I open carried in Rhode Island. I’ll do it in Texas—once The Lone Star State gets its you-know-what together. But I’m not an idiot. I know that open carrying can draw unwanted attention, leading to police interaction. Did I say unwanted? Truth be told, attention-getting is an open carry raison d’etre. For one thing, deterrence. For another, gun normalization. But then there’s the dark side of that deal: narcissism. Now I’m not saying that kwikrnu’s decision to open carry a modern sporting rifle through a city (Nashville) indicates some kind of psychological issue. But open carrying a modern sporting rifle through a city wearing a bullet-resistant vest is meshugah and asking for it. And I’m not sure it matters what “it” is.