ThatDamnedPanda
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quote:
ORIGINAL: DemonKia
What I find most interesting about this gun discussion, as I've gone in & out of this thread, back & forth into other threads, is the disconnect between the following oft repeated advice & the expressed attitude & experiences of some of the pro-gun posters (I've picked examples from other threads):
"healthy strong people aren't drawn to unhealthy ones"
"we only find what we allow ourselves to find"
"you attract what you put out there"
"you have to figure out what is attracting you to these people"
"you keep attracting these types"
& I'm hearing from some of the pro-gun posters that this rule of attraction thing seems to operate in the realm of 'needing a gun', too, tho' I don't think that's how they'll see it . . . . .
I rarely disagree with you, but I have to this time. Assuming I understand what you're saying. I'm just not seeing that, but maybe you're thinking of different posters than I am. First of all, I see very few posters asserting that they "need" a gun. I see a fair number who feel that it's a useful, sometimes extremely useful, tool to have, but I seldom see it defined as a need. However, those who do define it as a need typically make arguments that I find compelling. I usually wouldn't use those arguments in my own case, but I'm not them, and I recognize that different circumstances lead people to make different conclusions.
But more than that, what I see when I read these threads is a pattern of people opposed to guns basing their arguments on what usually appears to be an emotional reaction to the fact that we're talking about... guns! To them, the fact that guns are just plain bad is self-evident, and that's pretty much the core of their arguments. I'm not talking about you here, mind you; I'm just speaking of general patterns. I have yet to see what I consider to be a compelling logical argument against concealed carry or carrying guns in bear country. Not one. And until I do, I see no reason to even consider revisiting my decisions to arm myself in the woods or obtain a conceal carry permit. As far as I'm concerned, it's just another tool, and if people choose to get freaked out over it because the subject triggers a strong emotional reaction in them, that's their problem. It doesn't affect my reality one iota, and I won't allow it to. And like I said, I'm not talking about you - I'm referring to some of the more adamant anti-gun posters on these forums.
quote:
ORIGINAL: DemonKia
& I've spent a lot of time walking around after dark; in my adolescence I lived in the Los Angeles urban area -- I walked around, even hitchhiked, in Inglewood / Torrance / Compton, & roller-skated & walked all over Venice & Santa Monica. Again, lots of night-time perambulations . .. . . I've camped in bear country, & I've hiked, day & night, throughout our foothills, which have a decent population of mountain lions. My ex (who was vehemently anti-gun) was really into night-hiking, & had hiked extensively at night throughout the foothills here, over the course of many years . . .. . Saw all kinds of wildlife -- deer, quail, wild turkeys, & so on -- never saw a mountain lion or a bear . .. . .
Never? Damn! I really feel for you. Bears are one of the most beautiful, fascinating animals in North America. Come to Minnesota for a week or two, and I'll show you bears by the bazillions. I just got back from 5 days of hiking and camping in Northern Wisconsin, in a national forest that I've been going to my entire life, and I honestly don't remember ever going there without seeing at least one bear. In fact, this weekend, I actually saw more bear than I did deer, which was amazing to me. I had to drive one away from the dumpster in my campground Saturday night, twice. Which was disconcerting, because it told me he really isn't terribly afeared of humans. When he came back the third time, I left him alone. Chasing the same bear away numerous times, you can sometimes reach a point of diminishing returns, where the bear sorta figures out that maybe you're not that menacing after all. At some point, the bear stops and thinks, "Hey, wait a minute - why am I running from him? I'm the bear, goddamnit!" So when he came back the third time, I left him to his garbage, but I made sure I had a round chambered in my .45 when I went to bed that night. And reported him to the rangers in the morning.
I think you and a few others are correct that there is a cultural influence on people's perceptions of firearms. Where I grew up, in the Upper Midwest, and where I used to live in Montana, guns are as common a tool as hammers, and nobody thinks twice about them. For nails, you use a hammer, and for burglars and bears, you use a gun. And the beauty of handguns is, if you can't find your hammer, they'll work for nails too! Just make sure you unlaod it first. But anyway, yeah, people in the rural area where I grew up and still hang out think nothing of carrying guns in the woods or keeping them by the bedside, and have a very difficult time understanding why people disapprove of their decision. It's the sort of thing where it's extremely unlikely that you'll ever need it, but if you ever do need it, it's extremely useful to have - so why not plan ahead? What reason is there not to?
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Panda, panda, burning bright
In the forest of the night
What immortal hand or eye
Made you all black and white and roly-poly like that?
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