Friday night gun porn – wait…what?

This is not about the XD as a model of pistol. It's not about a caliber or a manufacturer. It's about the Brian Terry Foundation. Earlier today I wrote about Trek's Trek, a fundraising and awareness effort by Erik Utrecht on behalf of said Foundation. This is a continuation of that. (You can read that article here: http://www.recoilweb.com/treks-trek-49771.html.)

So, Utrecht and his supporters have been releasing a series of videos to drum up support for his ride. At the end of the first one (see below) he takes a torch to a nearby handgun – an airsoft XD, not even an actual weapon. It started out as a joke (lots of custom work goes on in the shop where that video was filmed, including some that requires a torch) and became a great way to make a point. Remember, Terry was murdered by cartel members carrying guns released into Mexico by the “Fast and Furious” program.

Says Trek,

“I'd rather melt a gun than let the government give it to criminals.”

Now, here's the ridiculous part – the image below, which was shared on IG, FB and other places, created more outrage and commentary than any of the information about the ride or the Brian Terry Foundation it supports. Some people thought it was an attack on the XD. Some people somehow took it to be anti Second Amendment. At least one thread devolved into a bunch of crayon-eaters arguing over whether a pistol would really “burn like that”, whether a Glock or an XD would burn harder or melt faster. Predictably a lot of it turned into a series of back and forth arguments about Springfield vs. Glock and polymer pistols overall. Very little paid any attention to what started the whole thing, and that's a shame.

“For some reason people got seriously butthurt over it,” Trek says. “My response to that is – Wouldn't it be nice if all of you showed this much outrage over the murder of a Border Patrol agent? It's funny, and I mean tragic when I say funny.”

If you're not one of that disaffected handful inclined to get up in arms about the picture and you do want to help the Brian Terry Foundation's efforts, outstanding! Thankfully most of the RECOIL readership are the type of folks who appreciate the Foundation's efforts. (Directed by Agent Terry's parents, it seeks to publicize border issues and support USBP agents who've been injured, or the families of those who've been killed.) If you want to help out, head over thisaway. You can throw a few bucks Trek's way and maybe share the ride to increase support. More information here.

You watch though. We'll see the same sort of ass pain and uninformed response from a handful of trolls people on the RECOILweb Facebook page too – after all, it's far easier to comment based on a picture or a headline without doing any reading or making any attempt to put things in context. It's faster too, which allows you to scroll on through your feed to the next convenient excuse for keyboard outrage, or just get back to licking windows while wearing a bump helmet.

We appreciate the vast majority of you who do not prefer the taste of Windex or crayons – thanks in advance for helping us keep the other lined out and maintaining focus. Join the event here if you'd like, and ride along with him for a part of the Trek.

Anyway, here's the video.

By the way, if you or any of your acquaintances doubt there's a threat on our border, check out this study. It was put together by a  through the same lens as they consider an insurgency:

http://protectyourtexasborder.com/Portals/6/Documents/Final%20Report-Texas%20Border%20Security.pdf

Donate to Trek's Trek here.