I think a guy walking thru a park carrying an AR pistol and a sidearm at minimum could be seen as paranoid. It's his right I agree. I'm just looking at the paranoia argument. Maybe both sides are paranoid?
Yes, you are paranoid, by every definition of the word, if what you post is how you truely think. The whole point is (and you nailed it) somethings look out of place, because its no longer the norm that it was 40 years ago. It needs to be more widely seen and in a proper light as Ethan explained it so well.
Had this fellow been pushing a stroller with a 3 yo in it, would that look more normal to you? How about if he had been walking a labrador on a leash in that park - everything else being the same. Would that look out of place?
My guess your answer to that is not so much, which means the gun wasnt the issue, and your paranoid because of the absence of the dog or child or both.
Do you know how many times I've been told I'm paranoid for carrying a pistol? lol
My reply to them is, "I'm not at all paranoid, I'm prepared". I then follow up with "your the one who isnt prepared and doesnt believe in god either, but I garrandamntee you, if someone starts firing a gun at you, your going to pray to God that I save you ass and shoot back".
That’s exactly what some people think when they see me open carry a Glock at my grocery store. An MSR is more capable, but both weapons are perfectly capable of facilitating a mass shooting. And what difference does it make when I’m concealing? An extra split second while I lift my T-shirt. The only real difference is your perception based on the fact that many recent mass shooters happen to have chosen to use an AR-15.
This is a whole other can of worms, so I’m only going to mention briefly that being killed in a mass shootings is statistically very rare. Worrying about that is like worrying you’ll get struck by lightning five times in a year. Be prepared, sure. But focus your efforts and energy on something that’s actually a remote possibility.
Complacency and carelessness are exactly what I was warning against. It’s complacent to rely on the sight of a gun, especially a certain kind of gun, as an indication that something is about to go down, especially a gun simply being carried. We’re all much better served by being aware of the behavior of people around us in public places and how certain behaviors may be a red flag that someone is about to attack. There’s nothing wrong with paying attention to guns. Be aware of the entire situation. I’d be watching a guy carrying a rifle in a grocery store like a hawk. But I’m not going to let that distract me from the two guys loitering in the dark parking lot with guns shoved in their waistbands. They’re the much more likely threat.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranoia
Paranoia is a thought process heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs concerning a perceived threat towards oneself.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preparedness
Preparedness refers to the state of being prepared for specific or unpredictable events or situations. Preparedness is an important quality in achieving goals and in avoiding and mitigating negative outcomes. It is a major phase of emergency management, and is particularly valued in areas of competition such as sport and military science.
Seems to me the main difference is that Paranoina is irrational fear, and Preparedness is being ready to face a possible event or series of events.
Paranoia is a thought process heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs concerning a perceived threat towards oneself.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preparedness
Preparedness refers to the state of being prepared for specific or unpredictable events or situations. Preparedness is an important quality in achieving goals and in avoiding and mitigating negative outcomes. It is a major phase of emergency management, and is particularly valued in areas of competition such as sport and military science.
Seems to me the main difference is that Paranoina is irrational fear, and Preparedness is being ready to face a possible event or series of events.
Good! Let your spidey sense tingle and don’t ignore it. But the way it makes you feel doesn’t make it any more likely the guy is about to mount and pull the trigger. I perk up to a lot of situations in public as I go about my day. The vast majority of them turn out to be nothing. That’s how it ought to be if we’re being aware as we should be. And I know if I see a rifle carried for the 100th time it will still make my heart beat a little faster for a moment. And most likely it will turn out to be like all the other times that nothing eventful happened when I got a bad feeling about a person or a situation. If anyone is going about their day in public in any reasonably populated place without identifying multiple potential threats, they’re complacent or ignorant. Call me paranoid. I say it’s prepared. And I’d rather have that awareness than a gun on me almost any day of the week because only one of those two things can help you avoid a bad situation to begin with.
I too choose to be prepared.
I'm PARAPARED ! I carry going out to the mailbox.
I just had an argument a couple weeks ago about being prepared one of my fitters was making fun of a guy at Walmart open carrying he said that is stupid what do you have to worry about in your home town? I replied that right there is the stupidest thing I have ever heard and like Chenry said he would definitely be one of those praying that someone like us is there to save him and his families life
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