Abraham wrote:Am I the only one disturbed by folks strolling/trolling with AR 15's at the ready given the "Lone Wolf" terrorist concern?
Far fetched?
I don't think so.
Like I posted above:
Old lady: "Why the pistol, are you expecting trouble?"
Ranger: "No Ma'am. If I was expecting trouble, I'd have brought a rifle."
.......and that is exactly how most of the uninformed people in the world see it. "He has a handgun? Oh, that's for self protection." "He has a rifle? Well, he's not hunting, so he's expecting trouble. Somebody better call the law." Whether or not long gun OC demonstrators want to admit it, that's just a fact. In my role at my church, I have a LOT of conversations with other people—
conservative, generally pro-gun people—and that is how
they view it........without me putting that thought into their heads..... You have to be somehow psychologically disconnected from the human race not to understand that.
I love love love the AR15 and think everyone should have at least one of them. It doesn't bother me to see one carried cased up. it doesn't bother me to see someone carrying one uncased between car and shooting bench at a range. It doesn't bother me to see one carried uncased from vehicle to house, or to see somebody removing one uncased or putting it in the trunk of his car uncased. It doesn't bother me to see one openly carried between a parking lot and a gun store. It doesn't bother me to see one openly carried down a rural highway or out in a field. All of those are contextually appropriate ways to openly carry an AR15, and there others too.
Contextually INappropriate ways would be to walk into a Starbucks or a Target with a slung AR, or like THIS amazingly idiotic person who carried his at the low ready into the Washington state Capitol building:
We live in a world where occasional active shooter situations get everyone's attention. ON THIS VERY FORUM, we have discussed how to react to someone shooting up the inside of a mall with an AR or AK...........so in the REAL WORLD, this stuff does happen. Maybe not very often, but it DOES happen........and when it does, it is spectacular and shocking enough to the average person that it leaves a lasting impression. The right that those same people have to not have anyone sneak up and light a firecracker under their butts, giving them a heart attack, is the EXACT same as the right that they have to not be confronted by some manure-brained slacker with a rifle in an inappropriate situation. So when they see monkey-boy in that photo entering the seat of government, carrying an AR in an arguably "aggressive" posture, it is going to scare the crap out of that observer, and frankly, THAT IS TOTALLY UNNECESSARY. Now, what if the observer is armed? What is HE going to think/say/do? Doesn't matter if we're talking about an LEO or a CHL here. Monkey-boy there has the social instincts of a beetle, and frankly, he is asking to get challenged, even taken down. His compadres with the slung weapons less so. If I were in that room in that moment, I would have assumed the worst and gone for my pistol grip. Why? Because as a rational person, I can't afford NOT to. What if I guess wrong, and he really IS about to open up?
I mention him because he represents the far extreme who would even worry a pro-gun, pro-AR15, pro-open carry guy like me. But I am not typical of the average American. What about someone who is ignorant about guns (most people are), and they see the guy in that video walking down the street? That person isn't thinking about rights and the Constitution and the 2nd Amendment. That person is thinking, "holy crap! A guy with a rifle!" That person remembers Columbine, Aurora, etc., etc., and he or she imagines that they are about to see their worst fear come true - an active shooter mass casualty situation. It doesn't matter if that's not the case, that is what they PERCEIVE............just like I perceive monkey-boy above as a threat and begin to react as if he's a threat, because that's the smart money bet.
People who OC long guns, but particularly long guns that have a lot of social myth surrounding them, bring all of that down on their own heads........ and then the incredible part is that
they complain about it, like it is someone else's fault. Duh! "I didn't know I was going to get all wet if I jumped in the pool! Not fair!!!!" Like my wife often says, "IF you didn't want to go to Chicago, why did you get on the train?" It doesn't matter that it's legal, because most citizens and apparently a lot of LEOs too think it is not legal. The occasional person of questionable lineage such as Monkey-boy isn't educating anybody, and he's not
changing anyone's mind in his favor.
Adults don't act like that. Adults understand that if you want to change hearts and minds, you don't start by scaring the pee out of people. You start by engaging them in conversations, calmly, and without confronting them with the object of their fears as an entry into that conversation. That is why these long gun OC demonstrations are so counter productive.
I've spent all the time on this that I'm willing to spend.
“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”
― G. Michael Hopf, "Those Who Remain"
#TINVOWOOT
