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Quote of the Day – Michael Bane(4/9/2012)

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Yes, the words of victims have special poignancy, but what they don’t have is any special truth. Grief drives us to look toward the heavens and demand an answer from any nearby Deity. Grief drives us to demand a solution to the fundamental insoluble problem, which is that the world is as it is. Bad things happen, often to good people, and grief drives us to…do something.

To me there is no greater sin…and I use the word “sin” specifically…than harnessing grief to serve a crass political agenda.

Michael Bane – RIVERDANCE With Blood

April 9th, 2012

[QTFMFT!  The other side of this debate points at us as if we are heartless and have absolutely no empathy with the victims.  That is merely a tactic they use to dehumanize their “enemy”.

We know that being a victim doesn’t make you magically knowledgeable about a subject.  We know that the only thing it does is give you the perspective of being a victim.  It doesn’t mean that because you say “Doing X” will actually make it better.  Other than being a victim, what supporting facts and evidence do they have?

This comes right back to the rules for coping with tragedy.

There are those who hate those rules because emotion is the only argument they have. -B]

 

Quote of the Day – RobertaX (2/25/2013)

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Defending yourself is not a matter of “punishment.”  You’re not out to correct your assailant’s behavior, you’re wanting to stop it, as quickly and effectively as possible, with the least collateral damage.  Whatever does that is what you should do.

RobertaX – Pizza Robber Update
February 25, 2013

[I’ve never quite understood the method of thinking that ties self-defense into punishment.  Can I not kill someone until after they’ve killed me?  Is that the new standard now?  When it comes to rape then, can a woman only rape her assailant back after she’s been violated?  Why is she not allowed to stop the threat.  Yes some times stopping the threat does involve the assailant’s body reaching room temperature but that’s the risk of their profession.

You know how the assailant would still be alive?  By not attacking his intended victim.  Why is this so hard for some people to understand?

In the words of Malcolm Reynolds:

“I didn’t kill him, he killed himself. I just carried the bullet for a while.”

The criminal made his choice and in the middle of the crime the victim can, and should, do all that he can to protect himself and family.  Someone is threatening force against them and they are not and should not be required to be mind readers to determine if the threat is real or just words.  If you use something that looks like a gun in a threatening manner, it’s a gun, and I will not fault the individual who defends himself from you.

The criminal takes a risk that someone might defend himself, and if the criminal continues to fight even when presented with force being applied back from the victim,  the onus for the outcome lies squarely with the aggressor.  Stop blaming victims for the outcome of actions and choices made by criminals. -B]

 

A Lesson About Safe Storage Devices

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So I have seen this before but I figure it’s a nice refresher.

Note the results, still think those little boxes you see will keep your property safe?  Especially those quick access boxes some end up buying when they’re stuck in one of those states lacking in freedom and pushing tyranny.  Still think the arguments are really about your safety or preventing theft?

If you think curious kids can’t figure out how to pick a lock, you obviously never saw me as a child.  I figured out how to pick locks at first just with paper clips.  Making my own tension fork and rake to pop simple locks.  Eventually I got my hands on a real set.  Yeah, beyond a real safe and educating your children, you’re not going to do much other than increase curiosity.

So consider this a public service announcement and a warning.  If you’re using any of these items, be damn sure of their capabilities and weaknesses.  In so doing, be sure to use them in a manner consistent with their abilities.  I happen to fully agree with the presenters final conclusions.

Why Would You Ever Need a Magazine With More Than 10 Rounds

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Lately people have been throwing around the need argument.  It is an argument that honestly doesn’t really matter.  Drunk driving kills how many people every year and does anyone need to drive?  Why not just use public transportation?  Why does anyone need to drive themselves from point A to B?  But again, the argument doesn’t matter, it’s pointless.  Does law enforcement limit themselves to 10 rounds? What about the military?  But they’re different I hear you cry?  Are they?  Do they really need 30 round magazines that turns their guns into mass killing machines?  They should just reload like the rest of us!

1349368116_8392_why30rounders

Image by Oleg Volk.

As I am writing this I am coming down off a serious adrenaline dump.  I had wrapped my knee for the night and was dressed in such a manner as not to rapidly exit my door grabbing my weapon and having nothing more than was on the belt of my pants.

Let me start at the beginning.  My local neighborhood gun shop is a block away.  The owner is quite literally my neighbor.  I wave hi to him and his wife on my way to work every morning, we are literally on the same street.  I am merely an additional 100 yards from his business than he is from his house.  Due to my proximity, my willingness, and the fact I hang out and help because one of his sons is my age and he’s a cool guy I’m basically on the business roster.

Early this month they had to attend their buy show in Vegas along with SHOT show.  The shop owner closed up and he and the regular employees headed down for a “business vacation”.  While gone I was put on the alarm system call list, still am actually.  If any of the sensors goes off, they called the shop followed by my phone.

Tonight the alarm went off.  I missed the call and rolled out after my voicemail buzzed.  The shop owner was ahead of me and I texted his son immediately I heard the voice mail and head out.  They were finishing up clearing the building as I walked in the front door.  I had my side arm and a few other tools but I was brining up the rear so bad I wasn’t too worried.  We met up, did some debugging, notice that some of the sensors use batteries and we replaced all of them.  We reactivated the system and went home.

After the first adventure, I figured my night was over, went to a Robb life style of “Pants Free” and wrapped up my left knee.  Two hours later, my phone rang again.  I was out of the house in under 2 minutes, with my pants on, rifle, side arm, and knife.  I merely had the immediate possessions I was able to grab.  I went flying out of the house and flew down my road at about 60 mph flew into the parking lot and slid to a stop just before the front door.  I slipped past the front door, unlocked it, and proceeded to clear the building carefully and methodically. Nothing was out-of-place, nothing was wrong other than the alarm had gone off again.

oleg-volk-cop-with-rifle-1

Image by Oleg Volk.

I bring all this up because I want to emphasize a point.  I left the house with merely the equipment I could grab.  I wasn’t tossing on magazine carriers.  I wasn’t tossing on multiple weapons.  I grabbed one weapon that total gave me 61 rounds to put on target.  I grabbed one weapon that could I could accurately and easily manipulate in the variety of conditions seen within the shop.  I had my side arm on my belt which gave me an extra 13+1 should my primary weapon fail.  If I had not left my firearm clipped to my belt, it would have been left at home.

Now some would say, I didn’t need to go down there, or go inside.  Police response where I live is 30-45 minutes if we’re lucky.  Further the cost of a false alarm is expensive and best dealt with.  Yes it could be considered a high risk maneuver, so is letting the criminals inside steal firearms and ammunition.  I’m comfortable entering that environment, I’m familiar with it, I know the layout, I know where I can find cover and concealment, and I know the better ways to get around to avoid kill zones.

Even more than that some would say, it isn’t my business so it isn’t my problem.  To them I would say, stay in suburbia, stay in the city, and leave those of us who like rural life to live among our like-minded neighbors in peace.  I would help my neighbor as he would help me.  Our community as a whole would be shamed by an event like this, and I will be damned if I will let the, “Let someone else deal with it” and “Not my problem” attitude take over.  The owner felt bad it interrupted my night, but in the end I told him I don’t care, doubly so because if anything was happening I don’t care if he’s on site first or I’m on site, the bottom line is the security of the business and the weapons inside.  I would rather them call me so I can give immediate support than have him out numbered in a worse situation waiting for the eventual police arrival.

The whole point of this  though is I was limited to what I could grab and head out the door with.  In this case my AR-15 and my side arm.  In the middle of the night someone is limited to what they can easily grab by their nightstand.  Be it a XDm 9 with a 20 round capacity or an AR-15 with a 30 round magazine. The point is any citizen deserves to be able to take as much fight with them as they possibly can at the drop of a hat.  Criminals do not call ahead or provide advanced notice and they will not give you a chance to go get more ammo.  Why do people like normal capacity magazines, because it’s less you have to worry about when something goes bump in the middle of the night.  It’s less you have to fiddle with.  No one has ever come back from a gun fight and said, “Damn, I wish I hadn’t brought so much ammo.”

*I have two 30 round magazines attached together like this in my rifle.  It was this that allowed me to quickly deploy with 61 rounds in hand.  I have a second set that will be taped up in the near future and relocated to quickly grab.

Quote of the Day – Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson(1/26/2013)

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Had this protest been launched somewhere other than in the security-screening area, we would have a much different case. But Tobey’s antics diverted defendants from their passenger-screening duties for a period, a diversion that nefarious actors could have exploited to dangerous effect. Defendants responded as any passenger would hope they would, summoning local law enforcement to remove Tobey—and the distraction he was creating — from the scene.

Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson – Aaron Tobey v Terri Jones

January 25, 2013

[First here’s the background on the story.

A Virginia man who wrote an abbreviated version of the Fourth Amendment on his body and stripped to his shorts at an airport security screening area won a trial Friday in his lawsuit seeking $250,000 in damages for being detained on a disorderly conduct charge.

Now let me translate Judge Wilkinson’s quote for everyone.

Because our TSA agents and federal government so dislike those who disagree with the government infringing on personal liberties and freedom.  People should no longer have 1st Amendment protections to their ability peacefully protest the behavior of the agents infringing on their 4th Amendment rights.

The fact that our paid government agents would pursue and harass a man for an extra 90 minutes because he was willing to protest is evidence he should not be allowed to voice dissent.  The reason he shouldn’t be allowed is because it compounds the ignorance and inability for the TSA to do its job thus making it more likely that an agency who has a track record of catching absolutely no-one to catch even fewer.

Instead the people should just silently undergo their mistreatment and act like good cattle and just get on the cattle car to the slaughter.  That way the TSA can continue stealing peoples private valuables to sell to others while under the protecting folds of working for the US Government.

Still think this whole thing is still really about making us safer?  The government does nothing but destroy and trample the rights and liberties of some to make others somehow feel they are safer.  When in fact the TSA guy just waves terrorists right on through because it’s merely an illusion and nothing more.

Just remember, Judge Wilkinson obviously despises the 1st Amendment as much as he despises the 4th Amendment.  Thankfully his opinion was the dissenting one.  -B]

The Mass Shooting that Wasn’t

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Title ripped off from Uncle.

Let me start by saying this was originally a comment to Uncle’s post but eventually I turned it into a post because honestly this needs to be out in front.

Antu says the man headed toward the theater and shot a male in the lot. The age and condition of the victim wasn’t immediately known, but Antu says his injuries did not appear life-threatening.

The gunman entered the theater, Antu says, where he fired a shot but did not hit anyone. An off-duty sheriff’s deputy working security then shot the gunman.

Now why would I make a post out of this?  Because last night on Facebook, god knows where at this point, someone left a comment along the following lines:

That was because it was an off duty officer! They’re tested so such a high standard that no mere citizen could qualify. That’s why this armed individual was able to stop this criminal!

For those who don’t feel like clicking the link, here’s the video shown in that post, which gives more details:

So lets bust this whole thing open shall we?  First up we have statistics showing police vs. civilian response.  14.3 deaths during a police response to 2.3 deaths when armed civilians response.  Admittedly a limited sample pool given you’re more likely to be struck by lightning.  Moving forward though there’s the argument that an armed citizen will more likely hit bystanders than the police.  Lets compare and contrast two videos shall we?

NYPD score, 1 bad guy, 9 innocent civilians.  A block of “highly trained” individuals.

Old guy with a CCW score: 2 injured assailants, no civilian casualties.

Again, why do we want more than 10 rounds in a magazine?  The idea of a one shot stop is a myth.  The idea that police are some how superior is a myth.  The idea that a gun free zone will some how make you safe is a myth.  The idea that an armed citizen cannot take care of themselves is a myth, one easily disproven I might add.

Why is it one side of this debate consistently argues myths instead of facts.  The reason the national news doesn’t cover this is because it doesn’t fit their narrative of myths.

Quote of the Day – Say Uncle (12/13/2012)

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Anyway, the correct answer to why do you need an AR-15? is because fuck you. Or, the more politically correct version because I can. You see, Piers, you don’t get a say in what I own or what I do. End of story.

Say Uncle – “Shut up!”, he explained
December 13th, 2012

[If you’re wondering what he was talking about.  It was this show down between Alan Gottlieb and Piers Morgan.

This is the same Piers Morgan from this recent twitter escapade.

Yeah, that’s the tweet Alan was bringing up when Piers went off the deep end.

Mr. Morgan, I do not have to justify my purchase to you, the government, or any other person.  It is called the “Bill of Rights”, not the “Bill of Needs”.

Tell me Mr. Morgan, why do you feel the need to open your fat mouth and spout drivel that is tantamount to blaming gun owners as a whole for the actions of an individual?  Because despite what you may think, collective rights are B.S. and here’s a nice piece from Oleg Volk to help explain it.  Here’s the abbreviated photo version.

Your claims that some how the youth of America can go out and purchase firearms willy-nilly is false and smacks of someone who has never been through the process.  It is worthy of note that in this latest incident the rifle was actually stolen, not purchased.  You claim that you want to stop the violence but instead focus on the tool and not the person and the act.

The choice of a firearm actually is a blessing despite what many people think.  If given immediate and proper medical attention gun shot wounds have an 80% survival rate, regarding hand guns.  (I highly suggest watching this video as it is a wonderful view into the world of terminal ballistics.  If anyone knows where to find a better copy of it, please let me know.)  Rifles have a different statistic but currently I am unaware of the actual numbers.  The bottom line is you need to hit a vital organ to cause terminal damage.  Rifles while more powerful and capable of more severe tissue damage still suffer from the issue of needing to hit a vital area.

You seem to think that firearms are the only tool available for mass murder, except that is anything but true.  You know what is effective and honestly down right scary Mr. Morgan, fire.  Fire can be set and scheduled so the murderer miles away before anyone knows what happened.  If the Aurora shooter had used fire instead he could have killed every last person in that theater with a guaranteed success rate of 100%.  All he had to do was block the exits with fire first.

You complain about why would anyone need an AR-15.  You argue that there is no need for it.  Yet it is the most popular rifle in America.  Used for hunting, because we all know George Washington crossed the Delaware to get to his duck blind, sport shooting and even law enforcement uses the semi-automatic AR-15.  I use my AR-15 for competitive shooting as well as Boomershoot.

Ultimately though Mr. Morgan, I don’t have to give you any other reason than that of, pardon my language, “Because Fuck You, That’s Why!”  It is none of your business that I even have a firearm and it is not my responsibility to control the actions of others, much less be held responsible for their decisions or actions.  Besides, there’s a reason my feathers ruffle when you and your compatriots start banging on the war drums like you do.

Frankly Mr. Morgan I don’t give a crap what you think either because you’re nothing more than a gun grabbing Brit. Guess you missed the fact that gun crime went up 35% in Britain, that’s not including the overall crime rate.  Since you think that “Gun Deaths” are the only ones that matter.  The fact is that there is no correlation between civilian gun ownership and crime much less causation.  Which country has the positive slope on the trend and which has the negative slope?  Remember now, negative is better.  But as we can see in the video, facts don’t matter to you. -B]

Acceptance and an Ugly Truth

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Let me lead off on a quote from A Girl:

The reasons are many and complicated and are not the same for everyone, but to some extent I think for most it is simply because it is what we want to believe. Many of us are conditioned and many of us are naive, but there is more to it. I believe we accept these ineffective ways to keep us safe because they are what we want to be true. We want to believe that the world is basically a rosy place where bad things don’t happen to good people and when they do they are so rare, we need not worry about it. AND we want what is easy.

If you haven’t read her post, “I Believe, I Believe. It Is Silly, But I Believe,” it’s worth the time.  I point to her post because it, mainly that quote, is honestly what inspired the following train of thoughts through my head.

People naturally tend to rationalize away things they do not like, things they do not want to hear, or things that would otherwise bring them discomfort.  While every last one of those points are valid and extremely important it misses probably the most critical one of all. 

What could she have missed?  She has that bad exists in the world, some are naïve, and that ultimately we want those simple things to be true.  So what critical item do I think was left out?

A very ugly truth that not everyone can handle or accept.  That truth is this:

In the defense of my family or myself I may have to strike another human being.  Not only may I have to strike that person, but I may be forced to take their life in defense of my family or myself in order to stop the attack.

Many people cannot handle this.  We are brought up in a society where doing such a thing is viewed with great disdain and shunned, and rightfully so when life is taken for the wrong reasons.  Many people group all killing into that single group.  For them there is no acceptable reason to kill another human being.  Not even to kill them to prevent them from killing you.

Not only as a society is this shunned, but many people lock up at even contemplating the fact they may be force to take the life of another human being.  It is not entirely their fault either.  We are wired genetically to not want to kill each other.

There can be no doubt that this resistance to killing one’s fellow man is there and that it exists as a result of a powerful combination of instinctive, rational, environmental, hereditary, cultural, and social factors.  It is there, it is strong, and it gives us cause to believe that there may just be hope for mankind after all.1

No person really likes the idea that they may end up having to kill another, honestly most will do what they can to prevent it.  Many of us who do finally accept this ugly truth have spent hours agonizing over and finally understanding that the circumstances that lead to that situation are ultimately out of our control.  While yes we can do things to mitigate our chances of an encounter, ultimately the decision to start the conflict does not ride with us.  We know, understand, and accept this.  Not everyone is so willing to accept the reality of this fact.

Many will constantly rationalize that somehow they can avoid any conflict that might befall them.  They will falsely rationalize to themselves that if the aggressor gets what they want it will go no further.  They ignore and disregard the idea that some people don’t want anything other than to see someone in pain and die.  They do not understand how the other side ultimately views this situation.  They cannot comprehend the following so eloquently put by Malcolm Reynolds.

“I didn’t kill him, he killed himself. I just carried the bullet for a while.”

Yes, I make the decision to defend myself, and yes I make the decision on the level of force necessary to apply.  The most critical decision though in that whole chain though was the person who decided to victimize my family or me.  If he had not have chosen to attack, invade, or otherwise do something against my family or myself, I would have never needed to make either of those two decisions.  The second decision ultimately is also based on the aggressors decisions as well.  Ultimately though the first decision must be made in advance and the gravity and reality of the potential consequences of the second decision accepted.  Many people cannot do that, they cannot accept that, they cannot comprehend why contemplation would even be necessary.  Many of us look at the story of A Girl, or the excerpt in her post from “Armed and Female” and a roll of realization and acceptance flow through us.

Many who read this have already accepted the harsh realities A Girl points out in her quote, but we’ve also accepted the consequences of that truth.  It is those consequences I believe most people have a serious problem with whether they’re willing to admit it or not.  Without accepting those consequences there is not much left in the toolbox for survival.  The natural response then is to rationalize and attempt to hide the problem.

I have touched before on why I carry a gun, and some have argued and told me that people carry a gun out of fear and being afraid.

I don’t carry a gun because I’m afraid of criminals.  I don’t carry a gun because I think someone is out to get me.  I carry a gun because if and when the devil arrives at my door I have one mission and one mission alone: Assure that my wife and myself arrive home in one piece, no worse for wear.  The condition I leave the devil in is entirely up to him.  He may end up hospitalized, he may end up just scratched and bruised, he may even end up dead.  My decisions though center around my mission and I will do what I feel is necessary to guarantee that outcome.  If you don’t like it, don’t try and attack my family or me, it is honestly that simple.  However I have realized and accepted this ugly truth an the potential consequences that go with it.

1-Grossman, Dave. On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society. Boston: Little, Brown, 1995. 39. Print.