[Zach S]

Didn't want to hi-jack WildAlaska's thread.

… just hair down to the middle of my back with my bearded buddy in an army jacket still reeking of last nights whiskey.… As a gunowner, this is probably not a luxury you can afford.

~G. Fink, with short hair and beard, well-groomed

Could you elaborate? I could probably use some insight since I look like a Hell's Angel.

Anyone else want to add something?

[Scottmkiv]

Sounds like he is just saying that it helps us persuade people and have a better public image if we appear proffesional and succesful as opposed to scary, creepy, or weird.

Then again, if no one knows you are a gun owner, it doesn't matter too much.

[FPrice]

To a large extent most of us here do not worry excessively about another's appearance.

However, people who deal with the public and with media realize that physical appearance can go a long way in making an impression upon other people who may not know you. And unscrupulous groups (read: liberals and anti-gun bigots) are skilled in using this fact to portray those they do not like and wish to suppress (insert honest gun owners here) as unsafe and not to be trusted with intruments of power (you guessed it - guns).

Whether you like it or not, your appearance says something.

[Preacherman]

physical appearance can go a long way in making an impression upon other people who may not know you.
Tee-hee... reminds me of the time a mugger tried to hold me up while I was visiting inmates' families. Here I was, a perfectly well-dressed, middle-aged white male in black clergy clothing, complete with dog-collar, looking meek, mild, and the perfect victim - only to pull a .40 caliber on him! His face was one of those Kodak moments... :D

(And no, I didn't have to shoot - he broke several Olympic sprint records leaving the vicinity.)

[FPrice]

I guess it can work both ways.

Glad you are safe.

[XLMiguel]

You don't get a second chance to make a first impression.

Though you aren't supposed to judge a bok by its cover, we all do, first impressions are all one has to go on, and it's instinctive to avoid things you find threatening.

"Presentatble" is pretty subjective, depending on where you are, what you're doing, but IMO, clean, well groomed, decent personal hygine, and generally lacking aroma, vermin infestation or left-overs from last meal will generall get you by better. Even if your appearance is 'excentric', you'll usually at least get some slack if it looks like you care about your appearance. Blending in is usually a 'good thing'.

[grampster]

Heh, heh. Reminds me of when my (then 15 yr old, about 1983) son wanted to get an earing. I gave him "The Lecture" about how it may be ok, that an earing doesn't define a person and it is harmless jewelry but that some people form judgments about others merely by their appearance and not by their character.... And how a judgment about you now may come back to haunt you later, so you need to think about the ramifictions of your actions, yada yada yada.

A couple days later he was collared by his 80 somthing gramaw who demanded to know why he was now wearing an earing. His one sentence answer......"My dad said it was OK.....Sigh......



:D

Oh, about your original question.
Wild was polite, forthcoming, agreeable and humorous. Many people who would be put off by appearance, mostly, can be set at ease by demeanor, imho.

[Gordon Fink]

The case in point was WildAlaska being pulled over by the cops for a traffic violation.

Now, many people—probably including a disproportionate share of cops—think that gun ownership should be a crime and/or that most gun owners are just unapprehended criminals. Dressing and grooming ourselves “like criminals” is not going to win us many points in the public eye, especially with the cops who may just decide we are up to no good regardless of how many CCW permits we hold. We certainly shouldn’t draw undue attention to ourselves when participating in borderline “illegal” activities such as carrying firearms.

~G. Fink

[Zach S]

Wild was polite, forthcoming, agreeable and humorous. Many people who would be put off by appearance, mostly, can be set at ease by demeanor, imho.
Based on my experiance with LEOs, and other ppl of course, I'd have to agree.