Shotgun Diplomacy

As I mentioned in my previous post, I've been staying more abreast of current events lately. I didn't much mean to; it's just that the daily paper is a cost free way of alleviating the mind numbing boredom endemic to my job. But, perhaps not surprisingly, reading about what's going on in the world has given me a lot more to talk about.

Take, for example, the current fashion of toting guns to presidential speeches. No shit, when I saw the picture of some ignorant cracker with a 9mm pistol strapped to his hip, an assault rifle slung over his shoulder and a sign that said something about "watering the tree of liberty", I had to restrain the urge to laugh. I wanted to because the fucker looked so patently ridiculous. I didn't, however, because such behavior really isn't funny.

Now, long hair and radical beliefs aside, I am definitely NOT against gun ownership. Once upon a time, this country's right to exist was ensured not by a professional army but by a determined group of armed civilians. While the likelihood of such a thing being necessary twice is fairly low, I do not think that (especially in these dark times) laying down our arms is particularly prudent. Besides, I think I've made it clear that I believe an individual should have the right to defend their home, family and interests with deadly force if the need arises.

However, I ALSO feel that a citizen who chooses to arm himself is by default held to a higher standard of maturity and responsibility. A gun is not a status symbol or a source of amusement. It is a tool of deadly force and should be treated as such. Walking around with an AR-15 over your shoulder, just because you can, daring someone to "make something of it" is not the action of an adult. Such is the act of a child, a spoiled and selfish one at that.

I won't bother talking about how such antics interfere with the democratic process or create a security risk for our president. The mainstream press has already covered such ground with at least as much eloquence as I could muster. But here are another few reasons why such behavior is monumentally stupid:

-it does wonders for Gun Control, Inc. Think about it. If these people get edgy at the mere THOUGHT of private firearm ownership, imagine how they're going to feel about the sight of some asshole walking down a public street, hatted up like he's off to a Soldier of Fortune photo op. And imagine what gun-control fence sitters are going to think. Hell, I'm for gun ownership and it made ME nervous.

-it's an offense to polite society. Unless the Taliban staged some kind of invasion, there's no justifiable reason to be openly carrying guns on a public street. A firearm is a dangerous object, and accidents can and do happen.

-it makes the country look bad. Come on, we already look like a nation of ignorant, trigger-happy cowboys. Do we, as a country, truly want to make that worse? If these fuckwads really loved this nation, they'd actually give a shit about what their actions do to its reputation.

-it's a safety hazard. This one should be obvious but I'll list it anyway. A gun in an open topped holster can be stolen, and it can fall out and go off by accident. And it did not appear to me that those packing heat were paying too much mind to either concern. Yes, police carry guns in a similar fashion. But they are trained. These men, I'm going to assume from their lax behavior, weren't.

I could go on, but what's the point? Put simply, such behavior is irresponsible and stupid. Those engaging in it should cease and desist, else their right to keep and bear arms evaporate in a flurry of well meaning (and perhaps well deserved) paranoia.

In other words, the idiotic few need to stop making the rest of us look bad.