We Need a Media That Is Able To Think Like An Average American
by James Glaser
August 10, 2010

Salon.com had an article yesterday about an alleged coup-plotter and his "Cache of guns." Here is a definition of the word Cache:

1 a : a hiding place especially for concealing and preserving provisions or implements b : a secure place of storage
2 : something hidden or stored in a cache

Putting the word cache in the headline before the word guns, in any article makes it sound like something sinister is going on. Here is how the story goes according to Salon:

Police have found a cache of over a dozen guns in the home of Raymond Peake, the Pennsylvania prison guard who allegedly murdered a man to steal his gun as part of a plan to overthrow the government, Fox affiliate WPMT is reporting.

Peake, 64, was charged a week ago with killing attorney Todd Getgen and stealing his semi-automatic rifle at a shooting range in Cumberland County. He later told police that he was collecting weapons to help an organization—which he would not name—that intends to overthrow the federal government.

Well, it is pretty obvious Raymond Peake is a nut case, but if he needed to murder someone to get their semi-automatic rifle to overthrow the government, his plot couldn't have been all that serious. Throwing in that cache phrase in the headline did nothing to make the story more accurate.

Millions of Americans have a cache of guns in their houses. Most normal people would call a dozen or so guns, "a collection" or for hundreds of thousands of American gun owners, "a few guns."

If we had media people who lived normal American lives, they would know people "cache" their guns or hide them securely to keep them out of the hands of their children, grandchildren, or thieves. It is the prudent thing to do. In Northern Minnesota where I come from, a man age 64 would probably have his dad's guns and maybe one from his grand dad. Being a prison guard he probably has a gun for work, then a shotgun for duck hunting, a deer rifle or two, maybe a target rifle or pistol or both. That gets us to almost a dozen right there.

There are thousands of Americans who have twenty or more guns. I think it would be safe to say that the average number of guns owned by the members of my VFW Post and American Legion Post is at least a dozen with some members having several dozen. Guns of any kind are a great investment, and I have seen people auction off their collection and make enough money to retire on.

Some people collect coins, others stamps, classic cars, antiques, and yes, guns. What this man in the Salon article did, if he did it, was just horrible, and he will spend the rest of his life in prison. However, owning a small collection of guns does not make you guilty or sinister, but you would never know that with the media we have in America today.

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