"Holding a gun may make you think others are too"

Loosedhorse · Mar 22, 2012

Classic anti-gunner tripe!

Study finds holding gun makes you likely to think others have guns

The study was one in which subjects were given a toy gun (in a study setting). A logical assumption for the participant at that point would be, "Oh: this study is about guns." When they were then shown a fleeting picture, they were more likely to think there was a gun in the picture when there was not.

My goodness--researchers have discovered the power of suggestion! I wonder if this new discovery will have any effect on psychology...or advertising!

The "reporter" then misapplies the study results, assuming that anyone who regularly carries a gun--as opposed to persons who were just instructed by a researcher to handle a toy gun--are more likely to see a gun that's not there because of their habitual act of carrying a gun. But the study says nothing about people who routinely, legally CCW.

"I hate newspapermen. They come into camp and pick up their camp rumors and print them as facts. I regard them as spies, which, in truth, they are. If I killed them all there would be news from Hell before breakfast."
William Tecumseh Sherman

Hugo · Mar 22, 2012

There should be more caveats mentioned about the people "holding a gun" are likely doing so for the first time ever, have no self-defense training at all, and mistakenly believe lots of myths.

"Crtical thinking skills are sorely lacking in our society. I have to agree with you there HM1"

I Agree too. A few books by Carl Sagan (and the show Cosmos) should be in every High School reading list. Teachers please spread the word or just suggest to your students "If you want to be smart, read some books by Carl Sagan." He was so good at disproving BS anywhere.

chrt396 · Mar 23, 2012

You may very well have heard it in classes. The class I took was a joke..in my eyes. The point he kept stressing was..."I was in fear of my life!" That is NOT the message we should hear. I educated myself by reading the "oh so easy to decipher laws" in Florida and a few articles that discuss this very issue.

Maybe we'll never know what really happened that night..but how does THIS scenario sound?

Zimmerman..on the way to run an errand one night..sees a person walking down the street in the rain. It appears as if the person is checking out homes and curiously looking around. There had been several break-ins and burglaries over the past few weeks and months. Zimmerman calls 911 to report suspicious activity. The person is then alerted to the fact that he/she is being watched. They turn towards Zimmerman and walk closer to the vehicle. The identification is made that it is a black male...hoodie or not. They then turn and go the other way. Person gets nervous and starts trotting away or walking faster. Zimmerman..sensing that there is probable cause that the person is up to no good, decides to follow him to keep him close where he can notify police where the person is when they arrive. Somehow..he gets too close to person..and there is an exchange of either physical or verbal assaults. Person decides to take on Zimmerman..he is kind of a pudgy hispanic guy afterall...and all of a sudden the tables are turned and the black male is the aggresssor. Zimmerman pulls side arm and fires. Next..we have the entire population coming down on this guy.

The reason I wrote this dribble..is that there are mant scenarios that can be played out here. It's almost like one of those "whodunnit" theater shows! Let the investigators do their jobs!

wannabeagunsmith · Mar 23, 2012

You may very well have heard it in classes. The class I took was a joke..in my eyes. The point he kept stressing was..."I was in fear of my life!" That is NOT the message we should hear. I educated myself by reading the "oh so easy to decipher laws" in Florida and a few articles that discuss this very issue.

Maybe we'll never know what really happened that night..but how does THIS scenario sound?

Zimmerman..on the way to run an errand one night..sees a person walking down the street in the rain. It appears as if the person is checking out homes and curiously looking around. There had been several break-ins and burglaries over the past few weeks and months. Zimmerman calls 911 to report suspicious activity. The person is then alerted to the fact that he/she is being watched. They turn towards Zimmerman and walk closer to the vehicle. The identification is made that it is a black male...hoodie or not. They then turn and go the other way. Person gets nervous and starts trotting away or walking faster. Zimmerman..sensing that there is probable cause that the person is up to no good, decides to follow him to keep him close where he can notify police where the person is when they arrive. Somehow..he gets too close to person..and there is an exchange of either physical or verbal assaults. Person decides to take on Zimmerman..he is kind of a pudgy hispanic guy afterall...and all of a sudden the tables are turned and the black male is the aggresssor. Zimmerman pulls side arm and fires. Next..we have the entire population coming down on this guy.

The reason I wrote this dribble..is that there are mant scenarios that can be played out here. It's almost like one of those "whodunnit" theater shows! Let the investigators do their jobs!

I agree. Do they really think that this "kid" was just gunned down for no reason whatsoever? I think there is more than what meets the eye.

Loosedhorse · Mar 23, 2012

Do they really think that this "kid" was just gunned down for no reason whatsoever?

Well, it depends on who "they" are. But, no, not "no reason": I guarantee you there are people who honestly think he was approached, hassled, and shot primarily because of his race.

And that can be argued (at this stage) much more persuasively than this "handled gun research" nonsense.

Panzercat · Mar 23, 2012

No one knows what led a Florida neighborhood watch captain to shoot Trayvon Martin, a teenager carrying no weapon.

BS. It seems pretty darn clear--

Wikipedia said:
Zimmerman had a previous charge in 2005 of battery on a police officer while interfering with the arrest of a friend. He subsequently entered a pretrial diversion program, which is not considered a conviction on his criminal record.[38] Zimmerman had previously been accused of domestic violence by an ex-girlfriend, who had filed for a restraining order against him.[39]

The linked article has that 'grasping at straws in order to reach a predetermined conclusion' feel to it. Occum's Razor following, this isn't about concealment paranoia, this is about a man that shouldn't have had a gun in the first place. A man with a criminal record.

But sure, lets puke out any old conclusion that can be made to fit the agenda.

Ringolevio · Mar 24, 2012

Probable cause? Presumption of authority?

chrt396:

Zimmerman..on the way to run an errand one night..sees a person walking down the street in the rain. It appears as if the person is checking out homes and curiously looking around. There had been several break-ins and burglaries over the past few weeks and months. Zimmerman calls 911 to report suspicious activity. The person is then alerted to the fact that he/she is being watched. They turn towards Zimmerman and walk closer to the vehicle. The identification is made that it is a black male...hoodie or not. They then turn and go the other way. Person gets nervous and starts trotting away or walking faster. Zimmerman..sensing that there is probable cause that the person is up to no good, decides to follow him to keep him close where he can notify police where the person is when they arrive.

"Probable cause"?? Are you serious? Someone please correct me if I am mistaken, but I don't understand how "probable cause" enters into it, when Zimmerman is not a commissioned LEO, on- or off-duty, and is not personally threatened by the "suspect's" actions.

Furthermore, is Zimmerman in a uniform, or in any kind of marked vehicle? Does he identify himself as the "neighborhood watch captain"? Is there any presumption of authority to be perceived by the "suspect", or is the "suspect" presumably minding his own business and finds himself being followed/stalked/challenged in the dark by some unidentified (and possibly hostile-appearing) stranger?

As to the "study" cited, I can see it being used to try to justify unfortunate incidents in which cops shoot a guy reaching for his phone or his wallet. And the study may have some validity there. But the "victim" in such incidents has to bear some culpability, because the presumption of authority dictates that when a cop gives an order (anything from "move along" to "keep your hands where I can see them"), your failure to comply is at your own peril.

Vern Humphrey · Mar 24, 2012

In the study, volunteers who held a toy gun and glimpsed fleeting images of people holding an object were biased toward thinking the object was a gun.

Now there's a scientific, double-blind, peer reviewed "study!"

627PCFan · Mar 24, 2012

I chimmed in on this article(on the website) to remind everyone that you assume everyone is armed, its not "having a gun on me" specific. This did not go over well. Some peoples choice to assess threat levels just sucks or does flat out non-existent.

"Holding a gun may make you think others are too"

Loosedhorse

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Hugo

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chrt396

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wannabeagunsmith

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Loosedhorse

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Panzercat

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Vern Humphrey

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