Yeah even when I awoke to a home invader, what was I going to do, groggily shoot someone I didn’t recognize that had started running?
Okay, but what if my self-esteem is predicated on the knowledge that I could kill anyone at a moment’s notice.
Surely that suppressed libidinal desire to inflict unimaginable pain and suffering on everyone around me is worth something.
You’ve got a good point there… Have you ever considered using your car as a weapon against bicyclists who have indirectly offended you?
It’s incredible that we feel the need to make up monsters for our movies and ghost stories when we’ve got prime examples living amongst us.
A bicyclist’s very existence is offensive. But I consider the .50 mounted on the back of the pickup a more sporting way to handle things. Alternatively, mini-gun mounted from a helicopter, and if anyone asks I’ll just say I was hunting wild hogs.
Motorized bicycles?
Okay, what I said before but totally unironically for everyone in this picture except Macy.
Realistic movies scare the shit out of me. Prisoners, Blue Ruin, The Tall Man. True psychos are way scarier than any fucking ghost or demon.
What if you found yourself with a perfect vantage point from which to snipe modern-day Hitler?
I’d probably miss so hard, but I have zero sniping experience.
coward
And this is why practice is important …
When I’m feeling really stressed out or overwhelmed, I like to get my guns out, disassemble them, admire their engineering, do a gentle cleaning, and then put them back. Of course, double checking that they’re not loaded at every step where they’re effectively guns.
Give it a bit, we all will.
Lucky you.
Please explain.
Some of us have been victims and may have a different opinion.
Also some of us have been to war or grew up in the deep woods where having a gun can save your life.
I guess technically that’s being a victim too. Just that the perpetrator is more likely to be a bear than a person.
In most cases just the noise from a gun will be enough but a rabid raccoon might need dispatched. Also, some of are too old,or fat, to run from an animal.
Yep being 20 feet away from a bobcat will probably make you reassert things. Also having a handgun pointed at you as well. And hearing a ricochet of a bullet right in front of you.
I’m not saying a gun helps in all those situations but it definitely changes your available options.
Bobcats are relatively ok, maybe you meant cougar (mountain lion) or wolverine? The latter is especially nasty
Been a while, coulda been a cougar just happy it announced its presence versus decided my neck looked tasty.
And some of you may be upvoting any plausible argument for gun ownership, even in the face of overwhelming objective evidence that it makes societies vastly unsafe.
Here’s the thing about guns and victimhood, access to guns causes far more victims then access to guns prevents, and it always inherently will. In that environment, a predator intent on committing a crime will always have one, and a victim only ever might have one.
If you rely on mutually assured destruction arguments, then you have armed and killing each other over road rage because humans are dumb emotional children who think they’re more mature then they are.
Maybe so, but we live in a world where guns exist. Choosing to disarm oneself doesn’t change that, and certain things can change the math.
There was a violent incident at a nearby house, and it took police 40 minutes to arrive because I live in the middle of nowhere, so right off the “call the police” option essentially doesn’t exist for me. I also have no kids in the house. If children come over, the gun that isn’t in the safe goes to the safe and the ammunition goes to the car. I am not suicidal. For me, gun ownership makes sense where it doesn’t for others.
If I lived in a country where guns didn’t outnumber people it may not make sense. Though with the current government I also wouldn’t give mine up if they were outlawed.
Less guns there are in rotation and more screening there is when getting one effects straight how likely it is for the bad guy having a gun.
Nobody is suicidal until they are and nobody leaves the guns out for children until they do. Also guns at house escalate domestic violence cases.
So my personal solution is what? Can I un-invent firearms? Can I ensure not only that they’re outlawed, but that hundreds of millions of them are magically rounded up? Should I trust US law enforcement to protect me and respect my rights?
Maybe so, but we live in a world where guns exist.
No, you live in a country that chooses to manufacture guns in response to people buying them, and you choose to actively perpetuate that by going and spending money buying guns and gun infrastructure, directly funding gun companies / their lobbies, and then by going online to try and spread that justification so that you can feel slightly less guilty about choices you’ve made that you know are wrong.
So we do in fact live in a world where guns exist.
Thanks for your hypothetical but I’m speaking from first hand experience. When you have the same type of experience and aren’t just speaking off a statistics sheet you might change your tune. Most people do.
Personally I think we need massive gun control reform. But I don’t live in that world, or a world where that’s going to happen in my lifetime even. So I’ll continue to do what’s most practical for the reality I live in.
Guns have caused a lot of harm. They seem evil until you need one. I was hiking solo in the wilderness once and was carrying one for wildlife and was attacked by a homeless guy. I shoved him away and pulled it out and he ran off.
I cant but wonder if bear spray would have had the same effect.
In my particular case nobody got hurt because he feared the gun, and I doubt a spray can would have had the same effect.
that’s a risk they’re willing for you to take
A girl just got killed by a mountain lion on a hike not 2 miles from me. A gun could have prevented this. I do live in the mountains so like this may not be common
People who have been in situations where having a gun would have made things better tend to not be around anymore to post about it.
When I took a class to get my Concealed Carry Permit, on the very first day the instructor made a very interesting statement.
“If you are somewhere where you feel you need a gun to feel safe… Why are you there in the first place?”
While I did go on to get my permit I never once carried. I never went anywhere where I felt I needed it. If I became uncomfortable at a location, I left.
There might be someone dangerous in Publix!!!
I got mine so it would be easier to transport weapons to a range. I got the weapons in case trump starts a civil war or something.
As well reciprocal states that recognize it so you can transport them with minimal issues as well. It’s one reason to get one regardless of being in a constitutional carry state.
As another carry permit holder, this is most certainly true. But there are a few places I will carry due to the remoteness and some of the wildlife that can eat you if they really want to. But mostly it remains at my bedside as an “in case” if it’s needed. If something were to go sideways, law enforcement is probably going to be at least 20 to 30 minutes away and possibly up to 90 minutes. I cannot rely on either one of the two deputies on duty at 2AM to be anywhere near me if things go bad. Things will be well and done long before I can expect help.
Another thing most of the rabid “Gotta have my pistol and 3 spare mags on me at all times” never think about is the cost of shooting someone even in self-defense. By the time it’s all said and done, it can cost upwards and beyond of $100,000+ in lawyer, expert testimony, and court fees. And you are likely to lose your job due to being jailed for at least large parts of it.
But mostly it remains at my bedside as an “in case” if it’s needed. If something were to go sideways, law enforcement is probably going to be at least 20 to 30 minutes away and possibly up to 90 minutes. I cannot rely on either one of the two deputies on duty at 2AM to be anywhere near me if things go bad.
If something goes ‘sideways’ at 2AM, you expect anyone breaking into your house to ring the doorbell and wait for you to wake up?
Even if you carried at all times, and you were specifically trained (think special forces training, not I spend my weekends at the gun range training) then it’s still a toss-up if you will be able to respond fast enough. If they want to harm you, they will. You cannot be hyper-aware of your surroundings 24/7, you need to relax, you need to sleep.
I can’t imagine what life must be like when you’re so afraid that you think you need to have a gun within reach at all times.
I do not keep a gun on me at all times. Merely when hunting. I do have a first layer warning system called dogs. Hopefully the barking is all it takes to drive away a bad situation. But I WILL be awake before you can get out of your car.
And it’s not about being afraid of my surroundings. It’s about understanding that public safety, (police, fire, ems, and even neighbors), is a long ways away and I cannot expect timely help from anyone. If I have a heart attack at home, I will die for sure because EMS will never get there in time. So I need to be at least somewhat prepared for situations you don’t even consider living in a city. Where help is a mere phone call and a few minutes away. Hell, I don’t even have cell service in my yard to even call or text with.
So yes, you are at least somewhat correct. You can’t imagine.
Most people don’t sleep next to doors to the outside. Most windows are always locked. The least common way of a burglary happening is someone picking a lock.
You will be awake with a significant amount of seconds to grab a gun if someone breaks into your home.
As to doing it 24/7? Jesus, did you even read the rest of the post? That was the whole point of what you were replying to. They specifically said they think it’s true that carrying it most of the time isn’t the point.
The least common way of a burglary happening is someone picking a lock.
You don’t need a gun to defend against a burglar. Burglars are generally cowards and run away when caught. The whole point of sneaking into your house is to not be detected and commit theft. (taking something without a person noticing it).
What you might need protection from is robbery (taking things under thread of violence). A robber is not going to sneak into your house. They will either kick down your door while you sleep or simply ring the doorbell and wait for you to open. Do you bring your gun every time someone is at the door?
They specifically said they think it’s true that carrying it most of the time isn’t the point.
Then there is no point. They will just wait until you are not carrying to rob you.
I did self-defense training, both learning and teaching for close to 15 years or so, I did the CCW thing, took classes in firearms as well as martial arts and the whole nine-yards for many years.
I will often reiterate what you cited there, that if you’re in a dangerous situation that you already expect to be dangerous, your first priority is changing your situation. Not going to that place, working towards moving, etc. Kind of like step-one of any fight is to not get into a fight.
I eventually also stopped carrying my gun, because all it did was add extra stress to my life. Always making sure you know where it is, if you’re somewhere that legally prohibits you having it, then if you do have to leave it outside of a store or business, you are always thinking about it inside your car. My greatest worry was someone breaking into my vehicle and using the gun to commit a crime, which statistically is much, much more likely than actually being in a situation where you need to use it.
I still own guns but keep them locked up. But I don’t enjoy guns broadly because I’ve had too much time think about it. I’ve had to learn the law, I’ve had to take responsibility for teaching others how to defend themselves, I’ve spent too much time playing out situations and the post-event situations that most gun-chuds NEVER spend a moment thinking about.
I feel strongly now that a lot of the gun violence in the US can be connected to the general lack of respect and knowledge about firearms. The only “training” most owners get is action movies. I think if more people were required to actually study the law and play out scenarios they might be far less likely to reach for a gun to solve all their problems.
Interestingly, a lot of gun violence in the US comes down to neglected spaces. Without changing anything else, cleaning up vacant lots, demolishing abandoned buildings, adding street lights, and general neighborhood beautification cuts down on a LOT of gun violence. Violence intervention programs–teaching kids restraint, essentially–does a lot too.
I know that building community is not only an answer to violence, but broadly speaking the answer to a lot of social problems. I am curious though if you’re referencing a source or study, if the neighborhood beautification projects lead to people becoming more involved in their communities, or if it’s communities already coming together to beautify their neighborhoods.
Never really thought about the logistics of having to leave it in your car. Are you allowed to take the ammo in with you?
It depends a lot on your local laws. Not every state even makes the distinction, so to err on the side of caution, I always treated ammo the same as a gun, and never separated them.
Some laws let you transport guns anywhere in your car if it’s in a locked box, some laws are written in a way where that could mean your glove compartment, other states have wording that excludes a glove compartment, just as an example of the ambiguity involved in gun laws.
Also, your proximity to schools or other public services can override all the other laws. It was when I was drawing kilometer radiuses from local schools that I started to feel such stress from planning my trips outside that I decided to stop taking the damn thing out all the time, and eventually just stopped entirely.
A good CCW class will give you the most basic stuff you need to know for your area, but it does change frequently so you would need to refresh on the laws frequently.
If it’s a state/federal building you can’t even bring the ammo and that’s still the least of concern. The person getting a firearm can get replacement magazines and ammunition for it easily. People concerned for the safety of others and not wanting it stolen will get small gun safe boxes that bolt into the car someway to stow it.
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Not so fun fact: Gun suicides are far more common than any other type of gun related death. Having a gun in the house is a big risk factor for suicide.
Not really, suicide is historically just under half of all gun deaths. But your point stands!
It hasn’t been under half in ages. In 2023 it was 58% in the US and in some areas it’s noticeably more
Haven’t looked at numbers for 4-5 years, and holy shit did it flip around 2022-2023. Last I saw was 43-48%.
Anyone want to see for themselves, this is a solid search:
“cdc gun deaths”
Plenty of data from solid sources to back treesquid. Thanks for getting me up to date! I was quite ignorant.
I think you missed the point. Not what percentage of gun deaths are suicides, but what percentage of suicides are gun related.
It’s never one way. It’s not like owning a gun is driving people to suicide. It’s intersectionality that drives higher numbers.
You’re absolutely right. Owning the gun gives them the opportunity that wouldn’t exist as easily otherwise. And just for the record I’m not anti-gun.
What do you mean, “not really”? Is there a single type of gun-related death that is more common? Because OP is saying “the most common,” not “the majority”.
Turns out now it’s also the majority
100% I just posted a comment about how I feel like I’m more likely to kill myself than needing a gun for defense. Not that Id generally say that I’m suicidal.
Without getting into details I believe this to true.
Queer leftist person with a trans partner and I have a Mexican name in a red state.
I really, really, REALLY don’t want to need it.
I dread the day I might need it.
I’ll probably just die. But I wanna believe it’ll be on my feet if it comes to that.
outside of the movies, there is RARELY (as in astronomically small percentage) one… the problem is that most Muricans live in a fictional reality with the reasoning capacity of a teen boy
I’ve never been in a situation where I’d need to know how to do cpr. Yet I’ve learned how to do it.
When I’m at the range!
Damn you
You’re lucky and part of the majority then.
Clearly you’ve never spent time in the desert near Ship Rock at night. Never heard the stories told by the natives and the rangers and the soldiers. Never saw twisted shapes on four legs run backwards into the brush, living rot retreating from your headlights. Never heard the desert go completely silent, not the sound of coyotes or insects or wind, while you see shadows move in the starlight. Never seen things that look like deer but aren’t run as fast as your car on highway 191, taunting you, staring at you, trying to fool you into slowing down or stopping.
Not that a gun would do much good against them, but if your car breaks down just south of the state lines near four corners, some who know the area would say shooting yourself is a better death than the alternative…
I read this three times and I’m still pretty lost as to what you’re hinting at
Scared of Chupacabras or something like that is my guess.
Americans are always living in fear of something, so why not that I guess.
Hey now chupacabras are much farther south and they’re actually aliens don’t you know /s
Anyway you telling me there’re no creepy stories from some cryptid or other where you live? What a shame. What stories do you tell on camping trips?
Also if you’re Canadian like your instance suggests, the First Nations people have their own it-goes-on-four-legs, and I’m wiling to bet the stories of wendigo are just as creepy as those for skinwalkers.
I don’t really believe the stories and you don’t have to either, but don’t go saying it’s “Americans” as if you don’t belong to that same continent with similar myths and legends. The native people of “turtle island” didn’t have the same borders we do today and neither did their stories and mythos
The area I’m talking about is one that supposedly has a high concentration of skinwalkers. There are lots of creepy stories about skinwalkers across all of the nearby states, but that area near four corners is where the Navajo nation and Hopi and Ute reservations are.
Maybe it’s just mass psychosis or a pop phenomenon, but people who regularly spend time in that area from the natives to forest service to the national guardsmen running trainings out there, will warn you about traveling at night and not stopping for anything on the road especially if its an animal that looks off in some way
especially if its an animal that looks off in some way
Probably just some animals with mange like how everyone thought chupacabras were real until they found the weird looking mangy coyotes that were the actual chupacabras.
Don’t fall to superstition just because you don’t understand something.
It’s a joke post mate; I don’t believe in magic or skinwalkers. It’s just fun to hear the stories
There’s also a lot of users of “strong medicine” in that area… it can make the stories more vivid.
Can’t tell if you’re referring to the weed or the peyote, but I suppose both would likely do the trick lol
Peyote would be the strong medicine in the four corners area, weed is everywhere.
Sounds like good advice. Between the armadillos and the prairie dogs, I’m convinced that the entire “Great American Desert”* is actively trying to make us deathly ill. We joke about Australia trying to kill you, but we got our own “australia” at home.
*I’m using the term the way the stagecoach settlers did, meaning everything west of the Mississippi till the Rocky Mountains.
Gila Monsters definitely give some Australia vibes. They are kinda cute chonky reptiles even if they are venomous
Rattlesnakes are another fun venomous reptile, though they’re much more common and more likely to bite you than Gila Monsters. It’s always a bit of a scare when you’re hiking and suddenly hear a rattlesnake start warning you but you can’t even tell where it is. Like pick a lane buddy, either camouflage/hide yourself or try to tell me where you are so I can avoid accidentally stepping on you, don’t try to do both at the same time lol
Of course in the reptile cases, the animals rarely bite unless you’re actively antagonizing them, but still a bit scary to have
We’ve also got scorpions everywhere out west. If you ever come out to the Rocky Mountains or the deserts around them, bring a black light flash light out at night. You’ll be able to find a ton of the fluorescent green critters crawling around in the sagebrush. They only get about 3cm long, but they are “the most venomous scorpion in North America” haha I’ve never been stung and Ive caught several before, but the venom can cause full limb paralysis, can feel like “lightning” even a while after the initial sting, and there are a reported deaths from it
And we’ve actually got a ton of different stinging/biting wasps and bees and creepy vibrant colored things like mud daubers. Oh and those Velvet Ants which are nicknamed “cowkillers” because they’re bite is painful enough to kill a cow (it isn’t really of course)
Definitely not as much diversity as Australia, and most things here will leave you alone if you leave them alone, but there are plenty of things that will, at the very least, ruin your day if you’re not careful
Alright, well, I don’t believe in ghost stories.
Might not be ghost stories. Prairie dogs carry the plague, and armadillos carry leprosy, and tons of critters carry rabies. Sure the symptoms got exaggerated, but that shit will kill you either way.
Rabid animals, though far more rare than most think, are why I’m always armed in the boondocks. I know, you shouldn’t splatter their blood, but if it’s me or them…
I think it’s indeed fair to say that the vast, vast majority of people have never spent time near Ship Rock at night.
Not that a gun would do much good against them
So even that is not an argument for guns?
You purposefully omitted the last sentence specifying a gun gives you the option of a quicker death.
And I guess I’m overselling the walkers/witches/spirits a little bit. Most rangers and soldiers think guns are useful at least as deterrents if not fatal weapons. In fact usually the stories end with something along the lines of “and that’s why I keep a loaded shotgun within arms reach when I’m driving there” or something similar lol
But technically, yes, you’re right, guns are not necessarily vital.
The Navajo and Hopi and Utes and others have supposedly been defending themselves against these for much longer than guns have been in the Americas and possibly since before guns were even invented. However, afaik most strong good magic in their traditions is drawn from community. So if you’re a lone traveler who has neither a tribe that can help protect you (physically or magically) nor personal cultural knowledge of these evils, I’d argue a gun is probably the best substitute you’ve gonna get.
(Of course, just not traveling in skinwalker country at night alone in the first place would likely be the most effective method of survival lol)
I’m just saying that your comment started out superficially looking like an argument justifying guns in some situations, and then turned out not even being that.
I have no doubt that there are situations that would justify carrying a gun, but “you will need to shoot yourself” is not it.
And of course most people would simply prefer to avoid dangerous situations like that, or prefer the danger to be addressed in a more systemic way, if necessary. But not all danger needs to be made safe. Nature in particular just needs to be left alone sometimes.
Sheesh, should’ve known better than to try and make a joke around here, I guess. I appreciated it, at least. I’ve got a soft spot for suddenly making really dire, grim statements in otherwise totally pedestrian conversations
It genuinely boggles that so many people would take “the evil night-horrors” as an actual argument for this
I have, but its because of where I live.
