LaTigresse
Posts: 26123
Joined: 1/15/2006 Status: offline
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What I find interesting is that few people approach this subject in a calm, middle ground, fashion. When I joke about paranoia, people running all about in their daily lifes toting a gun, something that is an extreme to me. People ASSUME I am anti gun. Wrong assumption. When I joke at other times about the whole left, take everyone's gun away from them because it promotes crime, yada yada yada, another extreme to me, people assume I am pro NRA, pro all the crazy bullshit the NRA promotes. Wrong assumption. I am neither. I reside comfortably smack dab in the middle. If I have a NEED to go to a dangerous neighbourhood in a large city, like Detroit for instance, I would do what makes sense to protect myself. However, I do not have the NEED, therefor I do the smart thing and AVOID. If I have a possum or skunk (two vermin that have a high rate of rabies in my area), spending too much time near my house, I kill them. The possums I didn't need a gun, a heavy shovel was closer and worked. IF I had large predators endangering my loved ones, I would deal with that as it came. I don't so I do not need to. I only speak up on threads about guns, because of the nature of the conversation. Often times I am reminded of the, little dick big gun, type of mindset. Bragging about various weapons, trying to make themselves appear more, whatever, than they really are. Most people I know that own guns, do not strut about bragging about them and what they can do with them. It is the people that do, that are humorous to me. I have to wonder what they are trying to compensate for. So yeah, if you really feel you are endangered, fine carry a gun, blast away! But when you miss the bear you were shooting at, or shoot a loved one, orrrrrrrrrrrr, miss the criminal and they shoot and kill you.........you will deal with the consequences. Six of one, half a dozen of the other really. I like to rationally think it through. What are the odds of me needing to keep a loaded gun near my bed versus the odds of a short person getting ahold of it? (there was a time when it was needed, I did, that time has passed) What are the odds of me meeting a pack of rabid coy dogs or errant bear or cougar in the wilds of Iowa farmland to warrant carrying a gun everytime I go for a hike? If I did, would I be so shocked to see it, I didn't even think about the gun? Would it most likely run the other way, negating my need to shoot a beautiful animal? As in all of my major life decisions, I prefer to use educated reason rather than fearful hysteria. It has worked very well for me for 47 years in a less than sheltered life. I am not worried.
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My twisted, self deprecating, sense of humour, finds alot to laugh about, in your lack of one! Just because you are well educated, articulate, and can use big, fancy words, properly........does not mean you are right!
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