Turd Suckers & Internet Commandos

A while back I recall Clint Smith of Thunder Ranch fame calling people on the internet who disliked his latest collaboration on a gun with Smith and Wesson a derogatory name. I believe the term he used was turd suckers. More recently, I have read the words of a reknowned gunsmith, whose work I admire greatly. He called those who disagreed with him incompetent, and alluded to the possibility of fecal matter in place of grey matter. Then I read the musings of yet another famed gunsmith and was dismayed at how he demanded qualities in his customers that he himself was at a loss to display in his words. He called all who disagreed with him internet commandos.

I have but one one word here. Hubris.

The turd sucker name is not even intelligent enough to address. I would hate to be remembered for that comment above all else though. Calling your critics names does nothing to invalidate the criticism. Once you partake in name calling, your argument ceases to matter, regardless of it's validity, because it is obscured by childish behavior. Sometimes it is best to just buck up and take criticism like a man. Acting like a child diminishes oneself.

Now, on to the Internet Commandos. This term is often used to signify a person who is a know-it-all on gun forums, but a Walter Mitty type in real life. It's use is derogatory. Know what? So was the term Yankee Doodle.

To me, an internet commando is a gun person who is online and speaking the truth. Glock cannot hide frame rail failures from an internet commando. Kimber cannot hide poorly designed firing pin safeties from an internet commando. Smith & Wesson cannot hide failing locks from an internet commando. Ruger cannot hide dangerous loaded chamber indicators from the internet commando. The truth about a firearm one is about to purchase can be obtained from hundreds of online opinions. Consumers are no longer mislead by lone gun writers who cover up the flaws in their advertiser's guns. As a matter of fact, the gun rags have become pretty much irrelevant for anyone who is online, and that makes a lot of writers, editors, and publishers mad as hell. They want to silence the voice of truth online. They want a lost time when S&W made fine blued revolvers and the guy interested in one compared magazine reviews instead of doing a search on a forum. Know what guys? That time is gone. The internet has given voice to the Average Joe who carries the gun industry on his back, and the world will never be the same. The Emperor has no clothes.

Gunsmiths that do shoddy work fear the internet commando. Gunstores that cheat widows and ignore customers cannot hide from the internet commando. Gunwriters who lie to protect an advertiser cannot hide from the internet commando. Gun makers who produce guns that do not perform cannot hide from the internet commando. If I am an internet commando, I wear the title proudly. Let's face it gentlemen, there are opposing viewpoints here. For some it's a matter of buying a product that will work as advertised. For others it's a matter of making a living. For years, those who were buying a gun were in the dark, and those who were making a living selling guns or information about guns liked it that way. The gun buyer's world has now been illuminated, and that pisses some people off greatly.

UPDATE 11-9-05

Clint Smith's Thunder Ranch S&W Model 21, pictured above, is now on close out from CDNN for $599.