Shop
 Explore 

Archie Bunker's hilarious take on guns in 1972 is pretty scary in today's America.

'All you gotta do is arm all your passengers.'

Archie Bunker, guns, 1972 television, All in the Family

Image pulled from YouTube video

Archie Bunker's outlandish take on guns.

In 1972, Archie Bunker had an outlandish idea to stop airplane hijackings: just give all the passengers guns! (Duh.)

In a vintage clip from "All in the Family," spotted by Huffington Post, Carroll O’Connor's iconic over-the-top character appears in an opinion segment on local TV news where he shares his thoughts on keeping air travel safe. (Back then, it was easier and more common for planes to be hijacked.)

"All you gotta do is arm all your passengers," the blue-collar curmudgeon explained to laughs from the studio audience in the clip. “Then your airlines, then they wouldn’t have to search the passengers on the ground no more. They just pass out the pistols at the beginning of the trip, and they pick ’em up again at the end. Case closed.”

Check out the clip (story continues below):

As the raucous laughter from the studio audience shows, the idea of arming airline passengers back then was absurd. But series producer Norman Lear once compared Bunker's humorous take on guns from nearly five decades ago to the NRA's attitude on guns in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook shooting: A good guy with a gun is what stops a bad guy with a gun. (This, to be clear, is definitely not true.)

Although the NRA hasn't proposed arming airline passengers specifically, the idea doesn't seem nearly as far-fetched in today's political climate as it did in 1972.

In the aftermath of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Florida on Feb. 14, Trump suggested arming 10-20% of teachers to help prevent gun violence in schools.

The proposal, which many teachers have slammed, has alarmed law enforcement experts. The type of intensive training it would take to adequately prepare teachers for that type of responsibility goes far beyond ensuring they're simply a good shot at the gun range, they've argued.

The "All in the Family" clip further illustrates just how blurred the line's becoming between satire and politics as usual in Trump's Washington.

Trump has helped spark another golden era of political comedy, some have argued, but he's also made it increasingly difficult for many Americans to know what's real and what's intended for laughs.

A popular subreddit dubbed Not The Onion, for instance, is routinely littered with ironic and hilarious (and maybe a bit terrifying?) Trump-centered news headlines that couldn't possibly be real. Yet they are.

Sometimes it takes the power of satire to illustrate how badly we're failing at protecting our own.

A satirical piece by The Onion on gun violence from 2014 goes viral again just about every time another mass shooting occurs: "No Way To Prevent This," Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens."

After the tragedy in Parkland, Florida, gun violence hit a bit too close to home for the former Onion senior writer, Jason Roeder, who wrote the headline. "When I wrote this headline, I had no idea it would be applied to the high school a mile from my house," he noted on Twitter.

\u201cWhen I wrote this headline, I had no idea it would be applied to the high school a mile from my house. https://t.co/Vm1jCaiugo\u201d
— Jason Roeder (@Jason Roeder) 1518664836

Satirical reports may be fake news, but they often speak a lot of truth. We have to do better.

From Your Site Articles

Wonder how volunteering can change your life? Ask a Peace Corps Volunteer.

Those who give back get so much in return.

True

Larissa Gummy was first introduced to the work of the Peace Corps in high school. All it took was seeing a few photos shared by her ninth-grade teacher, a returned Peace Corps Volunteer, to know that one day, she would follow in those footsteps.

This inspiration eventually led Larissa away from her home in Minnesota to Rwanda in East Africa, to give back to her family’s country of origin and pursue her passion for international development. Though her decision confused her parents at first, they’re now proud and excited to see what their daughter has accomplished through her volunteer work.

And just what was that work? Well, it changed from day to day, but it all had to do with health.

Mostly, Larissa worked for Rwanda’s First 1,000 Days Health project, which aims to improve the conditions that affect the mortality rate of kids within the first 1,000 days of being born (or almost three years old). These conditions include hygiene, nutrition, and prevention of childhood diseases like malaria and acute respiratory infections (ARI). Addressing malnutrition was a particular focus, as it continues to cause stunted growth in 33% of Rwandan children under the age of five.

In partnership with the local health center, Larissa helped with vaccination education, led nutrition classes, offered prenatal care to expecting mothers, and helped support health education in surrounding communities. Needless to say—she stayed busy with a variety of tasks.

Keep ReadingShow less

Wife says husband's last name is so awful she can't give it to her kids. Is she right?

"I totally get we can’t shield kids from everything, and I understand the whole family ties thing, but c’mon."

via Ketut Subiyanto/Pexels

A wife pleads with her husband to change their child's name.

Even though it’s 2023 and schools are much more concerned with protecting children from bullying than in the past, parents still have to be aware that kids will be kids, and having a child with a funny name is bound to cause them trouble.

A mother on Reddit is concerned that her future children will have the unfortunate last name of “Butt,” so she asked people on the namenerds forum to help her convince her husband to name their child something different.

(Note: We’re assuming that the person who wrote the post is a woman because their husband is interested in perpetuating the family name, and if it were a same-sex relationship, a husband probably wouldn’t automatically make that assumption.)

"My husband’s last name is Butt. Can someone please help me illuminate to him why this last name is less than ideal,” she asked the forum. “I totally get we can’t shield kids from everything and I understand the whole family ties thing, but c'mon. Am I being unreasonable by suggesting our future kid either take my name, a hybrid, or a new one altogether?"

Keep ReadingShow less

Woman shares the powerful impact of a 'hardcore' gym bro's words of encouragement

Previous experience had her feeling nervous when the man approached her at the gym, but what he said brought her to tears.

@steph5468/TikTok

Steph shares how a few simple words made all the difference.

Going to the gym can be a daunting prospect for a lot of people. It shouldn't be—the whole point of going to the gym is to exercise, which is something that should universally be applauded—but sometimes it can feel like there's pressure to be at a certain fitness level or have a certain physique before stepping foot in the door.

For people who are heavier, gym culture can be especially intimidating. Unfortunately, not everyone remembers to practice kindness and fatphobia appears to remain a fairly tolerated prejudice. That shouldn't stop people with big bodies from enjoying all that fitness centers have to offer, but all too often, it does.

It hasn't stopped a woman named Steph from working out regularly at her gym, albeit with some trepidation. As she shared in a hugely viral TikTok, she's experienced some unkind behavior at the gym that made her nervous when a man approached her recently. But her description of the encounter ultimately demonstrated how powerful a few positive words can be.

In a video made from her car just after leaving the gym, Steph explained that a "hardcore" gym-goer who is "super tough" and covered in tattoos had came up to talk to her. Her initial response was to be afraid of what he was going to say to her, based on previous experience. She shared in the video how hard it's been to stay steady with her workouts, especially with medications she's on making her body hold onto weight, but she's been working hard to be consistent. She steeled herself for whatever he might say.

She didn't expect it to be this: "I've seen you in here every week, almost every day. I've seen you in here every week—and I'm proud of you." Nor did she expect that such simple words of encouragement could make such a huge impact.

Watch her tell the story:

@steph5468
#gymprogress #workputjourney #keepgoing #healingjourney

People had a lot to say about the interchange and Steph's emotional response to it.

"People do not realize, how one person can change everything," wrote one commenter.

"Girl you are CRUSHING IT," wrote another. "That man you encountered is what real men do. Encourage. Support. Be human! It isn’t hard! ❤️"

"No one knows your story, your struggles. You're doing the dang thing and that takes courage and strength. You. Keep. Going. I'm proud of you too!" shared another.

More and more words of encouragement flooded Steph's comment section, and people on Upworthy's Instagram page weighed in as well.

"I'm a fitness coach and this made me cry 😢 just having someone say they are proud of you can move mountains for so many of us who didn’t/ don’t get the praise growing up," wrote one person.

"Who knows? He may be going through something too and saw a determined, consistent, fellow traveler," wrote another. "You share your Truth so powerfully. You may not know how many people will see this and be encouraged by your honesty. I’m in awe that you show up for YOURSELF every day. And as for the rude and ill-mannered? Well they struggle too—just to be decent kind human beings. Some people have not been shown Empathy and therefore do not know how to use that muscle. You are beautiful, smart, articulate, wise and a woman who knows where she’s headed. Keep walking, head up knowing there are many many more who do empathize, who see you and are on your side❤️"

"It’s amazing to think about how this man’s single act of kindness, spread through you to affect us all in a positive way," shared another. "This made all of our days, and I’m crying tears of joy while I write this. Please thank him from all of us the next time you see him, if you’re comfortable with that. And thank you for sharing! ❤️"

Indeed, thanks to both Steph and the hardcore, tattooed gym bro for being wonderful examples for us all. We never know what a small act of kindness or a few words of encouragement will do to make someone's life significantly better, but it's always worth trying.

From Your Site Articles

A guy and his friends shared their travel plans. The results perfectly explain the wealth gap.

What on Jeff Bezos's green earth did we just watch?

TikTok/@tcruznc

Sometimes you see something so mind-boggling you have to take a minute to digest what just happened in your brain. Be prepared to take that moment while watching these videos.

Real estate investor and TikTok user Tom Cruz shared two videos explaining the spreadsheets he and his friends use to plan vacations and it's...well...something. Watch the first one:

What in the wealth is thispic.twitter.com/NTPTKT5CZG
— Karim Alammuri (@Karim Alammuri) 1629292830

So "Broke Bobby" makes $125,000 a year. There's that.

How about the fact that his guy has more than zero friends who budget $80,000 for a 3-day getaway? Y'all. I wouldn't know how to spend $80,000 in three days if you paid me to. Especially if we're talking about a trip with friends where we're all splitting the cost. Like what does this even look like? Are they flying in private jets that burn dollar bills as fuel? Are they bathing in hot tubs full of cocaine? I genuinely don't get it.

Keep ReadingShow less