3 ms·

Almost no one actually does this, and most sane gun owners think those people are attention whores at the very best, dangerous nuts at worst. This is a phenome

Almost no one actually does this, and most sane gun owners think those people are attention whores at the very best, dangerous nuts at worst. This is a phenomenon I've head described as "nutpicking." Take the absolute worst of a demographic and then go "why are you all like THAT?" Claiming US gun culture is all about going to the mall open-carrying a semiauto rifle is on the same level as claiming gay men all prance around in assless chaps and leather. No, they don't, and it shouldn't be any mystery why claiming that is so offends people.

OhMeadhbh 3y ago
I'm going to plus one psunavy03's comment here. I own firearms, but they're locked in a gun safe. I pull them out every now and again, drive them to a gun range, fire them, clean them and then put them back in the safe. And I believe this is the experience of the overwhelming majority of gun owners in the US. It occurs to me I haven't seen any estimates for how many people open carry on a daily basis. (You would think SOMEONE would collect that data SOMEWHERE.) The states are sort of (in)famous for how many people own firearms, but I assert the number of people who open carry on a daily (or weekly) basis is much smaller than the number of people who own firearms. I'm going to stop short of accusing nojvek of nutpicking, but encourage them to look around. The stats I've seen are that one in three Americans owns a firearm. If you were walking around and one out of three people were open carrying... well... I think that would be a little unusual unless you were in a gun show or at a shooting range. Gun-culture in America can be weird, but it's often portrayed as being weirder than it actually is. [Edit: also. how did we go from cable modems to guns so quickly?]
- quickthrower2 3y ago
  Ha ha this story was never about modems. It is about corporations, government and justice system.
- nojvek 3y ago
  I only mention because when I was in Texas for the first time in my life, when I entered Target for shopping in Houston area, I saw 4 men walking in with big guns strapped to their back. I was kind of freaked out but everyone else operated as if it was normal. I found that pretty jarring. Was only there for a few days but almost everyday I saw someone with a gun on them on the streets. Yes my sample size is low, but it’s still a strong memory in my mind.
noduerme 3y ago
>> Almost no one actually does this More to the point, none of the few nutjobs who insist on doing this has ever actually carried out a mass shooting. At least not to my knowledge. Generally, if you find yourself around someone who's carrying openly, you can be sure you're less likely to be shot than you would be just walking around a random mall by yourself.

OhMeadhbh 3y ago

I'm going to plus one psunavy03's comment here. I own firearms, but they're locked in a gun safe. I pull them out every now and again, drive them to a gun range, fire them, clean them and then put them back in the safe. And I believe this is the experience of the overwhelming majority of gun owners in the US. It occurs to me I haven't seen any estimates for how many people open carry on a daily basis. (You would think SOMEONE would collect that data SOMEWHERE.) The states are sort of (in)famous for how many people own firearms, but I assert the number of people who open carry on a daily (or weekly) basis is much smaller than the number of people who own firearms. I'm going to stop short of accusing nojvek of nutpicking, but encourage them to look around. The stats I've seen are that one in three Americans owns a firearm. If you were walking around and one out of three people were open carrying... well... I think that would be a little unusual unless you were in a gun show or at a shooting range. Gun-culture in America can be weird, but it's often portrayed as being weirder than it actually is. [Edit: also. how did we go from cable modems to guns so quickly?]

quickthrower2 3y ago
Ha ha this story was never about modems. It is about corporations, government and justice system.
nojvek 3y ago
I only mention because when I was in Texas for the first time in my life, when I entered Target for shopping in Houston area, I saw 4 men walking in with big guns strapped to their back. I was kind of freaked out but everyone else operated as if it was normal. I found that pretty jarring. Was only there for a few days but almost everyday I saw someone with a gun on them on the streets. Yes my sample size is low, but it’s still a strong memory in my mind.

noduerme 3y ago

>> Almost no one actually does this More to the point, none of the few nutjobs who insist on doing this has ever actually carried out a mass shooting. At least not to my knowledge. Generally, if you find yourself around someone who's carrying openly, you can be sure you're less likely to be shot than you would be just walking around a random mall by yourself.