I am the gun owner you hate

[Solomon2]

LETTER

To the man I sat next to on the train: I am the gun owner you hate

JIM LO SCALZO/EPA
The headquarters of the National Rifle Association (NRA) in Fairfax, Va.

JANUARY 09, 2016

TO THE man I sat next to on my way in to Boston:

When I boarded the commuter rail, you were already in the midst of a spirited phone conversation and didn’t seem to care about how loud you were talking. You were talking with someone about the Paris train attack and the growing epidemic of gun violence in America.You spoke about the “murderous NRA” and “bloodthirsty gun nuts” who were causing our schools to “run red with blood.” You spoke profanely of the Republicans who opposed President Obama’s call for “sensible gun control,” and you lamented the number of “inbred redneck politicians” who have “infiltrated Capitol Hill.”

I found myself amazed at the irony of the situation. While you were spewing your venom, I sat quietly next to you with my National Rifle Association membership card in my wallet and my 9mm pistol in its holster. You were only 12 inches away from my legally owned semiautomatic pistol. I suppose I didn’t look like the “bloodthirsty gun nut” you thought I should be. It apparently didn’t register to you that I could so cleverly disguise myself by wearing a fleece coat, Patriots hat, and khakis.

So, to the angry liberal who sat next to me on the commuter rail: I don’t hate you. I don’t have any ill feelings toward you. I don’t wish to do you harm. And I don’t regret sitting next to you. On the contrary; I feel bad for you. It must hurt carrying that much hate inside of you.

You obviously have strong opinions about this hot topic. So, let me say this as plainly as I can: If a bad guy with a gun had decided to walk onto that train and start shooting people, I would have been prepared and able to use my gun to defend my own life and the lives of everyone else on that train, including yours. Although you may hate me, a gun owner, I would risk my life for you.

Opinions and ideologies make a pretty thin shield against the bullets of a madman. Your liberal self-righteousness and ignorance may have made you feel superior and comfortable, but during that 40-minute train ride to Boston, my gun kept you safe.

A. Linden

Dighton

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

LETTER

To the man I sat next to on the train: I am the gun owner you hate

JIM LO SCALZO/EPA
The headquarters of the National Rifle Association (NRA) in Fairfax, Va.

JANUARY 09, 2016

TO THE man I sat next to on my way in to Boston:

When I boarded the commuter rail, you were already in the midst of a spirited phone conversation and didn’t seem to care about how loud you were talking. You were talking with someone about the Paris train attack and the growing epidemic of gun violence in America.You spoke about the “murderous NRA” and “bloodthirsty gun nuts” who were causing our schools to “run red with blood.” You spoke profanely of the Republicans who opposed President Obama’s call for “sensible gun control,” and you lamented the number of “inbred redneck politicians” who have “infiltrated Capitol Hill.”

I found myself amazed at the irony of the situation. While you were spewing your venom, I sat quietly next to you with my National Rifle Association membership card in my wallet and my 9mm pistol in its holster. You were only 12 inches away from my legally owned semiautomatic pistol. I suppose I didn’t look like the “bloodthirsty gun nut” you thought I should be. It apparently didn’t register to you that I could so cleverly disguise myself by wearing a fleece coat, Patriots hat, and khakis.

So, to the angry liberal who sat next to me on the commuter rail: I don’t hate you. I don’t have any ill feelings toward you. I don’t wish to do you harm. And I don’t regret sitting next to you. On the contrary; I feel bad for you. It must hurt carrying that much hate inside of you.

You obviously have strong opinions about this hot topic. So, let me say this as plainly as I can: If a bad guy with a gun had decided to walk onto that train and start shooting people, I would have been prepared and able to use my gun to defend my own life and the lives of everyone else on that train, including yours. Although you may hate me, a gun owner, I would risk my life for you.

Opinions and ideologies make a pretty thin shield against the bullets of a madman. Your liberal self-righteousness and ignorance may have made you feel superior and comfortable, but during that 40-minute train ride to Boston, my gun kept you safe.

A. Linden

Dighton

Well Dighton says it all. He lives between Taunton and Fall River. I'd own a gun too.
The problem is back to "haves" and "have nots". If you live in a "have" area there is no need to even consider owning a gun. It never even crosses your mind. However if you live in a "have not" area the thought does cross your mind. Once that thought becomes reality you begin to see the world overflowing with "have not" areas. Meanwhile the people in the "have areas" think that since they have no reason to own a gun in their area people in other areas shouldn't need them either.

 

[Solomon2]

The problem is back to "haves" and "have nots". If you live in a "have" area there is no need to even consider owning a gun. It never even crosses your mind.

Don't be so sure. In D.C. we had a newspaper columnist, Carl Rowan, who after years of writing pro-gun control articles was arrested for shooting an unarmed trespassing swimmer with an illegal handgun: link

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Don't be so sure. In D.C. we had a newspaper columnist, Carl Rowan, who after years of writing pro-gun control articles was arrested for shooting an unarmed trespassing swimmer with an illegal handgun: link

Well some people who are extreme end up getting caught in their own web.

But it does come down to demographics. If you live near lots of poor people then you have a better chance of being robbed by them than by living next to lots of well-off people.

So if you live in a relatively well-off area you find the necessity of carrying a handgun around with you 24/7 a rather ludicrous habit. Of course if you lived in a bad area you'd think people who aren't carrying guns 24/7 are ludicrous - especially if they get robbed (hey dummy/stupid/moron if you had a weapon this wouldn't have happened).

So two different perspectives.