If anyone had an opinion on anything controversial, it was armchair philosopher Archie Bunker.
“All In The Family” patriarch Archie Bunker debates Meathead on gun control landing the blue-collar champion a TV editorial on the topic.
Archie explained why gun control will never work in America. In fact, Archie’s reasoning proved prophetic when it comes to 9/11.
Way back in 1972, Normal Lear’s patriarchal masterpiece Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor) provided a televised editorial rebuttal for the ages. Speaking on behalf of the group Guns For Everybody, Bunker was convinced that he had the secret to stopping gunmen from hijacking airplanes — a problem of the time that seems almost quaint by today’s standards. You probably know where we’re going with this.
Archie’s editorial would have echoed a very clear and present social turbulence. Escalating crime and riots rattled America in the ’60s and early ’70s. But violence in the skies was also gripping the country’s imagination. It’s hard to believe now, but skyjacking was quite common — sometimes up to twice per week, and often with Cuba as the destination.
In his “Guns for Everybody” rebuttal, Archie confidently tells viewers he has the answer to the problem. Before they get on the plane, “All you gotta do is arm all your passengers. They just pass out the pistols at the beginning of the trip, and then pick them up again at the end. Case closed.” The studio audience erupts into laughter — but his train of thought isn’t that far from the views voiced by the National Rifle Association’s Wayne LaPierre a week after the Sandy Hook shooting, when he called for armed guards at every school, saying, “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”
Watch it here: StephenAltoBello/Youtube
Which was kinda Archie’s point, underscored at the end of the show when, ironically, he is robbed at gunpoint. While the family is having a drink at the local bar, a person who saw Archie’s editorial approaches him under the guise of being a like-minded citizen, but instead pulls out a gun and takes Archie’s wallet.
Afterward, Archie bemoans not being able to defend himself with a gun. His daughter, Gloria, cautions that with two armed people, both of them could have ended up dead. Exasperated, Archie argues, “Well, at least I’d have more money than I got now!”
Yes, those were the days.
Sources: TapHaps, BusinessInsider