Hello, all. I just joined THR, as I've enjoyed many of the discussions here, and learned a lot simply from "listening in", so to speak. I figured it was about time I put my name on paper, and stepped out of the shadows, like.
I was a security guard for a while... an unarmed security guard, at a casino. I can honestly say that I've never felt so simultaneously useless and utterly vulnerable in my life. All my authority derived from a uniform; I was forbidden from taking any kind of aggressive action, no matter the situation. It was made clear that to take any such action would mean getting my walking papers. I decided that I'd been a walking bullseye for long enough, and I vowed that I'd never again wear a uniform that wasn't backed by the authority or capability to act.
It's just as well... I'm in college now, and happy to be there. But I'm a gun owner, too, and I'm finding that my responsibilities as such are more subtle, more varied, and vastly more important, than any imagined authority I had as a rent-a-cop.
I'm glad to be here, and glad to be among those of similar mind. As I write this, I raise my glass (well... dixie cup) to all of you.
Sláinte!
