Teaching the non believers

[Tbu61]

So...
I have this Friend who is rather Anti-Gun. Her ex attempted suicide years ago (and survived the gunshot). Understandably, she has no desire to be around guns....

That being said, I spoke to her at length about teaching her children about gun safety and respect for firearms. She emphatically berated the concept of exposing her children to any form of "Gun related education". Her current husband is Anti gun as well....

Oddy enough, she called me up in tears the other day... Her uneducated child picked up a BB gun at a friends house, and shot this friend with the BB gun, causing a serious wound.

Surprisingly, she stated that the gun wasn't at fault. I asked her if she applied the requisite heat to the child's posterior..... She told me, "we dont believe in that either".... grrrrrrrrrrrr

Another disaster just waiting to happen.

What does it take for people to wake up any more?????

 

[Bazooka Joe71]

Sad story...LUCKILY it wasn't a real gun and hurt the kid more.

It just seems obvious to me, no matter if you are anti-gun or not, that you would want to teach/be taught good safety rules for guns, even if you don't plan on ever being around them...

No one plans on catching on fire, but you're still taught to stop, drop, and roll if you do.

 

[Henry Bowman]

Understandably, she has no desire to be around guns....

No, it's not understandable. I feel for her loss, but if her loved one had tried to hang himself, would she have no desire to be around rope or lamp cords? They might be an unpleasant reminder, but she would make herself realize the benefits of each and how they outweigh the incidental misuse that affected her life. If he had (almost) drowned, would she not permit her children to learn to swin?

Why did she call you up to tell you about the BB gun incident? Perhaps she is reflecting on her past mistake. Otherwise, why would she tell you at all?

 

[Outlaw Man]

I agree. It might be a good chance to offer again to teach the kids.

 

[Nitrogen]

When I read these threads, I feel like banging my head.

Everyone in a situation needs to read this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Getting-Yes-Negotiating-Agreement-Without/dp/0395631246/
"Getting To Yes"

As well as:
http://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/0671027034/
"How to Win Friends and Influence People"

Being in sales, these techniques (or the billions of variations in them) help me get people to buy what i'm selling every day.

We're selling the idea of guns. You have to approach the anti's like that.
You have to listen to their fears; you cannot dismiss them.
"So I understand you're afraid of guns. Why is that?"
"It's because your ex husband shot himself? Why does that make you afraid of guns?"
"do you feel he'd not have tried to kill himself if he didn't have a gun?"
"Why do you feel that way?"

"Well, I can totally understand how that might color you against guns. Do you mind if I share with you why I'm NOT against guns?"
etc etc...

While what Henry Bowman is 110% true, you can't ever approach someone like that.
We lose a potential convert every time someone approaches an anti as if they are stupid.

 

[ShooterMcGavin]

Quote:
Understandably, she has no desire to be around guns....

No, it's not understandable.

Well, I do understand that. She is not only afraid of the misuse of guns, but the sight of them brings up some painful memories, perhaps. People who are involved in car accidents become very afraid of cars, or or driving. They get back into cars because they are such a main necessity for society today.

 

[DReicht]

I have to agree that it is understandable that she doesn't want to be around guns. Also I think that it is a responsibility of hers to teach her children about the world, one part of that is guns. This can be accomplished through her husband though and she does not have to be entirely involved.

I do have to disagree with you on "heat on the posterior" but that is another place and time!

 

[MrPeter]

I agree that it is understandable, but that is a prime example of what is meant when we say, "thinking with our emotions instead of with our heads." If she has moved on far enough ahead to get remarried, I think it would be reasonable to deduce that it is time to get over fear of a piece of steel. I know someone who has walked in on their father who had accidentally killed himself through autoerotic asphyxiation when she was very young. It took some time, but now she neither fears neckties, nor doorknobs, and is able to have healthy relationships (Hung self on doorknob with necktie).

I think that it is a very valid argument to ask if her husband had hung himself would she be just as afraid of rope or chairs, or poison, or whatever. Especially since the OP's point had been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, since her ignorant child (I use that term literally, not in a derogatory way) shot his(her?) friend with a BB gun, this person should realize that guns don't kill. Ignorance, mental illness, and parents who raise their children badly kill far more. Children aren't adults! They're children!


Sorry, rant over. I can't stand dense people. I hope to whatever diety hears me that you are successful in turning her from the dumb... I mean dark...side.

Oh, one last thing. I think it was posted as such as partially a joke, but I would change the title of this thread to "Teaching the uninformed" or something to that extent. "Non Believers" makes it sound like some sort of creepy religon, or ultimately worse, cult?

 

[cheygriz]

Ignorance can be cured through education.

There is no known cure for stupidity.

Unfortunately, intelligent, but ignorant, people who refuse to accept education, are no better off than stupid people.:banghead:

 

[ArfinGreebly]

I'm scared of horses

A childhood incident left me very horse-shy.

I recognize it as irrational, and some day I hope to find someone patient enough to let me work through that.

I have overcome a variety of fears in my life. I have always known them to be irrational.

Trauma, whether physical or emotional, provides a plausible grounds for anchoring a phobia, but it's merely plausible, not right.

Fear isn't a right. Anger isn't a right. Fear and anger, once assumed, do not convey any kind of rights, even though it's popular to assert, "I was angry/afraid at the time."

Life is quite unforgiving of your personal foibles. You may convince an individual -- or even a group -- that you are entitled to some irrational emotional state (I can't help being angry/afraid), but life flat doesn't give a rip.

Fear is not an asset, but a liability. Allowing a person to cling to his fears is not a service.

Fear allows one to be controlled by circumstances and by people who should not have such control.

I haven't overcome every fear I have, but I'm working on them.

You will never hear me assert my "right" to be afraid.

I don't acknowledge such a right in others.

Fear is a killer.

 

[MrPeter]

ArfinGreebly, my hat off to you. You have calmed my temporary internet-induced rage. I wish you luck on your journey to conquer your fears.

Personally, I think horses are delicious (those Canadian butchers done it right!)

 

[Headless]

My mother has a friend who was mugged & raped at gunpoint once. She was utterly horrified to learn that she was sitting not a few feet from a bag full of guns one day - i picked it up and took off (to the shooting range) and she realised the barrel poking out was real apparently.

She's terrified of guns, not of being mugged or raped by another person. Go figure. She did not see the logic inherent when I stated that guns can help protect you from and deter the evil people in the world that want to mug, rape and kill innocent individuals. The way I see it, at least the other SOB is going to get shot too if they try and take me down. Better that than i give in, get killed and he walks off to do the same damn thing to someone else.

 

[Tbu61]

To clarify...

My friend called me to just blab for a while, fill me in on family stuff, kids, etc...

During the phone call, she got the word that her "little sniper" had misbehaved.

She has 2 teenage daughters that are very much against hunting, but have permission to shoot and enjoy the activity. My friend however, harbors a fear of guns for her own reasons.

I suppose in retrospect, she has learned that I could have offered her son some simple advice and a little demonstration of how dangerous guns can be.... I had suggested exactly that.

(The mention of her fear being understandable)... She witnessed the suicide attempt and later had to clean up the mess. The .270 does a number on ones abdomen.

The boy was actually joking around about his exploits later on that evening..... Hmmmm Corporal punishment isn't for everyone... I got spanked exactly ONCE for being a brat. Never stepped out of that line again! The point was clearly made.

 

[Standing Wolf]

What does it take for people to wake up any more?????

Some people spend their entire lives running away from reality: sad, but true.

 

[CountGlockula]

What does it take for people to wake up any more?????

Sadly, it'll take more than a shot from a BB to open eyes and ears. It's kinda like the "Matrix syndrome": blue pill or red pill...one will open doors to new realms.

"A true friend would say things that hurt...but are true."

Keep persisting her to be educated about gun safety.