Because when you normalize OC
The only jerks are those pooping their pants about it:
[at a TFA meeting] I met an very agitated man (30-40ish, thin build, receding hairline, long, stringy dark hair, glasses) at the front door. I wondered why he rather snarled at me as we passed in the entryway…Shortly thereafter, I heard him loudly “discussing” things with the woman at the counter, complaining about not being given his money back. I went my merry way & enjoyed a nice supper, good company, & an interesting discussion from you & Bob, as well as the comments from the floor. However, I also noticed this guy back & forth at the front, in & out of the building, & finally, filling a couple of to-go boxes.
I asked one of the women at the front what his problem was. She said he was upset that “some people”were wearing guns in the restaurant. He’d complained to her, & demanded that she call the police. She told him that we were regulars, there was nothing wrong, & that even if the police were called, they would show up & be wearing guns, too, & asked if that would further upset him!
Heh. And that is why we should play nice. So the other side comes off as loons. Not us.
February 17th, 2011 at 12:37 pm
I find it interesting that despite his PSH, the fellow stuck around the restaurant.
Obviously on some level he recognized that he was in no danger from those folks.
February 17th, 2011 at 12:42 pm
exactly this.
February 17th, 2011 at 12:51 pm
Apparently he waited until after he finished eating to ask for a refund.
February 17th, 2011 at 1:31 pm
*ding*
To quote James Dalton, the second-greatest philosopher of the 20th Century, “Always be polite. Until it is time to NOT be polite.”
February 17th, 2011 at 1:33 pm
That’s the ticket, Unc. Let the other guy act like a dick. The one and only incident I ever had with somebody objecting to my OC pistol, I just smiled distantly and nodded until he went away. The two check-out ladies who got to sit in on the brief incident had things to say about HIS manners, but not mine.
February 17th, 2011 at 1:33 pm
“And that is why we should play nice.”
So, the gays are only allowed to be gay if they conform to the BlogArbiter of nice behavior?
Is this Gay Code blogged about elsewhere? How about a Black Code so they know how to act?
If someone is giving you grief for exercising a civil right, remind the would-be General Forrest that you are listening and will not comply. Sit at the lunch counter and make them react to you.
Otherwise, them thar uppity gun owners only have the rights that I, I say, I say, deem them to have. Fetch me a mint julep.
February 17th, 2011 at 1:41 pm
Well, some don’t get it.
February 17th, 2011 at 2:23 pm
Sitting at the lunch counter to make them react works best when backed up either by overwhelming mass support of your peers or a well-funded and (more importantly) well-planned litigation strategy.
Planned confrontations more often lead to wins than the other type.
February 17th, 2011 at 2:45 pm
I am a proponent of open carry, with several blog posts to that affect and letters to my state reps. But I have one word for the “in your face types”: Smokers.
February 17th, 2011 at 3:08 pm
About 98% of the time, I carry concealed. I think it makes better sense, tactically. When someone saw my openly carried weapon once and said “eeew, I don’t like guns”, I politely told them that it’s OK, you don’t have to like guns.
February 17th, 2011 at 4:41 pm
I only conceal carry when going to places that are known to make a fuss about it (i.e. Costco, movie theaters and banks). I firmly believe that open carry is, like open acknowledgment of your nation possessing nuclear weapons, a great form of deterrent. I open carry in doctors’ offices, libraries, car dealerships, restaurants and grocery stores, and rarely ever receive a casual glance. Only twice in the past two years has anyone asked me if I was a police officer, and I smiled and said “No, I’m a concerned citizen” both times. This elicited return smiles.
February 17th, 2011 at 7:26 pm
Excellent series of posts.
February 17th, 2011 at 9:02 pm
…Smokers… Good point. Smoke at the lunch counter lately? Let the kids around ’em? Drive in a car with the kids and ’em? Leave the kids with a smoker-babysitter? Demonized enough yet?
February 17th, 2011 at 10:37 pm
I can see the value of legalized open carry in the event of civil unrest. You want maximum deterrence in those situations (example: Korean store owners during L.A. riots).
But in nearly every other situation, I believe open carry will do more harm than good.
It will irritate modest gun people. It will enrage and galvanize anti-gunners into being more vocal and donating more money to oppose the second amendment. They might try to change the below-the-radar OC laws. They might try to enact retention-holster laws.
And most importantly, it will disturb the fence-sitters. And we NEED to win over the fence sitters, not alienate them. Every undecided person who gets put off by an open carrier is an easy target for conversion by the Brady Bunch.
And those are just the larger issues. There are plenty of smaller, personal issues that go along with open carry. Being looked at differently. Increased chances of a confrontation, as well as increased contact with police (because they will be called on you). Getting the gun caught/snagged on things. Being followed home by someone who sees your gun (so they know where to break in when you aren’t home). Having to be extra aware of your surroundings and positioning to prevent a gun-grab. Being an even bigger target to a predator than someone wearing a shoot-me-first vest. Being mistaken for an attention-whore.
We gun people are winning in the courts and in the court of public opinion. Open carry will do us no good, and might well hurt our progress.
February 17th, 2011 at 11:43 pm
Shouldn’t this restaurant get a plug here??
February 18th, 2011 at 9:03 am
Shootin’ Buddy,
So you’re saying I should sit at the lunch counter rudely instead of politely?
I say, I say, that’s dumb.
February 18th, 2011 at 11:49 am
I’m an advocate of gun rights. See my THEY CAME FOR OUR GUNS, THEY CAME FOR OUR FREEDOM. http://www.williamlafferty.com.
But I think Gunnutmegger nailed it in his comment above.
We need all the friends we can get. We dont need to make enemies and we dont need to divide our own ranks.
And what are we really interested in anyway? Isnt it the right to have and use a firearm against criminals and renegade governments? Let’s keep our eye on the ball.
February 18th, 2011 at 1:14 pm
Sit at the lunch-counter and light-up a cigar.