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And so the warrior must strive to confront denial in all aspects of his life, and prepare himself for the day when evil comes.

If you are a warrior who is legally authorized to carry a weapon and you step outside without that weapon, then you become a sheep, pretending that the bad man will not come today. No one can be “on” 24/7 for a lifetime. Everyone needs down time. But if you are authorized to carry a weapon, and you walk outside without it, just take a deep breath, and say this to yourself... “Baa.”

I really wish I would have read Grossman's "On Killing" and "On Combat" before I went to Afghanistan. But I'm happy that I had my son read them before he went. Those two books really opened my eyes on things that didn't make sense before.

Grossman's books are quite enlightening indeed...

But if you are authorized to carry a weapon, and you walk outside without it, just take a deep breath, and say this to yourself... “Baa.”

If a man has a mindset like that, it's obvious what he truly is, no matter what he pretends to be when he carries a gun.

"The final weapon is the brain, all else is supplemental."

TresHuevos wrote:I really wish I would have read Grossman's "On Killing" and "On Combat" before I went to Afghanistan. But I'm happy that I had my son read them before he went. Those two books really opened my eyes on things that didn't make sense before.

Thanks to both of you for your service.

snorri wrote:If a man has a mindset like that, it's obvious what he truly is, no matter what he pretends to be when he carries a gun.

"The final weapon is the brain, all else is supplemental."

Agreed, but the gun does make it easier, particularly when you're an old gray sheepdog....

I agree with TAM, being equipped sure makes bad situations easier for some of us to deal with. Sure, I am not a "sheep" without my firearm, however after a neck surgery, botched shoulder surgery, and a lifetime of abuse on my body, I am much more confident of my ability with a firearm than hand to hand combat. I am a very active and efficient competitor with my handguns, I haven't been in a fist fight for over 30 years.

I'm with TAM on this one. Hand to hand combat is messy, tiring and the outcome is mainly based on number of opponents, size and strength.

Life's too short to spend those last 10 minutes struggling...

The Annoyed Man wrote: Agreed, but the gun does make it easier, particularly when you're an old gray sheepdog....

I'm gray, but at $50k per incident, the gun is the alternative left if you're going to hurt my family.

Unless you're the government, in which case I'll go along quietly and passively, recording the whole thing.

cb1000rider wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote: Agreed, but the gun does make it easier, particularly when you're an old gray sheepdog....

I'm gray, but at $50k per incident, the gun is the alternative left if you're going to hurt my family.

Unless you're the government, in which case I'll go along quietly and passively, recording the whole thing.

I agree, but I was responding to snorri's statement:

If a man has a mindset like that, it's obvious what he truly is, no matter what he pretends to be when he carries a gun.

"The final weapon is the brain, all else is supplemental."

I believe (snorri, correct me if I'm wrong) that he was responding to this part of the OP:

And so the warrior must strive to confront denial in all aspects of his life, and prepare himself for the day when evil comes.

If you are a warrior who is legally authorized to carry a weapon and you step outside without that weapon, then you become a sheep, pretending that the bad man will not come today. No one can be “on” 24/7 for a lifetime. Everyone needs down time. But if you are authorized to carry a weapon, and you walk outside without it, just take a deep breath, and say this to yourself... “Baa.”

The author implies that ONLY sheep make the decision to not be armed at a given time, and therefore ANYONE not carrying is a sheep. Tell that to every single warrior serving at Fort Hood who decided to obey orders and not carry a firearm, on the morning of the day that Nidal Hassan carried out his mass murder.

Snorri says, and he's right if I understood him correctly, that there is more to being a warrior than having a gun in your hand. My response is simply a wry piece of humor to say that he's right, but it IS easier for us old farts if we have the gun.

rbwhatever1 wrote:Life's too short to spend those last 10 minutes struggling...

+1

RoyGBiv wrote:

TresHuevos wrote:I really wish I would have read Grossman's "On Killing" and "On Combat" before I went to Afghanistan. But I'm happy that I had my son read them before he went. Those two books really opened my eyes on things that didn't make sense before.

Thanks to both of you for your service.

You're very welcome, it was an honor.