Devonai
Member
I've been working second shift guarding a retail store in Lawrence, Massachusetts that got flooded out and is now being renovated. The neighborhood is supposedly rough but I haven't seen anything worse than kids setting off car alarms for kicks. It is an unarmed assignment but my boss allows the staff to carry if they're licensed. I have carried for New Hampshire assignments but I don't have my Massachusetts license yet.
I meant to apply for my MA carry permit back in March, but for a few months I was on activation notice for possible deployment to Iraq with the National Guard. When I found out I wasn't going, I submitted the license application. I will not receive the license before the end of the assignment (my last day there is Thursday), so the issue will quickly become academic in this case. I expect I will receive the license before my next MA assignment, however.
Last week I met a fellow employee for the first time when he relieved me. He asked me if I was carrying and expressed sympathy when I told him I was not. He asked me, "Do you feel safe?"
I laughed as this pertains to a recurring issue here on THR and in self-defense circles. Whether or not I feel safe is irrelevant, as perception is not reality. Being truly safe from outside threats involves being inside a defensible and relatively secure home or apartment. For us here that includes a firearm in case the threat circumvents our physical defenses. Once we step out on the street, "being safe" becomes a matter of preparedness and readiness reducing the odds against us. In a dynamic environment, however, it is impossible to eliminate all external threats.
It has been my experience that most people will not hesistate to agree with the statement, "You have a right to feel safe." Only slightly less ridiculous is the statement, "You have a right to be safe." We here on THR know that this is a fallacious position, as no one is ultimately responsible for your safety but you.
When I have this conversation with non-gunnies, I can always point out the problem with that supposed right, instead replacing the sentiment with, "You have a right to make yourself as safe as possible," with the obvious follow-on being, "You have a right to defend yourself." I like to point out that if one thinks they have the right to feel safe, to the point of legislation to back up that perception, aren't they just as paranoid as the "gun nuts" they ridicule?
I told my fellow security guard that I did not feel safe, but that I needed money and I was willing to risk my life to a greater degree to avoid late payments on loans, et cetera. If I did not feel safe enough, however, I would call my supervisor and tell him I wasn't interested in continuing the assignment. My threat assessment never got to that point. Even still, my perception may not equal reality as there could be a gang war boiling over as we speak that will take my life tonight. I will never know.
As far as those who would suggest carrying anyway, I was told flat-out by a Lawrence cop that he would not arrest me for carrying without a Massachusetts license as I had a New Hampshire permit and a NH security guard license. I asked him what if I had to fire my weapon to defend myself, and he said that would be a different story. I said, "Then what's the point?" I am completely confident that I could get away with carrying concealed from now until the cows come home, but I'm not willing to accept the inevitable arrest and prosecution that would come from a shooting no matter how justified. This is Massachusetts we're talking about.
How do you deal with people who think they have a right to feel safe? At what point would you turn down an assignment, were you unable to carry?
I meant to apply for my MA carry permit back in March, but for a few months I was on activation notice for possible deployment to Iraq with the National Guard. When I found out I wasn't going, I submitted the license application. I will not receive the license before the end of the assignment (my last day there is Thursday), so the issue will quickly become academic in this case. I expect I will receive the license before my next MA assignment, however.
Last week I met a fellow employee for the first time when he relieved me. He asked me if I was carrying and expressed sympathy when I told him I was not. He asked me, "Do you feel safe?"
I laughed as this pertains to a recurring issue here on THR and in self-defense circles. Whether or not I feel safe is irrelevant, as perception is not reality. Being truly safe from outside threats involves being inside a defensible and relatively secure home or apartment. For us here that includes a firearm in case the threat circumvents our physical defenses. Once we step out on the street, "being safe" becomes a matter of preparedness and readiness reducing the odds against us. In a dynamic environment, however, it is impossible to eliminate all external threats.
It has been my experience that most people will not hesistate to agree with the statement, "You have a right to feel safe." Only slightly less ridiculous is the statement, "You have a right to be safe." We here on THR know that this is a fallacious position, as no one is ultimately responsible for your safety but you.
When I have this conversation with non-gunnies, I can always point out the problem with that supposed right, instead replacing the sentiment with, "You have a right to make yourself as safe as possible," with the obvious follow-on being, "You have a right to defend yourself." I like to point out that if one thinks they have the right to feel safe, to the point of legislation to back up that perception, aren't they just as paranoid as the "gun nuts" they ridicule?
I told my fellow security guard that I did not feel safe, but that I needed money and I was willing to risk my life to a greater degree to avoid late payments on loans, et cetera. If I did not feel safe enough, however, I would call my supervisor and tell him I wasn't interested in continuing the assignment. My threat assessment never got to that point. Even still, my perception may not equal reality as there could be a gang war boiling over as we speak that will take my life tonight. I will never know.
As far as those who would suggest carrying anyway, I was told flat-out by a Lawrence cop that he would not arrest me for carrying without a Massachusetts license as I had a New Hampshire permit and a NH security guard license. I asked him what if I had to fire my weapon to defend myself, and he said that would be a different story. I said, "Then what's the point?" I am completely confident that I could get away with carrying concealed from now until the cows come home, but I'm not willing to accept the inevitable arrest and prosecution that would come from a shooting no matter how justified. This is Massachusetts we're talking about.
How do you deal with people who think they have a right to feel safe? At what point would you turn down an assignment, were you unable to carry?
