Sheep With Guns: Intro
Americans are buying guns like crazy nowadays. They're not buying squirrel rifles or fine Italian shotguns for hunting chukar either. Americans are stocking up on handguns and what the media likes to call assault rifles for two reasons, financial speculation and/or personal protection.
The speculation started around late September of 2008 when it became apparant that Barack Obama would be our next President and it was widely assumed (correctly) a new gun ban would be on his agenda.
Seasoned gun enthusuasts remembered what happened back in 1994 after the first assault weapons ban. Prices for banned guns and high capacity magazines skyrocketed. Alot of these guns being purchased lately are purchased, locked up in safes only to see the light of day months if not years down the road when market conditions dictate a handy profit. Speculaters are affluent, conservative, mostly White and Asian males.
Personal protection is a different matter entirely. These buyers are much more diverse. Along with your typical suburban and rural demographic, homos are now a substantial new market niche as are soccer moms.
More and more people are coming to view self protection and gun ownership as the ultimate civil right, others are simply coming to the realization that local governments no longer have the financial wherewithal to keep up the illusion of public safety.
Even under the best of conditions like in my moderately affluent redneck town where the cops are ready, able and more than willing to kill violent criminals, when seconds count, the police are still only minutes away. That old saying rings truer today than any time in recent memory.
Speaking of cops, there is widespread view among them that puts people into three distinct categories. Sheep, wolves and sheepdogs. The general populace is referred to as the sheep or sheople. Criminals are the wolves and of course cops and other first responders are the sheepdogs. I find all this kind of simplistic and condescending
The speculation started around late September of 2008 when it became apparant that Barack Obama would be our next President and it was widely assumed (correctly) a new gun ban would be on his agenda.
Seasoned gun enthusuasts remembered what happened back in 1994 after the first assault weapons ban. Prices for banned guns and high capacity magazines skyrocketed. Alot of these guns being purchased lately are purchased, locked up in safes only to see the light of day months if not years down the road when market conditions dictate a handy profit. Speculaters are affluent, conservative, mostly White and Asian males.
Personal protection is a different matter entirely. These buyers are much more diverse. Along with your typical suburban and rural demographic, homos are now a substantial new market niche as are soccer moms.
More and more people are coming to view self protection and gun ownership as the ultimate civil right, others are simply coming to the realization that local governments no longer have the financial wherewithal to keep up the illusion of public safety.
Even under the best of conditions like in my moderately affluent redneck town where the cops are ready, able and more than willing to kill violent criminals, when seconds count, the police are still only minutes away. That old saying rings truer today than any time in recent memory.
Speaking of cops, there is widespread view among them that puts people into three distinct categories. Sheep, wolves and sheepdogs. The general populace is referred to as the sheep or sheople. Criminals are the wolves and of course cops and other first responders are the sheepdogs. I find all this kind of simplistic and condescending
but I can see the logic.
I'd rather think of myself as a big overweight, slightly arthritic Catahoula mix. I get along fine with most sheep and sheepdogs, sure I can't chase down a wolf anymore but if one ever gets inside my ever decreasing circle of responsibility, I'll tear it up.
So maybe some of you that read this don't really appreciate being considered a sheep by anybody. Maybe you have some legitimate security concerns. Maybe you're considering bringing some kind of firearm into your home. Reno is here to help.
Used to be almost every man and many women in America knew at least a little bit about firearms. Long defunct Institutions such as The Boy Scouts, military service and fathers saw to that. Nowadays buying a gun can be an intimidating experience. In many cases the people behind the gun counter are the worst people to be giving out advice. I'm not a security expert by any means. I have grown up around guns, hunted with guns and have in the past carried a gun as part of my daily work.
The first thing you have to consider is that simply having a gun available does not automatically make you "safe". Another thing is can you imagine yourself killing another person in self defense? Many people, God bless them can't. If on the other hand you currently have a baseball bat in your bedroom you've probably already thought all this through.
The absolute worst thing you can do is buy a gun and some ammunition, go to the range and shoot it a little bit, then take it home and stash it and the leftover ammo in a drawer or closet and let it gather dust. This is almost as dangerous as buying a pitbul puppy from the guy down the street and leaving it chained up in your backyard.
If you are going to have a gun in your home you need to invest some money for ammo and time for practice for everybody in the house. If you can't do that, take the money you were going to spend on a firearm and buy some good running shoes, get in shape and invest in a good self defense/situational awareness course. Truthfully, you'll be better off and safer than many gun owners.
Next time, One Love-One Gun.
I'd rather think of myself as a big overweight, slightly arthritic Catahoula mix. I get along fine with most sheep and sheepdogs, sure I can't chase down a wolf anymore but if one ever gets inside my ever decreasing circle of responsibility, I'll tear it up.
So maybe some of you that read this don't really appreciate being considered a sheep by anybody. Maybe you have some legitimate security concerns. Maybe you're considering bringing some kind of firearm into your home. Reno is here to help.
Used to be almost every man and many women in America knew at least a little bit about firearms. Long defunct Institutions such as The Boy Scouts, military service and fathers saw to that. Nowadays buying a gun can be an intimidating experience. In many cases the people behind the gun counter are the worst people to be giving out advice. I'm not a security expert by any means. I have grown up around guns, hunted with guns and have in the past carried a gun as part of my daily work.
The first thing you have to consider is that simply having a gun available does not automatically make you "safe". Another thing is can you imagine yourself killing another person in self defense? Many people, God bless them can't. If on the other hand you currently have a baseball bat in your bedroom you've probably already thought all this through.
The absolute worst thing you can do is buy a gun and some ammunition, go to the range and shoot it a little bit, then take it home and stash it and the leftover ammo in a drawer or closet and let it gather dust. This is almost as dangerous as buying a pitbul puppy from the guy down the street and leaving it chained up in your backyard.
If you are going to have a gun in your home you need to invest some money for ammo and time for practice for everybody in the house. If you can't do that, take the money you were going to spend on a firearm and buy some good running shoes, get in shape and invest in a good self defense/situational awareness course. Truthfully, you'll be better off and safer than many gun owners.
Next time, One Love-One Gun.
REACTIONSAscending | Descending
Thursday, 16 April 2009
hmmm, hitech gun, lotech garb....still digesting the text....good point on ownership with investment of knowledge and training....will the sheep inherit the earth?
Friday, 17 April 2009
No. The meek shall inherit the earth. Reno is a congenital renter.
Sunday, 19 April 2009
The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
Monday, 20 April 2009
For what it's worth, there's a loophole in federal law that allows "collectors" to buy and sell from their "collections" - cash and carry. The collector/dealers you find at gun shows (at least some in Oregon) have exploited this loophole. I've seen kids (late teens) buying handguns from them. A little common sense is worth a lot. There are countless ways to kill. Finding out why people want to seems more important than trying to stop them. Until we can do that, perhaps we should close the loophole so it isn't anyone who can buy a gun. That was the original intent . This is my opinion. It's worth about as much as a bullet hole in a head
Sunday, 24 May 2009
"Reno is here to help" is the most pleasing thing I believe I've ever read.
And not only am I right, I'm not to be fucked with.
And not only am I right, I'm not to be fucked with.
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