course, comes as no surprise to people that have listened to Mohr for a while and know him beyond his tweets. The tweet was obviously written in the heat of the moment and Mohr simply didn’t say what he meant to say.
In the podcast, Mohr described the reactions to his tweet as “surreal” because he is not a typical outspoken liberal celebrity. He said he meant to express the fact that his heart ached for the constant devastation this country is facing and how we are becoming so used to it.
The point should be this: liberals are reactionary thinkers, conservatives should not be. There have been times when conservatives have thrown each other under the bus in the heat of the moment when they do or say something that is misinterpreted. Remember Clint Eastwood’s Chrysler ad? He was the same man that was praised by nearly everyone on the right for his speech at the RNC not too long after. I remember writing a similar piece then.
As conservatives we should be more open to understanding and following up on stories, facts and feelings people may have before rushing to judgment like the Left famously does every day. People like Mohr and Eastwood represent the America Hollywood usually shun. Let’s give people like them more of a chance next time.