My Michael Moore Moment

We went to Wal-Mart to get a beach tent to shield us from the North Carolina sun.  Like a lot of liberals, being in Wal-Mart was making me feel vaguely queasy, probably from all the effort I had to expend to suppress my urges to take them up on their admittedly good deals.  Jake grabbed a multi-pack of 5 Hour Energy and remarked at the super low price. I reminded him (and myself, you all know I love a good deal, see post: Pot o' Gold Plastic Coins) that the super low prices were the result of super low wages, gender discrimination and union busting.  So I figured if I had to be in a Wal-Mart, and especially a Wal-Mart in the South, I might as well use the experience to reinforce my own beliefs.  I understand that the desire to reinforce one's pre-existing political beliefs is the reason why Fox News exists, but it's fun anyway.  So I went looking for the guns.  Having seen Bowling for Columbine, I was pretty confident I was going to find them.  And I did, pretty easily.

I wasn't expecting to find hollow point bullets, though, especially ones that weren't even behind the counter.  Hollow point bullets are not like regular bullets; instead of passing through an object, they expand into an object upon impact.  It's frequently described as a "mushrooming" effect and it causes much more severe tissue and organ damage.  As a result, it's very effective for killing deer and other game.  Unfortunately, it's also very effective for killing anything else.  New Jersey has a partial ban on the bullets and they are considered illegal for use in war.  But at Wal-Mart all you need is seven bucks and they're yours.