Gun Show Activism: How to do it well?

[Trenton]

Hello everyone, I was recently talking with another member in my general area, who has been in the Alliance for about 23 years. He told me a little bit about his history with the National Alliance, and the sort of activism he's done. One thing we briefly talked about was gun show booths, and how it can be an effective way to get the message out. I'm wondering if anyone here has advice on how to select a gun show to attempt this at, what to bring, and what to expect. Thanks.

[Will Williams]

Hello everyone, I was recently talking with another member in my general area, who has been in the Alliance for about 23 years. He told me a little bit about his history with the National Alliance, and the sort of activism he's done. One thing we briefly talked about was gun show booths, and how it can be an effective way to get the message out. I'm wondering if anyone here has advice on how to select a gun show to attempt this at, what to bring, and what to expect. Thanks.

Very good question, Trenton. As a new young NA member you've come to the right place in Activism and Alliance-Building to ask your question.

I put the term "gun show" in WB's search feature and up popped pages and pages of posts made here in the past ten years by NA members with experience setting up NA tables at gun shows. I only got up to page 9 in the search, but there are more for the diligent searcher.
Here I describe a gun show I did in 1986 that eventually led me to Dr. Pierce and the National Alliance: viewtopic.php?f=28&t=488&p=11956&hilit=Gun+show#p11956

I once set up a gun show booth back in 1986 and collected the signatures, names and addresses, phone numbers of 1,100+ White people to "protect our 2d Amendment rights" in one weekend, as I handed out leaflets. I sent copies of that homemade petition to the governor of NC and both NC U.S. senators. Nothing much came of that, except that I got all those people's contact information for followups, and caught the attention of other activists. I was contacted by A.J. Barker who chaired the NC chapter of the CoCC (Council of Conservative Citizens) -- which was big in the Carolinas back then. He was impressed soon made me Executive Director of CoCC for NC. I then was in a position to meet all sorts of other activists from our region and from all around the country at CoCC national conventions. All from making up a "bogus" petition.

It was a couple of years later that I learned about Dr. Pierce and the National Alliance. All of us have to get our starts somewhere.

Later, around 1994-96, acting as NA Regional Coordinator for the Carolinas, I and other members had NA tables/booths at 31 different gun shows in the region with great results. There are likely some descriptions of our doing those shows on earlier pages in the WB search. Look for those. Our Jim Mathias has experience with doing gun shows, and I remember our Sacramento Local Unit and other Local Units did a few after our Carolina shows had played out. In our 31 shows we handed out more than 20,000 gun control fliers.

[White Man 1]

Hello everyone, I was recently talking with another member in my general area, who has been in the Alliance for about 23 years. He told me a little bit about his history with the National Alliance, and the sort of activism he's done. One thing we briefly talked about was gun show booths, and how it can be an effective way to get the message out. I'm wondering if anyone here has advice on how to select a gun show to attempt this at, what to bring, and what to expect. Thanks.

I attended and worked a table at gun shows for many years growing up, so my information may be a little dated, but hopefully it will be useful.

-Be personable. Nobody wants to talk to the guy who sits behind his table and sulks, so be sure to have a smile on your face and be ready to greet people who come to see what you have to offer.
-Be up to date on the basics of what the NA is, i.e. who we are, what we want, and how we are going about getting there. People are attracted to an organization when it's representative can answer questions fully and honestly, and when the organization shows promise for growth and direction.
-If you are selling books make sure you know something about each one so that you can help potential buyers know what they are looking at. Are they picking up a copy of "Which Way Western Man"? Try to remember a particular point from a chapter that you can discuss with the buyer.
-If you are handing out flyers or leaflets make sure you can effectively summarize what the flyer says if you are pressed on it. Just handing paper to another person won't get them interested in what you have to say - sometimes you have to say it too.
-If you are asked to leave, be sure to get a reason to include in an after action report, but don't argue or fight with the organizers. That will do nothing but cause you trouble.
-Avoid non-Whites. Our message is not for them, and many react violently to pro-White messaging.

[Jim Mathias]

It appears some good advice is being given here. When I first began to attend gun shows to distribute Alliance materials, I was new to both and kept it simple to gain some experience at it. A handful, about 100, gun control fliers were brought after I had studied that subject and became well read on the Alliance itself to have a brief discussion. I stood near the entrance where show attendees came through and within sight of a sheriff's deputy, a White man, keeping security for the show. It quickly came to the attention of the deputy that I was handing out "politically incorrect" fliers and he expressed interest in obtaining one, so I obliged him.

It went smoothly until some yahoo, a White man of middling age, started raising a ruckus about the message the flier contained and ended with him saying he'd like to kick my backside, or something to that effect. I just agreed he had a different opinion and stood there waiting for him to finish or get rowdy, and he chose the former and walked off.