Ben slowly learns

[Kent Crispin <kent@songbird.com>]

On Mon, Nov 17, 1997 at 08:17:32PM -0700, Benjamin Chad Wienke wrote:
> At 09:09 AM 11/17/97 -0800, Kent Crispin wrote:
> >You quite clearly don't know what you are talking about, little boy. 
> >My Dad got me my first gun when I was around 8, 40 some years ago. 
> By
> >the time I was your emotional age (12) I knew that guns weren't toys.
> 
> Well, you got the edge on me there; I got my first when I was 12, but
> my dad let me shoot his .357 Magnum when I was 7.
> 
> I recall a period of time when some punks were following me around
> because I had ratted on one of their friends. I got tired of it, got a
> B-27 silhouette target, and shot out the X-ring with my Para-Ordnance
> P10.45. I nailed the used target to my front door, and started wearing
> a fanny pack, and it was amazing how the punk sightings diminished
> dramatically. 

Sometimes leaving a bloody dogs head on their doorstep works, or 
putting a few rounds in the side of their car...

> I never even had to draw my gun--all I had to do was
> convince them I carried one and was willing to use it effectively if
> necessary. Of course, if you would rather be shot than live with the
> consequences of shooting someone that is your choice. But saying that
> having a gun wouldn't make a difference is pretty ignorant--it can
> make a HUGE difference IF you are willing to use it--and pay attention
> to your surroundings such that you have the gun in hand before you are
> in the middle of a circle of assholes with drawn weapons.

There are many circumstances that don't involve a circle of assholes
with drawn weapons.  Perhaps you have a job that allows you to carry a
gun; most don't.  Perhaps you drive with your weapon on your lap, and
are always on the lookout for snipers; but I doubt it.  Maybe you have
eyes in the back of your head, and can read people's minds, but I
doubt that, too.  The cold fact is, Ben, if I wanted bad enough to
kill you, you would almost certainly be dead, never knowing it
happened.  That's not magic -- you could do the same to me, and if you
gave 10 minutes thought you would realize this is so. 

All this stuff about always being on guard and being totally aware of
your surroundings is silly macho bullshit.  And even if it wasn't,
it's an braindead empty argument -- if you were always on guard and
totally aware of your surroundings you would never need a gun for
anything, anyway.

And Ben, it's not that I would rather be shot than live with the
consequences of shooting someone.  If that really were the choice I
wouldn't give it a second thought.  But that's almost never really the
choice. 

-- 
Kent Crispin				"No reason to get excited",
kent@songbird.com			the thief he kindly spoke...
PGP fingerprint:   B1 8B 72 ED 55 21 5E 44  61 F4 58 0F 72 10 65 55
http://songbird.com/kent/pgp_key.html