# No thanks, I'll take my chances with the psychopath. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 23, 2012, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135 "2012-07-23T14:22:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/261 "2012-07-24T14:42:18Z")
> [@kwimby](#): > > I’m pretty sure you really aren’t all that bright. I see what you did there. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/262 "2012-07-24T14:43:26Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > You’re shooting from the hip again. (no pun intended) > > Here, read the part about [Luby’s diner](http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/armed-citizen-might-have-made-difference-aurora?quicktabs_1=0). Did you quote the wrong post? ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/263 "2012-07-24T14:46:36Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Did you quote the wrong post? No, but I’ll post the part I was referencing for you here in case the link didn’t work for you. _Certainly that would have been the case in a Luby’s restaurant in Texas two decades ago, when a woman saw her mother and father gunned down by a madman – along with 21 others. She had a weapon but, because of Texas law at the time, had been forced to leave it outside in her car that day._ ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/264 "2012-07-24T14:59:14Z")
> [@kwimby](#): > > Being armed is part of my life and many in the silent majority of gun owners who observe reality from a more or less objective point of view. This stance is fundamentally opposed to the victim-oriented armchair quarterbacks whose fertile imaginations reveal every conceivable way to deal with a deadly shooting scenario except the one and only possible means of mitigating the outcome more in favor of the victims - stop the shooter. It must be somehow too simple for the irrationally fixated anti-gun people to comprehend. I concede that you have a thorough grasp of the overly simple. > [@](#): > > I can’t predict the future. But I have to live in this society that forms an environment where fucked up whackos can effectively accomplish this type of nightmarish atrocity at will. There’s not much you can do when a heavily armed shooter opens up on room full of people. I’ll just agree to disagree with the majority opinion here as far as what my response would be. A perfectly aimed head shot is of course unlikely, but even with all the protective gear he wore, a close range hit with a large caliber handgun would be enough to daze him at least momentarily, possibly even knock him down or injure him enough in some way as to stop him from continued shooting. I like those odds. Well, thank heavens _you’re_ not an armchair quarterback. > [@](#): > > Shit happens. Sometime people get hurt. You do what you gotta do. And sometimes you gotta wing a few bystanders in order to [del]compensate for one’s “physical inadequacies”[/del] take down a whacko. I’m sure the police and the families of any people you shot would completely understand. > [@](#): > > I’m not going to be the victim there unless he hits me first. The rest of you can take your chances with the psychopath. We’re still talking about the other guy, right? ---
**Author:** ![kwimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dc4da7/32.png) [@kwimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kwimby)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/265 "2012-07-24T14:59:27Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > You do realize you have more than one post, right? And that on the internet, you can’t selectively remember your own words? And I’m pretty sure you’re not all that great. That fact that that none of you victimizers can recognize the dynamic of the situation speaks for itself. It depends on where you are sitting, relative to the shooter. Could very well have been an easy head shot from front row center. From far off to the side I’d go for center mass like the moron with reading comprehension suggests. The point is just being smart enough to recognize the variables and adjust accordingly -not write off the whole thing in favor of your pet political persuasion. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/266 "2012-07-24T15:01:19Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > No, but I’ll post the part I was referencing for you here in case the link didn’t work for you. > > _Certainly that would have been the case in a Luby’s restaurant in Texas two decades ago, when a woman saw her mother and father gunned down by a madman – along with 21 others. She had a weapon but, because of Texas law at the time, had been forced to leave it outside in her car that day._ I still don’t understand what that has to do with my post, or why I’m supposed to be convinced by an anecdote in an editorial. Apart from anything else, Colorado doesn’t even ban guns from movie theaters. ---
**Author:** ![kwimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dc4da7/32.png) [@kwimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kwimby)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/267 "2012-07-24T15:02:06Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > …you gotta wing a few bystanders in order to [del]compensate for one’s “physical inadequacies”[/del] take down a whacko. Glad to see you’re focusing on me now. That’ll sit well with the victim’s families. Nice job. ---
**Author:** ![Peanut\_Gallery](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/838e76/32.png) [@Peanut\_Gallery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanut_Gallery)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/268 "2012-07-24T15:21:09Z")
C’mon guys! One more page, and I’m sure you can disabuse morons of their gun-toting hero fantasies! Victory is within 40 more posts! OK maybe 400… ---
**Author:** ![kwimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dc4da7/32.png) [@kwimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kwimby)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/269 "2012-07-24T15:25:59Z")
I prefer to disabuse gun-fearing cretins of their political illusions. ---
**Author:** ![jdubs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cdc98d/32.png) [@jdubs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jdubs)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/270 "2012-07-24T15:29:08Z")
I’m on the side of the people who would shoot back at the gunman. At least then the bad guy would know who to shoot at. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/271 "2012-07-24T15:29:20Z")
> [@kwimby](#): > > Glad to see you’re focusing on me now. That’ll sit well with the victim’s families. Nice job. Wow. Another lame taunt based on username, some spectacularly blatant hypocrisy and a bizarre sudden appeal to the sensibilities of the victims’ families, all crammed into such a short post. Clearly brevity is the soul of twit. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/272 "2012-07-24T15:35:18Z")
> [@kwimby](#): > > I prefer to disabuse gun-fearing cretins of their political illusions. Don’t sell the bike shop, Orville. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/273 "2012-07-24T15:35:46Z")
**Kwimby** - These are basically good people, all of them. They don’t understand guns. They don’t understand how most responsible gun owner’s pride themselves on being courteous and safe and would never doing anything to put an innocent person in danger. They don’t understand that years of training and practice create a confidence in one’s ability. They don’t understand that gun owners believe the use of a gun is a last resort. Something that you would do only if it was necessary to protect yourself or your family, and that little 6 year old girl two seats over. And finally, they think gun owners possess a Rambo mentality, ignoring the fact that the vast majority would choose escape over confrontation. To them, anyone armed in that theater would have been a nut for owning a gun, a bigger nut for carrying it to the theater, and an even bigger nut for thinking he could hit a target 10 yards away with a carefully aimed shot. They assume that an armed theater goer would hide his head betwen his knees, close his eyes, and reach over the top of the seat in front of him spraying and praying, carelessly hitting anyone left alive. Or worse yet, stand up, making as big a target as possible, holding their gun sideways with one hand, while exchange gunfire with a better armed shooter, probably yelling yippie ki yay while doing it. They just don’t know any better. They also assume the cops are about to enter the theater any second and save them. In fact, the cops are probably in defilade behind their car waiting for the SWAT team to arrive. At 12:30AM it’s likely the SWAT team is many minutes away at best. And the paramedics aren’t coming until the cops tell them the war zone is clear. They don’t accept that this is one of those situation where you’re basically on your own. Your decisions, your actions, everything you do determines whether or not you’re going to walk out that door or be carried out. We need to convince them that there are intelligent, competent people who own guns, and that those people can act in a responsible manner in the worst of situations. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/274 "2012-07-24T15:38:04Z")
On further consideration: a newbie who comes out with popguns blazing, picks a fight with everyone, bases multiple insults solely on usernames, accuses others of doing the things he’s been doing all along and claims that everyone who disagrees with him is removed from reality? I name thee Mr Underbridge. And probably 15 years old. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/275 "2012-07-24T15:39:46Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > We need to convince them that there are intelligent, competent people who own guns, and that those people can act in a responsible manner in the worst of situations. TIL Morgenstern thinks acting in a responsible manner is creating crossfire in a crowded movie theater full of panicked people. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/276 "2012-07-24T15:40:06Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > We need to convince them that there are intelligent, competent people who own guns, and that those people can act in a responsible manner in the worst of situations. Claiming that you can make a shot from the back of the theater to the front through smoke and a panicked crowd is not the best way to do that. **Una Persson** ’s few posts in this thread have been vastly more rational and intelligent than yours or Mr. Sheeple’s. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/277 "2012-07-24T15:43:19Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Claiming that you can make a shot from the back of the theater to the front through smoke and a panicked crowd is not the best way to do that. **Una Persson** ’s few posts in this thread have been vastly more rational and intelligent than yours or Mr. Sheeple’s. Where did I claim that? And, I’m more of a sheepdog than a sheep. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/278 "2012-07-24T15:43:47Z")
People, people. What we mere mortals don’t understand is that Heroic People like \*\*Morgenstern \*\*and \*\*kwimby \*\*have something we don’t. Unagi! ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/279 "2012-07-24T15:44:42Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > We need to convince them that there are intelligent, competent people who own guns, and that those people can act in a responsible manner in the worst of situations. No true Scotsman, eh? Some of us do own guns. Some of us are current concealed [licence/permit/whatever] holders. Some of us are past holders. Some of us shoot on a regular if not frequent basis. And you’re still wrong. Don’t try to speak for the entire gun-owning world, bub. And your situation still doesn’t make sense. You keep trying to make it a lone hero scenario when it’s clearly not. Creating these nice, neat scenarios where it’s not merely possible but likely you’ll have a reasonable chance at taking action says more about your philosophy than it does your grasp on reality. There’s a reason why even the limited CHL training in Texas focuses on home invasions and carjackings. When you add any more people than that and you can’t be sure whether they’re “good” or “bad”, all that confidence and training goes out the window. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/280 "2012-07-24T15:50:06Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > You keep trying to make it a lone hero scenario when it’s clearly not. Creating these nice, neat scenarios where it’s not merely possible but likely you’ll have a reasonable chance at taking action says more about your philosophy than it does your grasp on reality. He refuses to answer the question as to what he would do if other armed citizens in the theatre decided to respond. How do you tell the good guys from the bad guys? What do you do if some other hero sees you and the gunman, wrongly determines that the well-armed person in the professional outfit is a S.W.A.T. officer or somesuch, and starts shooting at _you_? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135.md?page=15)