I watched the speedboat speed down the Seekonk River. In my youth I would have wished myself on board, carving the water at Warp 5 for the sheer bloody hell of it. Now I was thinking “slow down, jerk.” The boat was rapidly approaching the area where sculls cleave the water. Although there’s no love lost between myself and the members of the Narragansett Boat Club I would hate to see rowers swamped. Well, some of them. Anyway, the boat slowed. Just like that. The captain cut power to the engine and proceeded at the proper, legal walking pace. And I thought huh, what does that tell us about American gun owners? You see the thing is . . .
There are those who believe that people must be forced to do the right thing. That laws—and the rigorous enforcement of those laws—are all that stand between society and the law of the jungle. Left to their own devices, people would rape, rob, intimidate and murder each other until the strong held complete control of the weak.
To return to the example above, some people reckon that the average person would drive their boat like hell and swamp others unless someone stopped them. The majority of boaters don’t slow down because they want to. They do it because they have to. In short, the average person can’t be trusted. They can’t be trusted with boats and they sure as Hell can’t be trusted with guns.
Gun control advocates believe that anyone who owns or God forbid carries a gun for self-protection sees other people as fundamentally evil. The gun grabbers reckon gun owners live in a delusional world filled with bad guys out to get them. When Second Amendment supporters talk about personal armed defense against a U.S. government tyranny, gun grabbers see that as cynical paranoia squared.
Not to put too fine a point on it, gun grabbers view gun owners as paranoid misfits. Asocial extremists who can’t/won’t surrender themselves to the “it takes a village” gestalt that [supposedly] protects the weak from the strong.
Truth be told, most gun owners consider most people trustworthy. Their faith in their natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms is in no small part due to their faith that the average American can keep and bear arms without inflicting violence or fear on their fellow man. They favor “easy access to guns” as an expression of mutual trust, not mutual fear.
Note: “most.” Not all. The People of the Gun share the gun grabbers’ opinion that there are individuals and groups who would prey on the weak. Who are preying on the weak. The PotG arm against them. But again, gun owners don’t see all people as potential attackers/tyrants. Gun grabbers do.
There’s commonality between these two perspectives, but no middle ground. Not to go all Biblical, gun grabbers hate the sinner not the sin. In their misguided desire to manipulate society to compensate for [what they see as] our fundamentally flawed nature gun grabbers would leave us defenseless.
Yes, well, we may live in the same society with them but we’re not all in the same boat. In fact, some of us love our fellow man so much we want them to open carry. Go figure.
“Hate the ‘playa,’ not the game.”
You mean to tell me Obama’s people think I’m paranoid? You don’t say…
I treat every single person I meet with respect, but I don’t genuinely trust every person I meet. That is why I always try to be situation aware and keep firearms close.
“Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everyone you meet.”
I was googlin the quote to make sure I didnt butcher it and this came up
http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2011/03/robert-farago/defense-tip-be-polite-be-professional-but-have-a-plan-to-kill-everyone-you-meet/
Most people are not all bad. I agree w/ the POG on this one. People left without a civil government often get along and practice the golden rule. Obviously, there are predators out there and they must be dealt w/. I think this is often where civil governments & the rule of law comes in. It helps immensly to have a written code on how to deal w/ crime & disputes. Look at all the disagreement that goes on w/ nation states on how to deal w/ other nation states, terrorists, cartels, etc
Without some basic written codes (law) we all have similar goals (peace, tranquility, etc) but often have vastly different views on how to go about them. It would not take long for these approaches to clash and that could/would happen violently.
Your comment made me do a double-take, then laugh. POG is derogatory military slang for “People Other than Grunts” ie non-trigger-pullers. Pretty much the opposite of what you meant, I think.
Very good points.
“The gun grabbers reckon gun owners live in a delusional world filled with bad guys out to get them. When Second Amendment supporters talk about personal armed defense against a U.S. government tyranny, gun grabbers see that as cynical paranoia squared.”
We know who’s delusional, obviously. It’s not just POV; there’s clearly good ways and bad ways, and I think TPOTG are, on the whole, more responsible than gun haters and those who hold them to be icky.
Well said Robert!
“Note: “most.” Not all. The People of the Gun share the gun grabbers’ opinion that there are individuals and groups who would prey on the weak. Who are preying on the weak. The PotG arm against them. But again, gun owners don’t see all people as potential attackers/tyrants. Gun grabbers do.”
Civil service is not about serving the public. It’s about controlling the public and establishing baseline for the worst 10% of our citizens. I view that line is steadily climbing as a response to handled them and the method chosen is to infringe upon the law abiding citizen. Infringing is best action to cover the failure of our officals to control criminals. They refuse to admit that castles they create cannot protect the ones claimed to serve.
I fear no harm from a criminal, but tremble in the wake of a bureaucrat’s legislation that covers incompetence.
+1
So, people should not be allowed to carry guns because bad guys will use them to terrorize the weak. However, wanting to carry a gun to protect yourself from said bad guys is an obvious sign of paranoia? Wow. I wonder how hard you need to get hit on the head for that “logic” to make sense?
I find open carry one of the stickier aspects of guns. As a gun person, I find it a negative and ultimately a counter productive display. At best it’s sort of like the guy who wears a sleeveless t shirt to a restaurant, I don’t want to see his armpit hair, and I am not interested in purposefully antagonizing people who find my interests upsetting. I think everyone should be extra polite in the public space and be sensitive to others. At worst, I do find it threatening, face it,we all DO know people that find being a badass, one of the primary attractions of guns. I personally find the idea of being openly armed at a political event repulsive. It is difficult for me to imagine that this would be perceived as any thing but an implied threat.
I would think that if you find a person open carrying a gun repulsive, that you would find a person trying to conceal a gun even more repulsive. I’m sorry if it breaks your illusion of a safe society, but that is exactly what goes in the mind of a gun grabber… this opinion coming from a reforming gun grabber…
(it’s only negative if you’re the only one doing it – 50 yrs ago children could walk down the streets with rifles slung over their shoulders… out of sight _IS_ out of mind)
No, I said at a political event, I find it repulsive. Context is important. In the country, at a gun event, it doesn’t bother me. My point is that in today’s world, public display is such a “In your face” thing to do, that it will antagonize those who feel differently about guns, and in the end , harm your (and my cause). I don’t see problems with being discreet.
Your reply beat my reply.
I’m tired of being discrete. Discrete is what you are when you are having an affair.
We have no reason to be ashamed of exercising our natural, constitutional right to self defense. Somehow the other side with it’s total refusal to face facts, logic, or reason thinks it has the moral high ground. Being discrete implies we are doing something somehow shameful. I reject that. It’s the other side that should full of shame.
Time to take it to ’em.
Oh, and you DID say, “At worst, I do find it threatening.” So you ARE scared of your fellow citizens.
I open carry every day. I don’t do it to show off my gun or to be noticed or to make a statement. It is for self defense of myself and others if needed. As of right now I don’t have my ccw so I cant conceal so would you rather me be unprotected or open carry.
We have people open carrying everyday. In every state in the union.
.
They’re called cops.
I get your point, but the entire “batbelt”, punkass shades, vest (over donutgut), BDUs etc is ALL about intimidating those who they come in contact with.
We have people open carrying everyday. In every state in the union.
They’re called cops. Reference another thread – do most of us consider them somehow morally superior specimens? We do not. Do people run screaming from them in the streets in terror? They do not. In spite of some of the hysteria expressed in the previous thread, most of us do not expect them to unholster and start shooting innocents with no provocation.
Why should your fellow citizens open carrying fill you with revulsion? I know, I know, “Blood in the streets. The wild west.” Just like has happened in all the states that allow concealed or open carry.
We need new norms, people. Or more accurately, old norms. As a previous poster has mentioned, I used to walk all over town as a twelve year old with a .22 over my shoulder, accompanied by my buddies similarly armed. Nobody arrested me. Now you may be arrested for wearing a threatening t-shirt or suspended from school for displaying a scary pop tart.
Does this poster quake in fear at an IDPA match? Sporting clays? Opening day? Those people aren’t just carrying, they’re shooting! Great numbers of them. All around you. Oooo, scary!
Real men (and women) do not fear being armed nor being in the presence of others who are armed. An armed society is indeed a polite society.
Polite, courteous, low key open carrying could go a long way toward conditioning our fellow citizens to the fact that their fears are unjustified and winning the 2nd amendment debate in America.
This: I’ve OC’d now for three years primarily in a large metro area, Albuquerque, NM.
Except for two different times; everyone; cops as well as citizens; just went on about their business; eating, talking, studying; me open carrying was NO BIG DEAL; I was the one when I first started open carrying that was more freaking out about how people would react than anyone I saw out in public.
It a right to be proud of, not to be hidden.
There are places in the world (the ones that still have gun ownership, I’m talkin’ about) where carry is mandated as concealed only. I think spell check wants me to say CONGEALED, but I ain’t biting.
Do you find books, openly carried, to also be “threatening”?
“we all DO know people that find being a badass, one of the primary attractions of guns” The hell we do.
“I personally find the idea of being openly armed at a political event repulsive.” Why is the thought of exercising more than one Constitutional Right at the same time “repulsive” to you? I find YOUR opinion to be highly offensive, myself, as you imply that I have nefarious intent.
“It is difficult for me to imagine that this would be perceived as any thing but an implied threat.” Your mind…. it look s pretty narrow from here.
Have a great weekend.
Exactly this. I’m constantly shocked to hear gun grabbers describing their horror that any of their neighbors could be armed, and might come to murder them at any time. These people think they live in a community of killers, constantly under siege, and surrounded by enemies.
This is projection on their part; they figure they can’t be trusted with a gun, because they have frequent thoughts of power displays against their fellow (but inferior, somehow) man.
If you’ll remember this, it makes a lot more sense what they feel, say, do.
Truth be told, most gun owners consider most people trustworthy.
I’m not armed because I consider most people trustworthy. I consider most people trustworthy because I’m armed.
Yep.
There are those who believe that people must be forced to do the right thing. That laws—and the rigorous enforcement of those laws—are all that stand between society and the law of the jungle.
People generally do the right thing. The law should be a final backstop – there’s an well known internet post called “don’t be a di*k” that summarizes nicely.
An area I find fascinating, having done part time contracting, is the different large office workplace cultural norms. In any group, there is a small percentage (of di*ks) who treat their (and others’) office environment like their own living room and/or kitchen and/or bedroom. Observations:
Really depressing offices:
– multitude of posted do / don’t rules / procedures that are rarely / selectively enforced.
– Turnover is minimal to zero, especially for long timers (di*ks or not).
Happy offices:
– no posted rules
– managers/supers manage such behavior – di*ks change quickly or are out the door.
– there is a normal (~3% annual) turnover.
What did trees ever do to you?
As an aside, open carry on a boat is allowed in FL, while fishing or going to or from fishing. That’s my random about a boat and open carry.
What about when smuggling cocaine?
Concealed carry is the norm for cocaine.
So you’re cool with the local heat as long as you’ve got a rod and reel aboard? I mean, that’s “intent to fish”, right? If you have a gun that’s “intent to kill” in some localities….
Various outlooks on human nature aside, some one a lot smarter than me taught me taught an outlook I maintain to this day:
Be polite. Be friendly. And have a plan to kill everyone you meet.
I hope you don’t meet me. But if you do, I’ll know what you’re thinking.
You won’t necessarily know what he’s thinking; but you’ll know what his plan is.
The People of the Gun don’t have any more faith in the inherent goodness of others than do gun grabbers.
It’s just that PotG have taken steps, so they aren’t so worried, nor so easily affected by the baser behaviors of others.
Comments are closed.