Customer Reviews

Rise of the Anti-Media: In-forming America's Concealed Weapon Carry Movement

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"Gun Control can be analyzed from many perspectives: law; criminology; politics; philosophy. Brian Anse Patrick's splendid new book on the movement to allow concealed carry covers all these perspectives, plus one more: he documents how 40 states have adopted right to carry laws over the fervent opposition of the news media and political elites. This occurred through a brand new phenomenon--millions of people communicating and organizing on the Internet. This book is a magnificent achievement." --Don B Kates, author of "Armed: New Perspectives on Gun Control."

Professor Patrick's book is successful in examining a number of pressing issues from a unique perspective. This book is both a history of the right to concealed carry in the United States (the right to carry handguns in public that are not visible to others), as well as the ways in which supporters of this right have used non-traditional forms of media and organization to win its legalization in nearly forty states. As such, it is an eclectic blend of history, analysis, and exemplary narratives to illustrate his overall thesis that social change in the modern U.S. no longer depends solely on the ordained elites of the mass media to effect it, and that individuals are reasserting their right to interpret reality for themselves. Patrick provides a multitude of examples of how the American citizenry is now able and willing to mobilize itself and force the political establishment to hear its demands, even when their wishes run counter to the received "wisdom" of media authority figures. The book also warns about the dangers of allowing any elite too much control over the way in which the political realities of our time are defined and expressed. Additionally, Patrick traces how the idea of concealed carry has been constructed and revised over time, from initially being a right reserved only for Whites as distinct from "sneaky" immigrants, to its present manifestation as a right which should be accessible to all responsible citizens. Patrick also makes valuable comparisons between the success of the concealed carry movement to that of other social movements, such as the civil rights movement.

Patrick has a colorful writing style which sets his books apart from the dry prose often produced by academics in this field, making it much more of a pleasure to read. He is not afraid to occasionally allow his own opinions to enter the text. A few such examples: "The idea behind the First Amendment was not to provide Katie Couric with a prestigious job." "One could make a case that 'South Park' has more to say on life in America than the New York Times." "Modern news may simulate Attention Deficit Disorder better than it does current social-political events."

This book is an invaluable contribution to the literature on media and gun culture. It is clearly the product of a mind which has absorbed a wide-ranging variety of knowledge and real-world experience. Anyone interested in how the concealed carry movement was successful in achieving its aims, or in how new "horizontal" forms of media can be utilized to bypass the "vertical," hierarchical flow of information of the mass media would be well advised to give this book a thorough study.