Is Armed Your Default Setting?

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FWIW the intent of this question is not whether or not you carry on posted property where it's not actually illegal.

The Genesis of this question was, in my mind, if the guy's wife would ask him if he's carrying a gun that would indicate to me that carrying a gun is kind of a hit or miss thing with that person. Whether or not I'm carrying it again is something my wife would never think to ask because it's common for me to be carrying a gun.
 
My two favorite quotes in this type of debate...

“A weapon is a tool," she repeated, a little breathlessly. "A tool for killing and destroying. And there will be times when, as an Envoy, you must kill and destroy. Then you will choose and equip yourself with the tools that you need. But remember the weakness of weapons. They are an extension--you are the killer and destroyer. You are whole, with or without them.” - Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon <-Spectacular modern Noir/Cyberpunk novel, the first of an exceptional trilogy.

"When your mind is a weapon, you are never unarmed" - Malcolm X
 
AlexanderA said:
There are two reasons to carry --

1. Because of genuine need (in which case it may be time to re-examine one's lifestyle), and
2. Because of paranoia (in which case it may be time to seek therapy).
Click to expand...

:rofl:
"Hello fellow firearms enthusiast" LOL.
Those comments sound like England, Britain (wherever) or a anti-gun politician like those running NY.

I've had concealed carry 30 years and never "needed" it; yet I carry everyday.
I do not anticipate I'll "need" a handgun, never have; but, I like having the option to defend myself if necessary.
I live in a "good" area. So what. People (including bad ones) are mobile.

Paranoid? Do you watch the news? Some people are content with the possibility of being a unarmed victim. I know people like that.
Seek therapy? That is worth getting on the internet today. Somebody content to be a unarmed victim attempts to insult others that want to be able to defend themself.
Wow, just wow.
babfe19edda67105776870cb4a3bcecf.jpg
 
AlexanderA said,

There are two reasons to carry --

1. Because of genuine need (in which case it may be time to re-examine one's lifestyle), and
2. Because of paranoia (in which case it may be time to seek therapy).
Click to expand...

You seem to pick the most specious and tenuous reasons to not carry and bring them up with such an air of finality.

Are you really that in control of where you will never ever need a firearm? Do you go grocery shopping, go to church, go to dance halls? All of these are "normal": places which were subject to attack.

For that matter, do you take walks?

Why do you call it "paranoid?" Is it "paranoid" to keep fire extinguishers around the house? Are you competent to make a clinical judgement like that?

Forgive me, but you sound like you are simply dead set against carrying a firearm, period. Yes? No?

I've often said that for some people it takes a good mugging or a good tyranny to change a person's mind about being armed.

For The Founders, it was the latter.

Terry, 230RN
 
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Howland937 said:
I typically enjoy your posts and agree more times than not, but I can't get on board with this. My lifestyle involves very little if any risky behavior. It does, however, require my being in public places amongst the public. If your belief is that public places are as safe as they've ever been, that's fine. I don't believe that to be true at all and would counter that there's only one reason not to carry-- because you fail to realize that this world is not an inherently safe space.
Click to expand...
Every decision we make in life is based on statistical probabilities, whether we calculate these consciously or not. The chance of needing a gun for self defense -- outside the home -- is not zero, but it is miniscule. You have to weigh that against the inconvenience of carrying, the legal limitations on doing so, etc. I personally don't feel threatened enough to carry. My neighborhood in Virginia is objectively much safer than a lot of other places in the world that I've been to, that incidentally don't allow carrying at all. And I didn't feel particularly threatened there, either. The way to deal with this is through situational awareness, and by being the "gray man." But in life there are no guarantees. Something bad might catch up to you whether you are armed or not.
 
wayneinFL said:
You don't keep any defensive firearms at all? Not in your car or home?
Click to expand...
Lots of guns. At home. Unloaded. If the need arises, I know how to use them. But I'm not worried. At 78 years old, I've already lived a full life.

As the Greek author Nikos Kazantzakis wrote,"I have no hope. I have no fear. I am free." Too many here appear to be enslaved by their fears. Fear is, ultimately, the reason for carrying a gun. I refuse to be entrapped by fear.
 
I have been in a number of situations where the option of using a firearm would have been a very good thing.
In only four of these situations did I have a firearm.
In three others I was able to reach a firearm before things got serious.
Twice, the aggressor fired one or more rounds before I stopped that person.
Only once did I actually fire shots at the attacker.
I am unsure of the result of the shots but the attack ended and the attackers fled.
After that, I decided to be armed whenever and wherever possible.
That event was almost fifty years ago... .
 
AlexanderA said:
Lots of guns. At home. Unloaded. If the need arises, I know how to use them. But I'm not worried. At 78 years old, I've already lived a full life.

As the Greek author Nikos Kazantzakis wrote,"I have no hope. I have no fear. I am free." Too many here appear to be enslaved by their fears. Fear is, ultimately, the reason for carrying a gun. I refuse to be entrapped by fear.
Click to expand...

Do you wear a seat belt?
Just curious.
 
AlexanderA said:
Lots of guns. At home. Unloaded. If the need arises, I know how to use them. But I'm not worried. At 78 years old, I've already lived a full life.

As the Greek author Nikos Kazantzakis wrote,"I have no hope. I have no fear. I am free." Too many here appear to be enslaved by their fears. Fear is, ultimately, the reason for carrying a gun. I refuse to be entrapped by fear.
Click to expand...


Are you familiar with the fate of Greece?
 
AlexanderA said:
Too many here appear to be enslaved by their fears. Fear is, ultimately, the reason for carrying a gun.
Click to expand...
Ultimately?

You would be doing all of us a favor to speak only for yourself. Declaring one single motive for everyone who carries a firearm, with such a negative generalization, doesn't advance any argument.

Ironic that you quote an existentialist writer.
 
AlexanderA said:
. You have to weigh that against the inconvenience of carrying
Click to expand...
I'm not inconvenienced by carrying. In fact, quite the opposite. Many times I've had a spare few minutes to stop at the property and have an impromptu range session . That I had the gun on me as well as ammo for it made an unplanned trip possible. If I'd had to go home then back, my free time would have evaporated.

I'll knock on wood later, but I keep things in my vehicle that I've not yet needed:
Spare tire (never had a blowout on the road. Weird huh?)
First aid kit
Small tool kit
Assortment of fuses.

Basic things that could (no guarantee obviously), if the unforseen occurs, improve my chances of getting home to my family...or getting myself and my family home. The gun I carry is viewed no differently.
 
AlexanderA said:
Lots of guns. At home. Unloaded. If the need arises, I know how to use them. But I'm not worried. At 78 years old, I've already lived a full life.

As the Greek author Nikos Kazantzakis wrote,"I have no hope. I have no fear. I am free." Too many here appear to be enslaved by their fears. Fear is, ultimately, the reason for carrying a gun. I refuse to be entrapped by fear.
Click to expand...

Good answer and I respect that... but most of us are not 78 and have kids and wives and pets to think about.

"For some, it takes a good mugging..."

Terry, 230RN
 
Kleanbore said:
Fear does not enter into the equation at all.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if I agree with that.

There are reasonable fears. I don't smoke specifically because I fear cancer.

I don't think it's too far out there to say that I carry a gun because I fear the results of being caught without one and being helpless. I fear watching my family die because I couldn't defend them.

I think those are reasonable fears. They don't paralyze me. They don't run my life. But I most assuredly did make Lifestyle Changes to mitigate the risks that caused those fears
 
My wife used to ask “are you packing?” I always thought it was kind of cute for her to use that phrase because I usually don’t talk that way. Anyway, my typical response was “is it legal here?” As if to say if it’s legal, then yes, Im “packing.” She doesn’t ask anymore.

Im a school teacher and I often go to schools for events. So I don’t carry as much as I would like. But, as I say, if it’s legal, Im carrying.
 
AlexanderA said:
Lots of guns. At home. Unloaded. If the need arises, I know how to use them. But I'm not worried. At 78 years old, I've already lived a full life.

As the Greek author Nikos Kazantzakis wrote,"I have no hope. I have no fear. I am free." Too many here appear to be enslaved by their fears. Fear is, ultimately, the reason for carrying a gun. I refuse to be entrapped by fear.
Click to expand...

That makes sense to me. If you don't perceive risk, and you're ready to die, and this is how you manage your own life, that's your choice. I have no problem with that whatsoever.

But when you offer the following advice and tell me I need to get my head examined if I don't see it your way, I can't help but take it a little personally.

There are two reasons to carry --

1. Because of genuine need (in which case it may be time to re-examine one's lifestyle), and
2. Because of paranoia (in which case it may be time to seek therapy).
Click to expand...

Paranoia is a phobia, it's an irrational fear. It's not irrational if it's a real risk. In my line of work, coworkers have been robbed at gunpoint. Other companies have had employees murdered. While you think my risk is miniscule, it's not zero.

Fear? Yeah sure. I have that weakness. I don't fear death, so much as I fear my family getting the news. But it's not so much the fear as it is stubbornness. I don't mind dying, so much as I mind dying because some criminal thinks I should.
 
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I sometimes find it funny how so many Americans carry firearms for "risk reduction" yet they have a hundred extra pounds hanging over their belt.

They spend thousands on firearms yet not a gym membership, or non lethal skills, or medical, or defensive driving courses, or disease prevention.

I fully support the right to carry firearms but it's a weird obsession by many people, many of whom live in the worlds safest neighborhoods.
 
^ Don't forget it's a legitimate hobby. Analyzing and testing equipment, .45 v 9 debates (eeek!) whether the sight on the original AR was a handle or not...

Anyhow....

Stefan A said:
My wife used to ask “are you packing?” I always thought it was kind of cute for her to use that phrase because I usually don’t talk that way. Anyway, my typical response was “is it legal here?” As if to say if it’s legal, then yes, I'm “packing.” She doesn’t ask anymore.

I'm a school teacher and I often go to schools for events. So I don’t carry as much as I would like. But, as I say, if it’s legal, Im carrying.
Click to expand...

I was amused by that. There are a couple of euphemisms for being heeled... she must have been an old time member of packing dot org.

=D
 
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