Science popularizers cause me to lose respect for them by "thinking past the sale" on "climate change" and gun content creators make me lose respect for them by "thinking past the sale" on gun "laws".
Yes, I understand they'll be punished if they tell people to do something the authoritarian overlords forbid. But they lose credibility when they speak of these illegitimate rules as though they are legitimate. They'd do better to just skip that part entirely, or say that government rules, being arbitrary and evil, will vary according to location-- so watch out.
I saw a video where the supposedly pro-gun person was ranting about "straw purchases". Also known as "buying a gift for someone". They spoke as though the person committing his heinous act was the bad guy, rather than acknowledging that the true bad guy is the one who makes or enforces such a stupid rule.
Ethically, it's no different to buy a gun for another person than it is to buy someone a pair of shoes. It's only different "legally" because government is organized crime. Government makes up rules on matters it is forbidden to make up rules about, then pretends those who ignore those fake rules are the problem. Not even close!
If you speak about government's counterfeit rules as though they are legitimate, you are doing everyone a disservice. You can still warn people without appearing to agree with the ridiculous rules.
This would go a long way toward bolstering credibility. If it's too dangerous to do this, simply don't talk about the topic at all.
Authoritarianism is absurd. It is unethical and has no "right" to be imposed on anyone. Keep this in mind, even as you warn someone of the danger of doing things they have a right to do when the political creeps say otherwise.
