Two stories came across the transom over the weekend from X that both involve guns and provide insights into the minds of eccentric personalities whose actions could endanger others, but mostly themselves.
The first came as a video with commentary by Jason B. Alexander, a self-described “journalist” who is “offering to train supporters of the Palestinian people all I know about self-defense.” His stated motivation is that he anticipates retaliation against “leaders and organizers of the Palestinian movement” by “Israel and its supporters” following the targeted assassination of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, DC. His qualifications appear to be that he “was raised in the Bronx, in the 1970s. I know alot.”
To prove his skill, he aims a scoped air rifle out his window and fires it, then walks the viewer to a target in his backyard that he says, “is about 50 yards.” He shows a close-up of a paper target with several holes in it, points to one, and claims, “I got a bullseye.”
I’m offering to train supporters of the Palestinian people all I know about self-defense.
I was raised in the Bronx, in the 1970s. I know alot.
After the assassination of two Israeli agents in Washington, DC, by Elias Rodriguez, Israel and its supporters can be expected to… pic.twitter.com/RuuBlVkfZ4
— JB Nicholas (@JasonBNicholas) May 22, 2025
While there’s no way to validate when that shot was fired and from what distance, it’s hardly a remarkable achievement, but it does make some questions fair: Why an air rifle? And, since he doxes himself announces his address, apparently so the internet can’t be used to trace communications, what do the people who live behind him think of him firing it in their direction with no solid backstop?
Alexander confirms in a subsequent comment that he is the subject of a news account that relates the time he killed a man with a “sawed-off shotgun” and “spent nearly 13 years behind bars.” That would make him a “prohibited person.”
And while New York law is unclear on felons with airguns, 6 CRR-NY 180.3 on Fish and Wildlife adds confusion into the mix:
“The terms firearm or gun shall mean any rifle, pistol, shotgun or muzzleloading firearm which by force of gunpowder, or an airgun as defined in subdivision (b) of this section, that expels a missile or projectile capable of killing, wounding or otherwise inflicting physical damage upon fish, wildlife or other animals.”
Perhaps Mr. Alexander’s skill at saying he is qualified to train others to put down Israeli retaliation will give Mossad operatives reason to pause. Then again, perhaps his time would be better spent mowing his lawn and cleaning his room.
The second instance is another head-scratcher, coming from “Christopher,” an “08’ Obama delegate and independent CD1 congressional candidate” who was complaining that Republicans do nothing on guns and block attempts to control them, When challenged on being a gun-grabber, he responded by claiming to be a gun owner himself, and then “proved” it by posting a photo of him holding a pistol to his head with his finger on the trigger.
I go to c4 with my friend when we get a few hours on our weekends at the same time pic.twitter.com/rI9CLhqEh7
— Christopher (@tennismd7) May 25, 2025
When challenged for violating cardinal rules of gun safety, he wouldn’t back down from insisting the gun was empty and he’d checked it himself. True, it doesn’t have a magazine, and he may have even cleared the chamber, but that doesn’t alter some inconvenient truths.
Cavalier attitudes toward the Four Rules originated by “Gunner’s Guru” Col. Jeff Cooper, whom Christopher presumably knows better than, lead to careless mistakes over time. That’s evidenced by regular gun owners and “trained” police officers causing negligent discharges because they “thought” the gun was empty and touched the trigger.
Also, as gun owners, we have a moral obligation to conduct ourselves responsibly and safely. That’s especially true for a would-be politician. Posting photos like this for the world to see disregards that not everyone who does knows why it is dangerous and may emulate it themselves. That’s particularly true of young people trying to impress others. And speaking of people with no gun handling experience, one of Christopher’s proposed “solutions” to “make the country safer for all of us [is] we can do gun buybacks…”
Disregard that no less an authority than the DOJ’s National Institute of Justice concluded years ago in its “Summary of Select Firearm Violence Prevention Strategies” that:
“Evidence: Gun buybacks are ineffective as generally implemented. 1. The buybacks are too small to have an impact. 2. The guns turned in are at low risk of ever being used in a crime. 3. Replacement guns are easily acquired. Unless these three points are overcome, a gun buyback cannot be effective.”
They’re also used to offer inducements to people, who never heard of Cooper’s Rules and may not know how to remove a magazine, or clear a chamber, or keep fingers or anything else from touching triggers, to pick guns up and transport them to collection centers. That hardly “makes the country safer for all of us.”
It would be a waste of time to leave replies to either Jason or Christopher. Their minds, such as they are, are obviously made up and resistant to being changed and to accepting that they may not be as “right” as they think they are. That’s what makes this a learning experience for all of us when dealing with intractable people who act like they know it all. None of us do.
I’m reminded of an article I did decades ago on “smart guns,” where I sought advice from a former Navy SEAL and expert’s expert, providing weapons and tactics training to elite military fighting personnel, civilian law enforcement tactical specialists, and authorized security professionals. With candor typical of true professionals, he admitted up front that “our staff does not know it all, nor have we ‘arrived’. We are in a constant state of learning and consider ourselves perpetual students.”
Compare that to the presumed warfighter trainer who shoots pellets out his bedroom window and the guy who insists it’s OK to put a gun to his head, both of whom refuse to consider that those who do not “respect their authoritah” may have a point.
I know who I’ll listen to.
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.
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