Author Query

[Tilos]

Just trolling for hits on his website.
Don't go there, don't post links to it, it helps him "sell" himself.

A Troll for sure

 

[Nushif]

Just the suggestion that a .223 isn't a proper deer round speaks volumes about how you're programmed by leftist dogma.

It identifies you as as uninformed, out of touch with reality, easily duped, and of questionable intelligence. Our only hope is to convert people like you into thinking, productive, patriotic, tax paying, hard working, English speaking, AMERICAN citizens. If that can't be done, then you are worthless for the future of America, and don't deserve the time of day.

Perhaps, but the fundamental appeal of liberalism is that the government will take money from somebody else and give you "free stuff". It's the politics of greed and legalized theft

Gun owners are of a stripe which believes that we are responsible for our own livelihood, health care, prosperity, education, and SAFETY. This is why liberals are fewer and further between with gun people.

And you people wonder why we liberals don't come to gun boards that often?!

Half of this stuff is uninformed drivel. Do you people even know the meaning of the words you're using? Isn't half the point of this country to disagree in a civilized manner rather than saying "If you don't like it, leave?"
Or am I, the tax paying english, german, french and latin speaking guy with the funky blue passport not MEEERRRRCAN enough for you? Frankly the fact that this stuff hasn't been deleted or a reason to close the thread baffles me. If the few of us un-MERRRICAN people here decided to spout crap of the same category as this you'd be all up in arms (no pun intended) about it. Look at yourself in the damn mirror for once and maybe you'd see WHY exactly guys like him paint us with that picture.

Of course, had he actually gone out to do some reasonable field research, instead of just going to a gun show and doing his best to conflate AR15 owners with variably, racists, a violence-prone fictional species of space aliens, and overweight, ignorant wannabe revolutionaries, he may have figured that out on his own.

After some of these replies ... he very well may have some more ammunition and frankly I wouldn't see a valid reason to try and do any more research about this, because folks like you have just proven that the most vocal gun owners really are exactly what he was looking for.

I'm done ranting, some of you people spewed some serious horsemanure today.

 

[Chindo18Z]

I am writing a book under contract to Knopf about the many ways that guns are important to people. I am lifelong shooter, and have been a hunter and gun collector my whole adult life.

danbaum: I'll take your stated purpose at face value. I wish you well.

You'd more likely elicit useful response from the membership after typing an introspective post explaining why guns are important to you.

In other words...You First.

 

[Nushif]

In other words...You First.

I'd second that, but I think we're down to like ... fifthing ot sixthing it.

 

[Toaster]

Be wary of the troll. Hey there Mr. ProfessionalWriter. You want a quote for your book? Here's one for you- "My reason for owning firearms is not because I want to kill people".
Now you can edit that quote so it reads,"..i want to kill people". I'm not paranoid, i just know how auhtors/journalist/writers are able to creatively edit so that any and all quotes may be taken out of context. Hell, you've already put into print that all semi automatic rifles with a matte black finish are ARs. AR stands for Armalite, not Automatic Rifle. Instead of doing your research, you chose to hurl insults. Klingons?
I can say with 100% certainty that as a gun owner, I have done you no harm, nor your family or friends.
I will ask you quite nicely, please go away. Please.

 

[CapnMac]

Dan,
In the interest of taking the High Road, I would like you to consider the following.

The "pro gun" community of today lives under a stigma. That stigma is luridly applied in the media, both in news and entertainment. The stigma is also carried by members of our government, for both better and for worse. These factors then combine.

There is a reason for this. As a stigmatized, and legally-limited activity, our "community" quickly learns something, that we have to obey the law. Ok, "Everybody knows that!" seems to apply, but that's also the rub of it. We in the "gun community" not only have to obey all of the myriad thousands of "gun" laws out there; we must also obey every law on the books.

Yes, every law. Because we have no idea what previous infraction will be added to those which strip us of our liberty to keep and bear arms. This can sound absurd to those outside of our community. After all, how many felonies can there be to commit out there?

And, there, there is the rub. Turns out that there are thousands of felonies out there. Many are entirely unenforceable, the exist none the less. It's not only felonies, as Sen Lautenburg showed us, in including misdemeanor "domestic violence" convictions as lifetime bans on RKBA.

Dan, go and do some research, if only for yourself. Look at just how many rules, ordinances, laws, and regulations the average citizen is expected to know and obey each and every day of their lives. You may be surprised. The tally runs to around 8000 to 12,000 for each and every one of us. Guess what, you have probably committed a crime without knowing it. We all may have. Simple things, like taking a potted plant across state lines to a relative's funeral. Driven with something attached to the windshield by a suction cup. Bought a cane fishing pole on one side of a river, then drifted across the centerline into another jurisdction.

Wait, you object, "Wither mens rea?" you ask. Well, often, these rules are written without any sensible mechanism for enforcement, so, they often do not require mens rea. They just are. And, that is before we get to the "feel good" laws out there that are enforced, before conviction (and with serious 4A implications); a category to which many DWI laws now belong.

To be a "law abiding" gun owner is more than a little work. Anyone who lives near a state or national border has twice the work to do. Consider, too, that a distressing number of "gun laws" are only defenses against prosecution. Which is to say, they are no defense against arrest, against loss of liberty and/or property without recompense. What other community, what other group out there has to operate under an onus that includes detainment and arrest, with a "Well, we're not prosecuting, so you are free to go" end result? Remember, there are thousands of laws out there, with conflicting specifications, as a result, the enforcement of those laws can vary by knowledge, by exposure, by fiat from leadership.

So, anyone who gives any credit to the premise that all is needed is more "reasonable" gun laws, starts from a disadvantage when talking to the "gun community." It's very much like trying to pet a porcupine by rubbing it the wrong way first.

So, maybe the thing to do would be to examine a premise, that we in the United States may have too many laws. So many laws that no one could understand and obey them all; let alone enforce them. That, since neither compliance nor enforcement can be complete, it invites scofflawry; the opposite of legislative intent.

 

[Justin]

After some of these replies ... he very well may have some more ammunition and frankly I wouldn't see a valid reason to try and do any more research about this, because folks like you have just proven that the most vocal gun owners really are exactly what he was looking for.

I'm done ranting, some of you people spewed some serious horsemanure today.

What, exactly, is it that I've written that is so offensive? I've said nothing about the man's politics, and critiqued only his clearly uninformed and vague impressions of people who own AR15s.

Perhaps you can excuse me for being a bit tetchy. After all, if you actually take the time to read his blog posts, he seems to derive something of a smug bit of self-satisfaction from stereotyping people based clearly on the firearms they choose to own. The blog entries alone make it clear that he's not so much interested in engaging in a two-way conversation with people like me as he is with examining them in such a way that he's able to self-reinforce his own biases and perceptions before packaging it up and tossing it out for public consumption.

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

I come under a white flag, making a small, clumsy attempt to begin to correct that. I am ignorant; I admit that. I have much to learn; I admit that. I have ideas that are different from yours; I admit that. But where would you send me to learn? To the Brady Center?

I think the lack of the warm reception has to do with the widespread perception that you are not here to learn; but rather here to satisfy some other goal (get hits for your website, plug your book, find a real life example of "paranoid gunnut" to amuse and entertain yourself and others, etc.). I also think your past writing on this subject is going to make it difficult for you to address that perception.

Having said that, I am willing to bet that the number of people who will buy a book about guns that portrays gun owners as normal human beings is much higher than the number of people who will buy a book portraying gunowners in classic stereotypical terms that reinforce their own biases.

 

[gym]

I think you are just looking for some fodder for your book. Don't get me wrong everyone is entitled to make a living, but we really don't need your type of perversive interpretation of our good nature to line your pockets with.

 

[TexasRifleman]

Frankly the fact that this stuff hasn't been deleted or a reason to close the thread baffles me.

It has not been deleted because the OP very specifically asked for this kind of feedback, knowing full well up front the kind of response he might get from a very pro gun audience.

He said in his opening post:

If you don't like the sound of my project, that's fine. If you'd like to tell me, politely, how misguided I am, I'd love your input. But please, let's stick to the high road.

So far, other than a couple of dips into politics and some term definitions that some might disagree on, he seems to be getting exactly what he asked for.

If it starts to turn nasty or if there are any personal attacks made those will be dealt with but for now this is pretty much the reaction I would expect from a very pro gun audience to be honest.

 

[MikeNice]

From the Dan Baum blog "Who Cares"

There may be some dark “real” reason that I like guns lurking under there -- something about my penis, perhaps, or a latent desire to dominate others by force.It may also be that I like guns for all the reasons I think I like guns.

I think the reason you like guns is a pretty simple thing. As a child it was the first time you were accepted in to the "big boys" club. You were finally put on par with your brothers by an outside male that seemed an adult to you.

Maybe that fear of guns comes from your politics. Do your politics come from the same place as your love of guns? Does it come from some early acceptance of your ideas by an authority figure?

You are the only one that can explain why you are of two minds on guns and gun issues. Maybe you should sit down and interview you. It may be the best interview you get from any gun guy. The tone of what you have written makes it hard to believe you will get much out of true "gun guys."

Maybe you should try to interview the author Stephen Hunter. He is a fellow journalist, pro gun, and a very respected member of the gun community.

 

[Dnaltrop]

Sounds like he needs to go to the extreme ends of "normal use"

Someone take him to a Full-auto shoot. (yes, even with all the ammunition, pardon the pun, an event like that gives a panic-ridden anti)

Someone take him to an indoor range for self defense courses.

Someone else take him to shoot Skeet.

Then someone take him on a winter Hunt.

Hell, someone take him to a Summer camp where they still teach kids how to shoot rifles and have him participate at the "Childlike wonder" level.

Edit, Take him to a SASS event!

Further Edit ~ Dan, Get your Concealed Weapons license, and carry the responsibility of a loaded firearm on your person for a week. Delve into the considerations you find yourself making.

We can complain about people like him, or we can stand eye to eye with them and have the discourse that might bring more people into understanding that we aren't all a bunch of drunken idiots making "bang" noises.

Dismissal just won't cut it anymore.

 

[russ69]

Sorry Dan,

Your initial premise is flawed and is designed to highlight the most radical and abnormal behavior. The only way this article would have any value is as a story for Psychology Today magazine, abnormal case studies. This article would have less to do with gun ownership and be more about aberrant behavior.
Not to be argumentative but judging from what you write, you have little or no knowledge of firearms but are compelled to write about it as if you have some expertise. I'm trying to stay on the high road but it's difficult. Owning a firearm does not make you a firearms enthusiast any more than buying a race car makes you a Formula One driver. As they teach in English Lit 101, write about something you know.

Thanx, Russ

 

[Zak Smith]

Based on prior published works, Dan is an enemy to RKBA. That's what his record shows. Pro-RKBA folks are rightly loath to give him any more "ammunition" to use against RKBA causes.

Want to plead that you're no longer an enemy to RKBA? Prove it by words and deeds and gain our trust by overshadowing your previous work.

I don't really care what your politics are. On THR we don't discuss politics, just gun tech and things that further the RKBA.

With that said, the local 3-Gun match at Weld County is this Saturday. If you're serious about joining the gun culture, I'll welcome you there. But you have to bring guns and shoot the match. More info at the "Colorado Multigun" link in my signature.

 

[benEzra]

Mr. Baum,

I won't bother to repost it here, but I did pull together some thoughts on gun ownership from some posts I made on DU:

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/benEzra/29

That's how I view things, anyway. And you would classify me in your "Klingon" group as well.

I find myself to be a centrist politically, though not in the authority-heavy DLC/Third Way mold, so I probably don't fit the stereotypes you may be approaching this project with. Of course, most gun owners probably don't...

As to emergency preparedness, I not only believe it, I practice it; I volunteer with my local CERT team.

Burying guns? No, though I can see why some people might have briefly considered it in 1994 when Brady II (truly scary legislation) was being seriously considered.

http://www.davekopel.org/2A/OthWr/Brady-II-Schumer-bill.pdf
http://volokh.com/posts/1190402417.shtml

And of course the Feinstein law actually passed. I remember waking to NPR the morning after the Feinstein bill cleared the second chamber (I don't remember if it was the House or Senate) and feeling that sinking, oh-crap feeling. My registered-Dem father had said of that bill, "It won't pass; this is America." I had felt the same way, as did millions of others.

But we didn't bury our guns. You know what tens of millions of us did instead? We took the unspeakably asinine Feinstein law as a wakeup call; we networked, started speaking out, and voted, started making headway, and eventually the would-be prohibitionists marginalized themselves. I think things have turned out pretty well so far on the 2nd Amendment front...

 

[Tilos]

When this "man" pokes y'all with a stick you respond like a bee hive.
WHY

Keep talking amongst yourselves

 

[SuperNaut]

When this "man" pokes y'all with a stick you respond like a bee hive.
WHY

Keep talking amongst yourselves

TBH there are a lot of people who lurk on THR - antis, fence-sitters, and noobs. These threads are quite illuminating for a lot of people who will never even respond.

 

[Ike R]

PM me. Maybe I will grace you here in Texas, where you can watch me track, stalk and destroy a dangerous, rapidly reproduceing 4 to 500 lb monster hog that alone can cause 5k in crop and property damage a year to the local cattle and rice industry. I do it all with a 5.56/223 LAR-15 though sometimes I take them down in close brush with a pistol. I hunt coyotes at long range that creep into subdivisions at night to eat peoples cats and dogs. I do it for free, for the love of the hunt, to keep the prices of the food both you and I eat at affordable prices, and for the practice that the skills I hone in the field may someday save my family or your familys life.


I donate my time and money to several other causes, both political and otherwise, NRA, National FFA Organization, 4-H. I have served on comittees of politicians running on both democratic and republican tickets. I am considered a normal white american male by everyone I meet and speak with.

I also have a buried Faraday cage. If you want to talk send a PM, and please sir do not waste my time.

Remember before you go talking about mankiller firearms...before gunpowder existed we did it with Swords and Steeltipped Arrows, before that we used sticks with sinew lashed rocks on the end. Firearms helped regular Americans beat the British, the Spanish, the Native Americans, the Mexicans ....Peace CAN be obtained through superior firepower and anyone who is ignorant enough to believe that laying down your weapon and asking your agressor to lay down his as well can go to the buzzards for I won't waste the edge of my shovel on burying them.

 

[Win1892]

As I read through this thread I find myself, once again, proud to be associated with this forum. Responses to the OP have been exceptional and enlightening, as I would have expected. You are a wonderful group of Americans and I consider it an honor to be allowed to spend time with you each day.

Thank You.

 

[Bullnettles]

Ike, please be careful. Media can and does twist things around and even if you prove you said something else, the first one out usually stays with people .

 

[Ike R]

heh, I know, I was once on the public speaking circuit. Not concerned about him, would most likely video record the whole visit and make my own blog lol, plus I think you guys would enjoy it too .

 

[Bullnettles]

I'd watch it and see what I could learn from it. I have a SHTF plan, but it's a loose one after I get out of Houston and get back in the sticks where I came from

 

[Red Cent]

Ya know, Dan has inadvertently created something. I strongly believe that there are those on this site that are amazed with the articulation, the heart felt depth of statements, the homogenous relationship of those who believe in something that is reflected by this web site.

 

[theHeretic]

I have done a little research on you to eliminate the possibility that you are one of the drive-by goofs that are occasionally found here. If your posts other places are to be believed, it would seem that you have at least some interest in firearms but your experience is limited.

If you are truly seeking someone who has buried a gun, you are unlikely to find them here.

The ‘gun burying’ is such a cliché, rather like the idea that pirates actually buried treasure. If it happened, it is extremely unlikely that the person would confide what they had done, let alone what or where it was. In reality, such items are stored somewhere separated at some distance from the individual yet still accessible if and when needed. [The Massachusetts colonists stored their weapons in Concord where they could retrieve them before the British could get to them.]

Storing weapons and ammunition against some future contingency is a time-honored tradition. This is a part of the standard operating procedures for governmental agencies and security firms. To the “liberal’ group-think mind this is only right and proper. It is also a laudable and prudent activity for groups such as the French Underground and the Warsaw Jews during Nazi occupation. Again, it was acceptable because it was a group.

When an individual takes similar safeguards, the group-think mind finds it threatening and beyond comprehension.

If you would like to continue this conversation, PM me. I check messages occasionally, but I am usually busy. [possibly burying something http://www.thehighroad.org/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif
]

 

[cambeul41]

Nushif in post 53 says,

And you people wonder why we liberals don't come to gun boards that often?!

Half of this stuff is uninformed drivel. Do you people even know the meaning of the words you're using?

And "you people," on your liberal websites, consistently exhibit fine manners and accuracy of stated fact in you references to us and our ideas?