My proposal is as follows: we should all leave. Immediately. Leave the food on the table in the restaurant. Leave the groceries in the cart, in the aisle. Stop talking or engaging in the exchange. Just leave, unceremoniously, and fast. As most people know, there are activists in Texas who are making a point of going to public places with visible firearms. They have gotten a lot of attention because some chain restaurants and stores have prohibited them from openly carrying their weapons, mostly because it frightens other patrons. This fear is legitimate. As many have pointed out, there is no way for bystanders to know whether the people with guns are “good guys†or “bad guys.†It is rational to be afraid of someone with a weapon, especially if you know nothing about them. Furthermore, as Jon Stewart has pointed out better than anyone else, since people are often legally permitted to use guns to protect themselves when they are legitimately afraid for their lives, there is no predicting when someone is going to see the activists and shoot before they ask questions. This will happen. It is just a matter of time. And, in many cases, it will be a legal and rational act. None of us want to be victims of the crossfire. The difficulty of knowing other people's intent is a classic philosophical problem. It is epistemological in that it involves the limits of our knowledge. We can't really know what anyone else hopes to do, and sometimes, because of the subconscious and of self-deception, we don't ever know what our own true intent is. It is also an example of the problem of other minds. We can never really enter into the perspective of any other person, nor can we ever really know what they think (or even if they think). We are discrete individuals and communication is unreliable. My point: the political and economic realities of running from gun activists is, yet again, founded on classic philosophical issues, and when we take positions on issues of the day, we are really taking positions philosophically. The gun-rights activists think that their intent is obvious and that everyone knows what they hope to do. They believe their minds are transparent. But this is because they are all extreme narcissists. It baffles them that we don't all know exactly what they are thinking. It shocks them that we don't know that Jim is a good guy, and that Sally would never murder anyone. But they are wrong. We don't know them and we don't know how they think. The only thing that makes us notice them at all is that they have guns and truthfully, that's why they carry them in the first place. They want to be celebrities, heroes, and the centers of attention. One of these days I'd like to organize my own little event in a open-carry-legal state. I'd get a group of friends and we'd go to some public place and hang out, openly carrying the following totally legal and commonly available items: 1. Baseball bat. 2. Sledgehammer. 3. Scythe. 4. Jug of muriatic acid. 5. Chainsaw. 6. Can of gasoline. 7. Log chain. 8. Axe. 9. Propane torch. 10. Cattle prod. 11. Length of steel pipe. 12. Tire iron. When asked to disperse, we'd point out that the gun people can carry their legal items around without being harassed. We should be able to also.
Sigh, I don't have the time or patience to go through this again renee bb. Just imagine this is a well thought our counter response, then let's agree to disagree and move on already.
I'd rather be around someone with an open carry permit, as they are usually the more responsible gun owners and would be a safe person to be around in case of a robbery.
Good luck with that Hoplophobia. What if it's a cop? Are they all narcissistic, hero-wannabes as well? Will you still abandon your food and leave whatever place you're in because an armed police officer came in?
Lol Texas doesnt count. But seriously though banning open carry is so fucked up and anti-freedom. Here in socal, all these assholes like Feinstein tried to make open carry illegal, how the fuck are we supposed to go hunting?
Oh no no no , look at the philosophical viewpoint and try to understand what I'm saying. I don't know "Samantha" or "Joseph" carrying these guns around in the streets, why should I be comfortable with it? Then take the epistomological stance which is not knowing those peoples intentions , and even those people not knowing their own intentions. I understand the car And police force statistics so we don't even need to go into that. But think about it , if you saw me walking around on the street with scythe or a chainsaw like I said above, would you be comfortable? I certainly hope not.
Answer my questions, please. If I saw you walking around with a chainsaw, hammer, pipe, or any of those items you listed I wouldn't think anything of it.
Why not? They're armed. There are bad cops out there and you don't know them any better than John or Jane who open carries.
With the rising police brutality, Id wager that yes most cops are narcissists with itchy trigger fingers, and getting the fuck away is an excellent plan. - On to OP, while I fully see where youre coming from, and you do make good points about how we cant read total strangers, so getting to safety is logical (bringin' my food though ), I subscribe to the principle of ultimate freedom, as far as your freedom does not infringe on others freedom. While it could be argued that their open carry does infringe on others rights to not be terrified for their life, that is more a by-product of our sensationalism towards guns as of late, brought to the fold by anti-gun agendas, we only fear weapons on sight because we are constantly bombarded by the media of the horrors of guns. I posit, that without that conditioned to be the only logical reaction, we would not react as so. Not saying youre wrong like your dedicated posse of haters will do unfailingly, just bringing up an alternative view point
Now that I think about it , I've also never seen an officer with his gun drawn , I've never seen one with an ar-15 strapped on his back either. The only time I see them is on campus , at the recent Fourth of July parade , and making traffic stops. I think it's pretty reasonable to be afraid of the open carry activists , and if I saw a police man with his gun drawn I probably would exit the building to avoid trouble.
i'd feel fine because i open carry :-D come at me wrong lol.. on a real note- i dont open carry tho.. my dad has a concealed handgun license and his .40 rides everywhere with him,, but leaves it in the car when going into a restaurant, or the store.. i think it'd be best to let them open carry and teach gun safety rather then the president take them from us.. but you also gotta think about it this way, what if when an agitated psycho kid brings his gun to school and decides to shoot up the place, but your teacher had his glock on his hip and saved your life..
they arent going to go full on alquida in the streets, those people that open carry are doing it for protection,
This is what you assume. This is what I refuse to assume. To me they are doing it for attention. If me and my little sisters were walking on the street and I see a bunch of armed people coming at us , then were ducking in the next building available , same goes for the cops , same goes for military personnel. Now that I think about everything even more , whenever I visit my father we go on the military base to grocery shop and shit because he gets a military discount, EVEN THEY DONT HAVE THEIR WEAPONS VISIBLE , but you know they have them. I just think this whole "let's walk down the street with an AK and stop a massacre or a robbery or a rape or some shit". is just too much, that leaves a lot of room for error and everyone has their own little prejudices and opinions , whose to say they won't enact upon them.
You do realize that open carry doesn't mean walking around with gun drawn, right? It means your firearm is visible, not concealed. A hip side holster not covered by clothing (how police always carry their sidearms) is open carry. While your fear is highly unfounded, I agree with your solution to help you ease that fear. If you see someone carrying, by all means go somewhere else. As far as walking around with the items you listed, I'd be very surprised if anyone asked you to leave just for carrying said items in public. Unless of course, you were wielding said items in a threatening manner, in which case you would be breaking the law. Just like a open carrier would be breaking the law if he was flashing his firearm in a threatening manner.
I agree but even if the media exposed us to positive and negative portrayal of guns equally I would still be weary amongst strangers with ar-15s.
Dont forget about "Ashley" and "George" who have their concealed licenses that are having dinner at the next table over. packing 22's in their waist band. and if i saw you walking down the street holding a chainsaw i would assume you were a trees trimmer looking for work. if it were running i would assume you were out for blood. theres a big difference between having a gun on you and brandishing it pointing it at folks at Ralphs.
I do understand that but in the manner these open carry activists wield their guns is discerning to me and I view it differently from gun holsters and stuff like that.
I get your point , I'm just more so uncomfortable with pictures like above , and the mothers in target with rifles , I feel like they draw unwanted attention to themselves and people around them and are in some way provoking danger , the couple with their .22's on their waistband pose less of a threat to me , they seem sensible , not showy , and under control.