Who the hell are you to be so certain of this guy’s intentions?
If he is carrying for safety and protection, then he is driven by fear and paranoia.
If he is carrying for a political point, then he is driven to intimidate folks with differing political views.
Again the OP asked us why he was carrying, I’m simply answering that question with my opinion. I’m not a psychoanalyst, so I don’t know why he is carrying. I’m telling you why I think he is carrying. I know of no other logical (ah, there’s the rub) reason why anybody would be carrying a large weapon into a crowded department store.
I’m kinda curious why you think that. I’ve known quite a few people who openly carry and not one of them has ever done it for intimidation. Usually it’s either making a point about a rights issue or for personal safety, or both.
I’m also curious if anyone else in this thread has experienced anyone openly carrying for the purpose of intimidation. Not that they think the person was doing it for intimidation but that they actually know for certain that it was (for example if the guy carrying actually said he was doing it to be intimidating).
A behavior can be irresponsible even if it is legal.
I have freedom of speech. That doesn’t mean, for example, that entering a J. C. Penny wearing a shirt covered with racist caricatures and epithets is responsible behavior. We don’t arrest people for such behavior but we do use social pressure to strongly discourage it. We can do the same with people like this idiot.
The man calls the police ahead of time and tells them what he’s going to do. So he knows that he could cause fear and upset and possibly even a dangerous situation. that’s irresponsible.
I’ll add that if the man thinks that this behavior is going to help his cause, then he’s an idiot.
If it’s only your opinion, why are you so certain of it? If you’re admitting you’re not qualified to even make a guess at why he’s carrying, why did you earlier say there is no doubt in your mind that he’s carrying for the reason you assume? Do you always treat your uneducated guesses as certain facts?
Sorry for double posting, but this post wasn’t there when I started editing.
Do you think all people who carry for safety and protection are driven by fear and paranoia, or just people who carry big scary rifles? In other words, if he had been carrying a pistol openly on a belt would you think the same thing?
I disagree that doing something is necessarily irresponsible because it causes fear. That would imply that he has a responsibility to act in a way that makes people feel safe - and since he’s not a cop, security guard or anything of the sort, he has no such duty.
I think more people should do what he’s doing. If people react like this to one guy with a rifle on his back, they obviously aren’t used to seeing it, so maybe gun owners should help them get used to it.
Clearly he’s just shopping for a AR-15 cozy from J.C. Penny.
Seriously, I find it unlikely that his intent is to demonstrate the benevolence of firearms in public. Rather, he’s boldly demonstrating against the zeitgeist, which is his right.
Doesn’t make him any less of a douchebag.
Thank you Shoujin, better than I could have done.
If a guy is openly carrying pistol in JC Penney for safety, then yes it’s fear and paranoia.
If a guy is openly carrying a pistol while helping a friend with a broken down car in a real bad neighborhood, then a little fear and paranoia might come in handy.
Again, if you are shopping in places where you fear for your safety, then maybe you should consider a) not shopping there or b) actually take the time to look at the odds that a random violent event will break out.
So much for just your opinion.
I was asked by engineer what I thought about people carrying pistol. I stated my opinion. If I write something, please assume I’m stating my opinion. If I’m stating facts I’ll try to cite.
If it’s your opinion, why are you stating it like a fact? And if it’s your opinion, why are you so certain of it? You’ve already said you’re not qualified to make a guess at why people carry weapons, so shouldn’t you be less certain in your opinions?
No, it would not imply that he has a responsibility to make people feel safe. It implies that he has a responsibility to not unnecessarily make people feel fear. Two different things. Logic 101.
We need someone to help us get used to it? Thank you so much for your concern and your desire to help us! :rolleyes: Don’t you think that’s maybe just a little bit patronizing?
Why the hell do we need to get used to it? We have to get used to random people brandishing weapons in department stores? People we know nothing about; who’s intentions we can’t guess; who’s sanity or lack thereof we have no knowledge of; who’s level of training and knowledge of safety we can only guess at? We need to be helped to get used to THAT?
I don’t want to get used to that. I want to keep my common sense instinct that I need to avoid such people. Thank you oh so much for offering your help, but I’m afraid that I’ll have to decline your kind offer.
regardless of intention or reason for carrying, I can’t imagine having to call the police dispatcher every time I went to pay off my JCPenney charge account or whatever. It might make me want to shop online a lot more often.
BTW, there’s a number out there in Utah to call a non-emergency dispatcher, right? right?
Not really.
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Whichever you think applies, I don’t. He has neither the responsibility to go out of his way to make people feel safe, or to not instil fear. It’s not his problem if people are afraid of a man doing nothing illegal.
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No, it’s not patronising at all, if the posts here and the response of the people at the JCP is anything to go by. Obviously, a man carrying an assault rifle is unusual enough that it attracts attention; more people doing it every day would help you get used to the idea. Why do you have to get used to it? Well, because people have a right to do that, they just tend not to, to the extent that you seem to be forgetting he has a right to do it. More constant reminders would help you with that. This is why I think more people should follow this man’s example - so that people like you won’t get to decline.
He doesn’t have to, he does it as a courtesy because people are stupid and might forget that it’s perfectly legal to carry a rifle around and call the cops, wasting everyone’s time.
People are stupid and forgetful? Okay, so now we see your true attitude.
In my opinion (and I will NOT engage in a stupid argument about opinions) it shouldn’t be legal to do this; but regardless of that, there’s no reason to do this. The fact that something is legal isn’t in and of itself a reason to do something. There is NO need to carry personal weapons in a department store. The miniscule chance that they will end up preventing a death or injury is outweighed by the chance that those weapons will themselves end up hurting someone either accidentally or on purpose because (and I’m repeating myself) the rest of us have no idea if the person carrying is good or evil, sane or insane, cautious or careless, trained or untrained.
I don’t want to live in the old west. I don’t want to have to worry if the armed guy in the next aisle is simply making a statement or about to engage in a gang hit with me caught in the crossfire.
Well, thankfully, what you want doesn’t matter.
If it makes the life of a bully like himself harder, then it’s not a waste.