I’ve written numerous times about the gun grabbers’ lack of respect for human life. My contention is that they don’t consider life precious enough to protect. They don’t want the responsibility. They want to rely on the almighty state to protect them, and they want no one else to have that option.
Nowhere is that fact more obvious than on the Mothers Demand Gunsense in America Twitter feed. The #gunsense feed is rife with Mad Mommies and their henpecked husbands dutifully reposting every bit of spew that flies from the ever-so poisonous mind of Shannon Watts – the Bloombergian Stepford Monster who heads the hysterical mommy group.
I won’t post photos of every abusive post, but I would like to point out that their jokes about murder, their sarcastic glee every time a crime is committed with a gun that results in the death of another human being, and their snide and very public hopes for the death of those who oppose them are indicative of a general attitude – an attitude of hatred.
People have a tendency to dehumanize their enemies – to paint them as something soulless and fundamentally different from themselves in order to trick their mind into accepting that the death wishes they heap on the opposition aren’t really being directed at other human beings.
Every story of murder they post, gleefully pointing to death by gun, not considering that the innocent victim in whose blood they dance to advance their political goals is an actual human being…
Every ill wish they heap toward their political opponents, snidely pontificating how great it would be if open carry advocates died by gunfire…
Every threat to call police and report an active shooter or another type of threat when they see a peaceable citizen doing nothing more than exercising the right guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the Constitution…
…is proof that these people couldn’t care less about actual lives.
What they care about is their political agenda, and they will stop at nothing – not even criminal acts – to get what they want.
I carry. I carry concealed. I believe open carry – especially of long guns – is tacky and unnecessary. Firearms are tools of defense – whether from street thugs or from government ones – not props for your attempts to shove your ability to carry down the throats of others. I also believe it’s tactically dumb. It gives those who are intent on committing crimes time to plan out their possible attack against you and robs you of the element of surprise.
That said, I won’t begrudge others their rights. I will not advocate disarmament of those whose tactics I find distasteful. I will not wish death on my opposition.
But then again, I have respect for life – both mine and others.
You obviously can’t say the same for the gun-grabbing crew of Bloomberg’s astroturf kingdom.
Name a totalitarian group that didn’t use those tactics.
Dehumanization is vital for these people to drive their agenda. As for Prof. Weinstein, he seems to think it is perfectly fine to promote theft in order to make a business “pay” for the respect they are showing for the law. Seems to me that….that…. piece of pig’s offal has not a clue about the law.
Those people are starting to make me more afraid of them than I am of street thugs. Far more, in fact, because they are far less rational – like cowardly sociopaths. Just one more reason to carry on carrying.
“not props for your attempts to shove your ability to carry down the throats of others.”
So, you think that’s the ONLY reason we open carry?
Too bad to mess up a good article with denigration of those who choose differently than you do. Who might have reasons and situations you have never encountered, or maybe never thought of.
Too bad.
No, I don’t think that’s the ONLY reason to open carry. But having watched OC advocates loudly and obnoxiously demonstrate in front of Starbucks before the company politely asked them to stop, and listening to them snidely tell other customers, “We can, and there’s nothing you can do about it,” I can only conclude that a good portion of them do it precisely to shove their ability down the throats of others.
As I said, I don’t begrudge anyone the right to do it. I certainly would defend to the death that right. However, my personal view is that it’s tactically dumb and many times done just to be a jerk. I don’t think it “messes up” a good article to state my personal views on the situation. I do think it messes up a conversation when one is reprimanded for having a view that opposes yours.
I look at it this way: anyone who is carrying (openly or otherwise) for the express purpose of making a political statement, isn’t really armed, is he? Being armed is a state of mind that–distilled down to its essence–really has fairly little to do with dress or gear anyway. Look, I take this mind-set thing pretty seriously, and I’m not sure I could both be properly armed, and also a political mouthpiece at the same time.
I’m certainly with you on obnoxious people. I sure wish the ones you’re referring to would stop trying to be on “my team”. But OC isn’t inherently obnoxious, even if it’s not for me.
And in the spirit of staying germane to an original post with an excellent point, I do admit that I worry a little more about all the (many) solid OCers that I know, now that the PSH crowd seems to have discovered the art of SWATting. It may only have been a matter of time, and it’s not like CCers don’t also have a risk of being made, but still…these are people I care about.
However you may choose to go about it: set Condition Yellow and carry on, my friends.
Mama and Nicki — May I agree with you both? 🙂
IMHO, this is probably mainly a difference of perspective. In Wyoming, where ML lives, open carry is no big deal; people hardly even notice & virtually nobody is OCing to make a big public impression. Ditto in rural Arizona where my friend Joel and lots of other people routinely OC. It’s just an everyday part of life.
Nicki, OTOH, is an urbanite. And not only is OC less “normal” in her world, but an awful lot of OCing in urban areas has been done unwisely. Done to make a point, and sometimes not a smart point. If that’s the type of OC I experienced, I’d be against it, too.
Nicki, GREAT piece and I hope indeed that disagreement over one line of opinion wouldn’t deter anybody from getting a lot out of it.
Thanks, Claire. Your perspective is dead on. Believe it or not – where I used to live, I open carried sometimes (depending on what kind of outfit I was wearing). It was never done particularly to show others how badass I was for carrying or to assert my rights. It was practical sometimes to do so. I didn’t stage a demonstration about it. I just did it. I was also twice as cautious and hypervigilant about my surroundings, because I realized carrying in the open offered anyone who wanted to harm me the opportunity to plan how to best disarm me.
Living in the city IS a bit different. First, there are a lot more dirtbags living in urban environments. A lot more thugs who gave the opportunity to plan their attack on someone who is open carrying. (Witness the guy who was strutting around at 2am with his new toy and got robbed at gunpoint). And second, as you said – a lot more urbanites tend to be sniveling anti-gun loons, or at the VERY least on the fence about carrying firearms in public. The “I’m going to do it, and screw you, because you can’t stop me” attitude makes the paranoid loons more so, and the obnoxious snideness with which many of these folks exercise their rights turns off potential allies who may be on the fence.
Anyway – thanks, Claire.
Well, OC is basically copying the tactics of the gay pride movement. Last I checked, it worked, even if it offended some people. That said, there are better and worse ways to do it.
Not that I think it is *that* tactically unsound to OC (criminals tend to prefer unarmed victims!), but if that is a concern for you, you can always wire your gun to your holster, and carry a big knife concealed. Then if someone tries to grab it you cut their hand off.
I don’t know what we mean by “it worked” for the gay movement. As far as I know, many people are still horrified and the SOCONS are still wielding their power.
As for the tactical issue… I’d rather just carry concealed.
What I mean is, if one has decided it is worthwhile to OC for making a statement (or whatever), then there are ways to do it that are safer. Disconnect the demonstration from the defense tool.
Gay pride certainly did work. Nobody lives in the closet any more. To “work” does not imply all is coming up roses; that ain’t possible with human beings.
People have to get used to seeing guns, in hands other than the police; that is the point. OC addresses that. Again, carrying AR-15s in coffee shops is the wrong way to do it. Simply going about your business armed, is the way.
CC has an element of shame attached to it. I have to laugh at all the worry people get into about “printing”. Eventually, people will learn to get rid of the shame.
Oh, I totally agree with that. On the very rare occasions when I OC, I just go about my business, whereas so many of these bozos make a spectacle of themselves. You’re exactly right. Just go about your business without being a jerk about it, and THAT was really my point. I’ve seen SO many of these people toting around their ARs along with their soap box, posing for photos in restaurants, etc. Makes me just SMH.
As for nobody living in the closet anymore… I have to disagree. Many folks don’t, but SO many are still in there – afraid to come out to their families, afraid of being ostracized or penalized at work! It still exists. Not as prevalent anymore, but also depends on where you live.
BTW, as to the topic in question, I wouldn’t get too worked up about that either. This situation looks like desperation tactics to me, and pure frustration that things are not going the way the banners want it to go. It is an admission of failure on their part. Back when they were winning, in the ’60’s and ’70’s, they were more careful and confident and never would have stooped to this. Now that is over.
Of course, anyone is capable of dehumanizing others. The objective is to be armed, so you don’t care.
“not props for your attempts to shove your ability to carry down the throats of others.”
I’m pretty sure that is why police OC.
I open carry a side arm. I don’t do it because I am a bozo who wants to shove anything down anyone’s throat.
Two main reasons, an un exercised right is a lost right and I won’t get permission for a right. That leaves me no choice. If I lived in a constitutional carry state I would conceal.
I also live in a rural area where it is reasonably common.
People always comment on the tactical failing of open carry. If that even exists which I doubt, it is more of a deterrent than anything else.
I don’t think anything is served by criticizing choices people make or damning with faint praise.
There are enough haters and arrogant people out there as it is.
I don’t necessarliy agree with the last paragraph about open carry. I agree that carry long guns around everywhere is pretty silly. However, There are two schools of thought to the tactical aspect of open vs concealed carry. It is very possible that if a criminal sees a person that is armed the crime will not happen at all. Remember, criminals do not want resistance in most cases. I carry concealed most of the time but do occasionally carry openly. It is not because I see it as a prop or I am ‘shoving my sbility to carry down people’s throats’, that was a silly statement. I carry openly mainly because I support that right and to let others know they also have the right to do so, many people, even gun owners, don’t realize that. It has sparked numerous friendly conversations in which people have changed their minds on the spot about guns and gun ownership.