New York Times Article & Video

[Teflon John]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/magazine/01Appleseed-t.html?_r=1&hp

The video is good, the article has more a slant which is kind of expected considering the source.

[colycat]

Agree about the video.  The article is a huge disaster.

[techres]

Agree about the video.  The article is a huge disaster.

It is an opportunity to talk to people about who we really are as opposed to nobodies.  Opportunity knocks!

Techres

[Teflon John]

The photo slideshow is good too.
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/07/27/magazine/20100801-appleseed.html

[4bfox]

Overall, considering the publisher, I thought it was a plus.

[marrandy]

Surprised ?

This is the New York Times after all.

One of the most Liberal, Progressive and anti-gun newspapers in the country.

There is a comments section at the bottom.  But please be professional and put the heritage side and getting  'people off the couch'  message across.

[Appalacious]

I agree with 4bfox.  Net positive.

[dart67eb]

Could've been worse.  They seem to focus on 'the dark side' too much.   I only ran into one PX general at a shoot.

[Rocket Man]

First impressions --

It's not as bad as I expected.  It's pretty clear what story they wanted to tell, but they had to personalize to even get that far.

I got a big laugh out of the "uniformly White" comment on the first page.  At the shoot I worked last weekend, half of our line was Hispanic, over half was female, all shooting well and having a great time.  Knew our history better than any other bunch of first timers I've run across, too.

We can learn from this article.  Read carefully all the little things they try to play "gotcha" with, and then correct them if they come up at our events. 

Finally, think about it this way:  This is the worst they can write without making things up out of thin air.  We can win this.  Keep our house clean, stay on mission, stay on message.  Some newspapers badmouthed John Hancock, too.  Nobody is perfect, after all.   

[DesertDog]

Agree about the video.  The article is a huge disaster.

I agree.  I was talking with a fellow Shoot Boss about an hour ago. 

He made 2 comments that summed it all up.

"There was not one positive thing about Appleseed in the article."

"It was like getting raped and thanking the bastard for using a condom"

[Heavy Cav]

Just think about all the people that have never heard about AS that will be reading that soon.  Who said "all publicity is good publicity."

[posterboy]

Exactly....if this is the WORST that the NYT can do.....well you know the rest

pb

[bedford]

This article was very poorly written, a 6th grader would do better, rambling on, twisting and jumping from topic to topic.  It will give us some good exposure, though.  Those who never heard of us may be interested and attend, and those who hate liberty and are anti gun will not have their minds changesd by a NY Times article, especially since it was so poorly written.

I think most people will just watch the video or slide show, rather than wade through 6 pages of crappy writing.

[Missouri Brigade]

To me, it seemed more about some Appleseeders than Appleseed.  The author tried to weave a lot of things in.  Hopefully some people go to our website and learn more about Appleseed.

Classic line from the article:  "a brigade from the Second Engineer Battalion"

[theri]

Being fairly new to Appleseed (10 months), I found the parts of the article about Fred and why he started the program (assuming that they were true) very interesting.  The rest of the article was so far out of touch with reality that it was almost funny.  (I said almost)  The video was a little better but not much.  Both clearly had an agenda that they wanted to convey.  They missed a great opportunity to convey what Appleseed is about.

Theri

[techres]

Being fairly new to Appleseed (10 months), I found the parts of the article about Fred and why he started the program (assuming that they were true) very interesting.  The rest of the article was so far out of touch with reality that it was almost funny.  (I said almost)  The video was a little better but not much.  Both clearly had an agenda that they wanted to convey.  They missed a great opportunity to convey what Appleseed is about.

Theri

Being around appleseed since 2006, I found the parts of the article about Fred and why he started the program (assuming that they were true) very interesting.  For that alone, the article was worth it to me!  And yes, the real article was: Why are people flocking to this program?

Techres

[Fred]

I got a big laugh out of the "uniformly White" comment on the first page.  At the shoot I worked last weekend, half of our line was Hispanic, over half was female, all shooting well and having a great time.

   This would be a good thing to expand into several sentences (if you want), and email to them...

   Like "the writer can't report what he didn't see, and he sure didn't see all the Appleseeds around the country. Why this last weekend, the one I was at in XYZ..."

[Rocket Man]

I got a big laugh out of the "uniformly White" comment on the first page.  At the shoot I worked last weekend, half of our line was Hispanic, over half was female, all shooting well and having a great time.

   This would be a good thing to expand into several sentences (if you want), and email to them...

   Like "the writer can't report what he didn't see, and he sure didn't see all the Appleseeds around the country. Why this last weekend, the one I was at in XYZ..."

Actually I'm about to send the following to the Editors -- they have a 150 word maximum policy, it's a tough limit.

"Dear Editors:

Your 29 July article on the Appleseed Project is wrong in one key respect - it portrays the Appleseed Project as fomenting resistance against the Government, or even preparing for revolution.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

The history and heritage presented at Appleseed involves, among others, the story of Paul Revere.  Despite his amazing story, Paul Revere was a virtual unknown in the early Republic.  His star did not rise in the public consciousness until 1861, when he was immortalized by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  His poem, "Paul Revere's Ride," was published specifically to UNITE the country by reminding us of our heritage, in hopes of avoiding the looming Civil War.  While no civil war threatens today, the message remains important.

After the Revolutionary War ended in 1783, the Founding Fathers ensured that no future Revolution need ever occur by giving us tools to take part in, guide, and limit our government, not to destroy it at a whim.  Revolt is utterly contrary to their wishes, and utterly against what we stand for and teach.

Sincerely,
Ryan Mackey, RWVA Instructor"
(contact info follows)

[posterboy]

Everyone..remember this is the Times.....

If you want to see the mountain look at the comments..but also realize that the readers are a small subset of the country. It is a shrinking news outlet with a predictable readership. Don't get your undies in a twist. There is a reason an article was done...it is because we are growing and it serves their political purposes to make right wing America scary and crazy. Take it as a very high compliment and SOM.

I know who we are and what our mission is.....have some faith. We resonate.....all across this land

If I had told any of you that 2 years ago that both the Washington Post  and the NYT would write multi page articles on the program would you have believed it ?

TV is next so get in the mind frame NOW

This is what happens to successful effective programs congrats to all !!! Huzzah

pb

[voortrekker]

Hello All,

After reading the article, watching the video and the slide show, this article was a hit piece against AS and every American that understands the principles on which our Republic was founded.

Question, who reads the New Y0rk Times?   Me thinking......... definitely not American families that believe in principles on which our Republic was founded. 

Question #2, considering that NYTimes is known to be very, very biased regarding truthful journalism and leans towards an ideology that does not even come close to reflecting the average American's idealogy on how our nation should be directed, why are we giving propaganda cronies within NYTimes even a second of our time?

I know with absolute certainty that Fred with the agreement of the RWVA Steering Board to do this interview spoke the truth about AS.

BUT, the spinsters in NYT have spun it, like they always do, this includes almost EVERY mainstream media medium, especially newspapers and the cable TV programming networks.


In my opinion, the article was not an absolute failure.


Everyday Americans are becoming very aware that they cannot trust mainstream media for truth, whether it be the newspaper, TV or the internet.

This why the alternative news sources on the internet are blossoming......and thank goodness!!!!!   

As a result, IMHO, we, as Americans need to do everything in our power to ensure the internet remains the way it is, so we can freely communicate our individual opinions across our beloved Republic and the entire world.


In my opinion, the article was not an absolute failure.


Granted, despite the orchestrated hit piece within this article, there will be a mulitude of everyday Americans that read this article and they will, once again, as a result of this article, be given an even deeper appreciation of our Republic's principles that are defined in the U.S. Constitution and our Bill of Rights.

They will read it and see straight though the propaganda, the semantics, and the gross defiling of TRUTH pervaded by mainstream media journalists.   


Americans, we are waking up to this.   


Thank goodness!      


Keep on keeping on Americans.


We're on a long arduous walk where the path can seem confused.




Your compass is here --->  U.S. Constitution  and  our  Bill of Rights




Focus on the front sight,



Brett

[Whisker]

Remember, it's a magazine, not news.  It is supposed to be entertaining..  And spooky stories are more entertaining than news. 

[Kaiser Leib]

So they chose the most "Dark Side" shooter they could get their hands on to interview... and still, the best they came up with was to say we're a bunch of white guys? I wouldn't just say this is a "net" positive, I'd say this is almost entirely positive.

Edit: Other than the race comment, the beginning part of the article seemed pretty positive, too. That's the part people are going to read. I think this is a win.

[DesertDog]

How did everybody not see this coming???  It's the NYT  It's like expecting The National Review to give a positive piece on Stalin!!

This article has been in the works for over a year, Matt was at the CA Instructors Meeting in Aug last year. I was leary of him, but gave him the benefit of the doubt because Fred and funfaler endorsed him.

I'm a black and white guy for the most part and maybe I'm missing something.  I hope I'm missing something, but I just can't see any positive in this article.  

[Whisker]

Look at it this way, perhaps.  If we are not challenging the status quo, then we would have had an absolutely positive coverage.  Hard to say if this is good or bad. 

[marrandy]

It was, of course, a hatchet job on the Appleseed Project.

Pretty amateurish and juvenile hoping around in a disjointed fashion.  It apparently took him a year to get enough  'bad'  information to pull a story together.

I'm looking forward to answering questions from a NYT reader/believer.  I'm sure it will come.  

ADD:  I guess he managed to miss the The Shelby County Sheriff's Office Training Center shoot hosted by the sheriff's department who got 4 Riflemen and Two becoming IIT's.

http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=9201.msg79580#msg79580

[Josey Wales]

..The last thing I want to hear is The New York Times evaluating The Appleseed Project.. The article was all over the place and reaching and digging for obscurities.. I do not do this for approval or recognition from the debutant's of the upperwest side, the drugged out artists of the lower east side or the filthy inner city streets where the spaced out wander to prey on the weak.. I know this town, I can say what I see and have lived through.. ..The NY Times is a joke, a sophisticated wanna bees rag where they have an answer for everything from behind an armchair.. This is my voice and I stick to it..and if you disagree with me keep it to yourself; Thanks...
..Now as I have said before, I will keep my head down, my sleeves rolled up and continue to move forward in this Appleseed Project, cause I do believe we have something worthy here to share.. May The God, I believe in and The NY Times so easily denounces, Bless us in our forage for the Truth and Liberty, or at least as close as we can get to it on Earth in this physical world..
..What also bothered me were the comments, they try so hard to come across as witty with the  hatred for us, as if there is an actual us, like you must fit a certain protocol to join us.. 
..COME ONE COME ALL, WE ARE ALL DESERVING TO LEARN THE VALUES OF LIBERTY WE ALL OWN, JUST BE CAREFULL NOT TO FALL A SLEEP ON THIS RIDE CALLED LIFE, SOMEONE MIGHT JUST COME ALONG AND TAKE WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY YOURS..

................STRENGTH & HONOR..............JOIN OR DIE......................JOSEY WALES.......................

[jmdavis]

But Josie, we have you, Kdan and "Cook from Brooklyn" there. I call that a beachhead (and a formidable one at that). I really do think that the videos were pretty good. The story has issues though.

[Josey Wales]

..jmdavis.. We are making a dent in NYC and Long Island, and I will never stop.. My spirits are high and wait till I dress up like Sam Adams and walk down 5th avenue with Applessed brochures, they are gonna love that..
.....General George Patton was a Great American man, what would The NY Times say?.......

[marrandy]

The story has issues though.

Boy...you think ?

That's like saying the USA has a slight overdraft problem !


ADD:  Back to  'real work'   -   Appleseed prep to do.

[AuntieBellum]

How would we be responding right now if the NYTs had sung praises of Appleseed?  Would ya'll have believed them?  The article would have sounded fake, and their readership wouldn't have believed them then, either.  I do think one of the best things about the article was the fact that the accuracy of the history and the markmanship training are not challenged.  The article simply states those as what we do.  The entire article spent time challenging the mission of Appleseed, not our expertise.  I think that's a pretty big +1 for Appleseed right there!

Anyone can choose to like or dislike Appleseed and agree or not agree with how the information was presented, but it remains that what we're doing is getting noticed and that we are recognized as experts in what we do.

And the pictures are great, as is the video.