In an article called Fudds of America, Unite Myke Cole describes himself as a fudd. He wears the title proudly and later even confidently spouts a bit of fudd-lore when he talks about owning a Winchester SXP pump action shotgun because, and I quote, “I’d far rather scare someone off by loudly racking the slide than actually having to pull the trigger.” By offering the worst gun store advice he possibly could, he made himself a bonafide fudd.
This might be the first time Myke Cole has been honest about his resume. The man who once claimed to be a spy openly—and often—called his work as a private contractor for the government as “tours” to Iraq. On Twitter, he claimed to have ‘fought’ in Iraq, but contractors didn’t do a whole lot of fighting.
Even the Blackwater types weren’t used for offensive operations. His interviews about his service are cringeworthy, and he uses terms like mercenary and spy to describe himself, but he never digs into exactly what he did. It’s purposefully vague. (Pro tip: no one who is a spy calls themselves a spy.) I imagine if he was a skilled user of firearms and experienced in combat, he’d know the old “I’ll just rack the gun” advice is total bull.
It’s somewhat fitting that he defends Tim Walz, who once said, “We can make sure those weapons of war that I carried in war are only carried in war.” Tim Walz had never deployed to a warzone and left his unit, purposefully shorting his contract, before they deployed to Iraq.
It’s worth mentioning that Myke Cole did honorably serve with the Coast Guard reserve and was activated to aid in the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Hurricane Irene.
The World Of Fudds
Myke Cole’s article is all about how Civil Rights organizations like the NRA and FPC use the term fudd to deride gun owners who only own a few firearms. He calls people who use the term as residing on the 2A community’s fringe. He quickly mentions his service as if it gives him a greater right to intrude on the rights of American citizens.
He’s almost right. Admittedly, the term fudd was used to describe gun owners who only owned firearms oriented at hunting. He fails to mention it’s also a term used to describe guns themselves in a somewhat loving way. My Winchester Model 70 is my favorite fudd gun. It’s also never been used to describe people who only own one or two guns. You can own a million cheaply made Turkish shotguns and still be a fudd.
He ignores that the word has evolved or simply isn’t engrossed enough in the culture to realize fudd doesn’t just describe orange-clad hunters. The term evolved to make fun of people who pass on terrible and often unsafe advice. Advice like depending on the noise of a shotgun racking for home defense.
It’s also a term used to describe gun owners who say things like:
“I believe in the Second Amendment, but…” and go on to advocate for pre-crime, registration, and cosmetic feature-based restrictions.
His article is about Fudd’s uniting behind Harris and Walz. The main problem here is those people already are united behind Harris and Walz. They don’t believe in the 2nd Amendment.
Fudds and Walz
The fudd conversation started around Walz due to his rapid flip-flop on gun rights to align with the Democratic party. Walz once carried an A Grade with the NRA, but that quickly changed when the Democratic monolith went extreme on restricting American rights. Tim Walz has been touted as a gun guy with photos of him hunting and shooting with his blue receiver Beretta A400 Xcel shotgun.
Walz can advocate for stricter gun laws because, at the end of the day, background checks, permits, registration, and all the things he advocates for cost money. Walz has money. He hunts with a shotgun that costs over two grand. The man can afford to comply. Gun control is a form of classism.
Rich and connected people, like Tim Walz, will have their guns regardless. The first gun control law in pre-United States America was to restrict gun sales to Native Americans. From then til now, the main push behind gun control has been racism. Racism has also evolved into classism. You can’t have poor people armed, so you institute fees and paperwork to make it impossible for them to exercise their rights.
The fudds are fine with that. They have theirs. The gun community doesn’t need fudds, and we don’t want fudds.
