we should watch our words, now more than ever

[Hoppy590]

i know i know, im not the person who should be addressing this. but i have a feeling in the next few days, next few hours, if not right now. we, THR, as one of the largest Pro-arms sources on the web will be crawling with everyone from news media, to VT students, to average Joes looking to learn about what happened. learn about laws, and learn about the firearms themselves.

i just want to say right now were facing the nation and the spotlight could be on us.

so we should watch our wording to avoid confusion or media spin

* thought to us a handgun maybe an automatic. the common joe will think uzi, and the media will claim minigun.

* Sarcasm isn’t always understood, and can be easily distorted to imply serious intention.

* what we would have done, the best way to clear a school, improvised weapons, etc talk could easily show a "blood lust" to others

when in doubt simply ask yourself, "can this be picked up and used against us?" if the answers yes, find a new way to word it.

sorry if im out of place for addressing these concerns. but they needed to be addressed

 

[The Viking]

Good call. I'll keep it in mind more than ever.

 

[BayouTeche77]

Agreed.

For some time it will be of utmost importance to watch how we at THR phrase our posts. Even those seemingly benign comments can, and most probably will be, distorted to use against our right to keep and bear arms. It will be very important to make sure we are all aware of the number of eyes that will be on us and our words. This will inevitably lead to very trying times for us as a community of responsible firearm owners and as ambassadors for the unheard millions of firearm owners.

 

[1BLINDREF]

Excellent thought - well done!

 

[aerod1]

I totally agree!

 

[The Viking]

*Whistles for mod/admin*
Make a sticky out of this!

 

[nplant]

I've found this forum to be a credit to it's name, and for the most part, the members don't post willy-nilly. Sure, the occasional off-the-cuff remark that we all understand may not translate well to the uninitiated or under-educated, or of course to those who would twist our words.

If we're really going to get serious, though, let's also think about the spelling and grammar we use, for it does us more credit than most people think. Too bad there isn't a spell checker on this forum. Oh wait - there is, right in the upper-right corner of the Reply to Thread window. You will need to download the application first, however.

 

[Mannlicher]

I am not sure you have a valid point here at all, Hoppy.
Today's shooting at VT is a sad event for sure, but I don't think folks will flock to firearms related forums to get our take on things.
Those that oppose gun ownership are already against us. Dancing around the events of today won't impress those folks.
We are what we are. Changing what we say and think so that we don't offend, or impress some imaginary audience is silly.

 

[mbt2001]

+ 1


I totally agree, we should be careful how we word and respond.

 

[ArfinGreebly]

Emotion

If you keep the emotion out of it and describe the events accurately you'll be fine.

The things we would normally say as knee-jerk responses are easily twisted by twisted minds.

Remember, when you compliment your girlfriend/wife/secretary/associate and say, "you look really nice today," and you get some offended response like, "what's that supposed to mean??" Followed by, "are you saying I don't look nice on other days?"

Remember that feeling, where you just know that nothing you say next is going to be right?

Sometimes, when the audience is already foaming at the mouth, there isn't anything you can say that works.

Speak plainly. Tell the straight truth. Call a spade a spade.

"I see that gun control has claimed more victims."

"Once more we see that pretending to protect people is useless."

"It's sad that the faculty and legislators feel that dead students are morally superior to self defense."

"Why do we keep lying to students and teachers so they'll feel safe when they are really not?"​

Illuminate the failure and the lies that led to it.

There will be plenty of blame in the air. Just make sure it lands where it belongs: on the heads of those who strip us of our defenses, leaving us naked in the face of violence.

 

[Hoppy590]

Changing what we say and think so that we don't offend, or impress some imaginary audience is silly.

i dont want to change what we say. but chang how we say it. in an effort to avoid confusion and misinformation.

if you believe thats being some one your not, then by all means continue on how you please. im just making a suggestion

 

[buzz_knox]

* what we would have done, the best way to clear a school, improvised weapons, etc talk could easily show a "blood lust" to others

By the same token, it might be a good idea to curtail the rather flippant use of the term "blood lust." It's become a quick and easy way of disparaging anyone who's "rules of engagement" don't fit precisely within those held by another, but it's also a catchy phrase that the media would love to use against us.