I'm a woman who lives alone and I don't sit on my porch wondering who I'm going to shoot next

[RSherman]

Last edited Thu Apr 20, 2023, 08:53 AM - Edit history (1)

I am a 58 year old woman who lives alone in a rural area. I take my daily walk along the road, then through a cemetery, alone. Sometimes people approach me to ask directions. One day, a truck pulled up next to me in the cemetery. I don't carry a gun. I don't panic. I don't feel as though I need to "stand my ground". And, as I posted to a commenter below, if I did choose to live in fear and paranoia, I would have an actual reason. A FedEx driver murdered my neighbor, then set her house on fire:

https://13wham.com/news/local/former-fedex-driver-arraigned-on-murder-arson-charges-in-death-of-elderly-woman-sara-e-stinnett-anthony-dotson-town-of-ephratah

What the actual hell is with these fragile white men who are so "scared" that they need to shoot through the door at a teenage boy? The kid rings your bell; you don't know him. Stay inside, behind your locked door, until he goes away!

A car is LEAVING your driveway. No one got out. The homeowner finds it necessary to come outside and shoot? Again, stay the hell inside your house, behind locked doors. Call the cops if you're so scared.

My uncle has always been sort of fringy. In the last few years he has totally gone down the rabbit hole. He steeps himself in right-wing and conspiracy radio shows. He has coffee at a diner that has a sign at the entrance welcoming concealed carry customers. He parrots everything our right wing sheriff says and propones. He lives alone, so when I make soup, I leave some on his porch. I noticed a new "We don't call 911" sign with a picture of a gun. Seriously????? No one is coming for him. Good God. To my knowledge, he has never had anything to do with guns. I don't think he really owns one. The last time I was there, he had rigged the porch door in such a way that I cannot even get in anymore. Fear and paranoia. Holy crap.

[Ray Bruns]

1. What the actual hell is with these fragile white men who are so "scared" that they need to shoot

Through the door”?

Fux News

[RSherman]

6. preliminary evidence shows Lester opened fire on the teen through a glass door

Source: CNN

[Mister Ed]

35. A glass door would be an outer storm door. n/t

[RSherman]

36. Correct

[Wicked Blue]

15. Snowflakes

[dchill]

44. They're afraid...

...very afraid that another chance like this won't come along again - and they won't ever get to shoot ANYBODY!

[Bluebelle76]

77. You got that right.

A lot of them seem to be playing kid games with big kid toys.

[dchill]

78. They crossed the line between reality and fantasy...

...many trumpmoons ago. Plus they KNOW that whatever they want is more important than what anyone else wants.

[DENVERPOPS]

79. Identical mentality

as a rather large number of cops......Like the recent Forty Six Shots?????? All of them want to say they were in a gun battle, and have bragging rights among all their other Racist/Right Wing cops.

[multigraincracker]

2. Better and safer ways to protect your home.

Goggle “cheap home security”.
Motion lights, 3 inch screw in door hard ware to a large dog food dish on your porch that says Cujo on it.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

10. Most nations protect their homes by not living in fear! Americans live in fear, the pursuit

of happiness is going to have to happen looking into the barrel of a Gun!

Freedom! It’s so wonderful! All Freedom, no responsibilities, little restrictions…fire away America, the Gun is above pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. The Gun, properly aimed, frees you from pursuing any of that! The ultimate freedom, death!

No criminal hate speech laws has consequences. This is one of them.

[Timewas]

19. Add

To that dog dish add a pair of size 14 or bigger boots...

[Joinfortmill]

73. 👍

[yardwork]

3. They watch Fox News and listen to AM radio.

They're told to be very, very afraid. All day long. It's melted their brains.

[Irish_Dem]

4. American males with guns. Murdering everyone in sight.

If women were doing this, we would be rounded up and put into camps for the safety of the nation.

[multigraincracker]

7. Hate to say it but

A lot of women are attracted to “bad boys”.

[Irish_Dem]

12. So women are to blame for the fact men are shooting everyone is sight?

[Hope22]

30. Pretty much!

We have jumped the tracks. My son is getting married next weekend. For some reason the company that my future daughter in law ordered her ring from sent the ring to her old address. The one where her abusive ex lives. He refused to return the calls from Fed Ex to retrieve or return the package. Of course the jeweler was mortified and told her they would make her a new ring and send it to the proper address. I will say I am more than concerned that he will show up at the wedding and yes he has guns. Of course the jeweler is apologetic………thoughts and prayers.

[chowder66]

71. +1

[Demsrule86]

31. Your post is insulting and sexist.

[flying_wahini]

49. How so?

[ShazzieB]

43. Non sequitur much?

Yes, some women are attracted to "bad boys." Others get mixed up with "bad boys" who don't show their true colors until well into a relationship. And...?

I'm trying to figure out what this has to do with the rest of the conversation.

[sarge43]

46. Wow.

So that 20 year old woman who was murdered by that 85 year old man was attracted to him??

And please don't use the "exception proofs the rule" tap dance.

[inthewind21]

63. Well

There's the mother of all excuses!

[JI7]

74. Most of these shooters are incels that weren't able to get any women

Your comment is just bs when it comes to shooters.

And the so called bad boys that women are into has more to do with a certain physical look stereotyped as bad rather than bad in terms of the character of the person.

[Maine Abu El Banat]

5. I have people turning in my driveway everyday

Annoying yes! But not once did I think, that person deserves to die

[jimfields33]

8. 99.9 percent of the population do not do this type of thing.

[Irish_Dem]

13. This is probably quite reassuring to all the people being murdered in cold blood.

[Abigail_Adams]

21. I think the point is

that bad news spreads fast, and these shootings are what gets covered in the news, not the millions of times a day Americans walk around without shooting or getting shot. Though awful, and seemingly occurring more frequently, these shootings are statistically rare.

[Irish_Dem]

25. Nonsense. Americans are being murdered several times a week. This is not a rare occurrence.

Statistically the odds of being murdered by a gun in the US is much higher than most modern countries.
In some countries the odds of being murdered by a gun is 1 in 1 million.
This would be an example of rare.

[jimfields33]

32. We have over 350 million people in this country.

Only two have more than us. China and India which have very different lifestyles. We have every nationality known and a lot of different economic differences.

[Paladin]

42. "every nationality known," "a lot of different economic differences"

Why don't you just throw in a "George Soros" reference, while you're at it?

[jimfields33]

65. You did. I didn't.

[Brenda]

91. Hah! nt

[inthewind21]

64. Actually

We have 331.9 million.

[TwilightZone]

83. The undercount estimate was 18.8 million.

That puts us pretty much right at 350 million.

"The number of people left out of the census increased from 16 million in 2010 to 18.8 million in 2020."

Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/06/08/key-facts-about-the-quality-of-the-2020-census/

[Backseat Driver]

39. One doesn't get murdered by a gun; one gets

murdered by a NJ human using the loaded/magazined gun designed for effective purpose that doesn't include spraying and killing everyday citizens... More get murdered than "one" when the shooter doesn't need or want to be a well-practiced good shot, including those innocent enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time; hospitalized amid the ensuing chaos is often good enough to draw down a bullet from LE or by one's own trigger finger...ending one's own misery; now both can be seen as such bad-as* fragile cowards, IMHO. Moreso, there's no such thing, in the moment, as a "good guy with a gun" or a "responsible gun owner." The first instance steals the knowledge of intention; the other disregards one's own "human-brained error" of assumption, and when one assumes, one makes an "as*" out of us both, well, that's the saying, anyhow, and that's always a high-risk gamble. Every life has value that shooters disrespect. TPTB could legislate further with that in mind, but...finish the sentence - GO!

[wnylib]

40. I think the frequency of shootings is more than

just "seemingly" more often.

RW conspiracy believers are armed and edgy. They are getting more so as legal investigations close in on their hero, the ex president. He is their voice of victimhood and they identify with him. The more his freedom is jeopardized, the more paranoid they become about their own. They are now in hyper defense mode because all that they believe in and idolize in the person of DJT is being threatened by the "evil left." They are ready to hold their ground.

[ShazzieB]

54. And fir the last several days there's been one after another after another.

Kid rings the doorbell. Dude shoots him. Doesn't say "Who's there?" or even "Go away!" first, just opens fire, right through the dsmbed storm door. Because what could be more threatening than a kid ringing your doorbell? 😱

Car pulls into a driveway. Whoops, wrong driveway. Starts to back out. Dude shoots, because what could be more threatening than a car leaving your property? OMG, terrifying! 😱

Teenage girl gets in car. Oops, wrong car. Starts to get out. Dude shoots without even saying, "Get the hell out of my car" first, because omg, scary, scary teenage girl! 😱

Basketball accidentally rolls into neighbor's yard. Dude shoots several members of a family, including a freaking 6 year old, because omg, what could be more threatening than a rolling ball and a *gasp* 6 year old? Must shoot because ball might have a bomb inside? 6 year old might be armed and dangerous? Omg, omg, omg! 😱

I haven't even checked to see if there's been another one today, but it's too late anyway. I'm already terrified..... of people who think it's okay to shoot anyone and everyone who comes near them for no freaking reason. Even if they lock up all the aforementioned shooters and throw away the key, there are plenty more like them! So OF COURSE we're all on edge, ffs!

[wnylib]

61. The trigger-happy shootings by

paranoid RWers do make all of us more edgy. It certainly puts me on cautious alert.

But it's the trigger-happy edginess of the paranoid RWers that is creating caution and edginess in the rest of us.

Yesterday evening, I was at a nearby convenience store, wearing my mask as I always do when indoors away from home. The store staff and my neighbors who go there are used to my mask and know that I have health issues.

Two young guys, around late teens or early 20s were entering just as I was. One held the door for me, but with exaggerated politeness. His eyes had a look that combined contempt with humor.

Once inside, out of the blue, he stated to no one in particular that Donald Trump is the best president that ever existed. People ignored him so he turned to me and demanded to know if I agreed. I could have ignored him (and now think I should have), but I said that I was a lot older, had seen more presidents in my lifetime, and can't think of a worse one than Trump.

His friend snickered and asked if I was stupid enough to like Biden. The two of them fed each other's comments then about Biden being old, feeble, incompetent, etc. Another customer said that Trump is a criminal and will go to prison. The patronizing Trumpist said, very smugly, with absolute certainty, "Biden will be shot."

In retrospect, I realize that my mask triggered those guys. To them, it meant that I was a liberal so they wanted to pick an argument (which is why I realized later that I should have just ignored them).

They clearly believed two things. One is that Trump will be avenged by someone who kills Biden. The other was that they felt like they had "won" a self-instigated argument by resorting to a default solution of guns and shooting.

They left after the shooting comment. Then the store clerk and other customers commented on how much they hated Trump and all the harm he's done.

So now it's ME that's edgy in public because of veiled threats and deliberately provoked arguments that promote guns and political assassination as the solution to everything. In the future, if I respond at all to such provocation, it will be with a very bored dismissal of "Whatever."

[questionseverything]

80. You forgot the birthday party in Alabama

Four people murdered, more than twenty injured by 3 black men from thirty miles away

The little town only had 3000 people

[Brenda]

81. LTT. smh. nt

[Irish_Dem]

92. Thanks.

smh too.

[samnsara]

9. i live in the forest off a recreation area road and i've had numerous folks pound on my door

..because they were jeeping and got stuck in the mud...snow...ran out of gas..etc. I even fed a cpl people breakfast when i drove out to my paper box to get the morning paper and here are two people who hiked down the canyon cuz their car..blah blah blah... another time i fixed hot buttered rum for a cpl who hiked out in the dark cuz their car blah blah blah ( we recognized these peeps as biz owners from town). Once when the whole Mels Hole hoax was going on, my house apparently was right on top of where the 'government had drilled an 18 mile deep hole' and UFO hunters from Seattle ended up on my doorstep..in city shoes ..asking if they could search my property.
.....SIGH......
But...NOT once did i feel compelled to shoot anyone.....


not all encounters were entirely comfortable and i only let people in if hubby was here. If I felt uncomfortable I would keep peeps outside and make phone call for them ( unless its freezing outside of course).

Ive had a family member assaulted and die from injuries after allowing someone in their home. We have guns in the home and i always keep my car keys handy so i can push the car alarm if needed. A steady loud hooonk hooonk hoonk will draw out my neighbors to at least stick their heads out the door. ( im pretty much surrounded by maggats as this is very rural but most are good peeps and will help out).

[RSherman]

11. Great post--thank you!

Sounds as though we live in similar situations. I am also surrounded by very right wing people. But, we all help each other and they still invite me to their Memorial Day parties!

My neighbor was murdered by a FedEx driver.

https://13wham.com/news/local/former-fedex-driver-arraigned-on-murder-arson-charges-in-death-of-elderly-woman-sara-e-stinnett-anthony-dotson-town-of-ephratah

Still, I don't choose to live in fear and paranoia. When FedEx or Amazon drivers pull up, I go out to chat and get my package--if I know the driver. If I don't, I stay in the house.

[BlackSkimmer]

69. Dayum, now I want some hot buttered rum!

Sorry, I got a lot more from your post than that, but mmm.

[Joinfortmill]

75. 👍

[underpants]

14. Yee haw.

There was also a story from October about two dads who were shooting at each other in and from their cars in Florida. Both had their daughters in their cars. Both girls got hit but it’s not life threatening. One of the dads was charged this week. The other got off on “stand your ground” laws.

[marble falls]

51. "stand your ground laws" are licence to arrange a murder.

[ShazzieB]

56. Absolutely.

I always thought you were supposed to be able to show you had a rational reason for believing you were in danger, but some places those laws seem to be a license to shoot first and ask questions later, if at all.

[Gaugamela]

16. My assumption is that they shoot not because they are scared, but because

they live alone and stew in their isolation and anger, and their right-wing culture entitles them to kill. They shoot because the want to shoot. It’s a cult of hate.

[Doc Sportello]

20. Spot on

And in their isolation they are fed a stew of fear and hate of the other. RW propagandists like Faux News and others use that tactic - like fascists before them - as a prime way to keep the masses doing their bidding and remain in power, no matter the cost to humans.

[Probatim]

33. I'd further add they have been told by the NRA and Fox that they need a gun to protect themselves

from the invading hordes.

After 20 years of not being able to shoot someone, they're pissed at being lied to - only they don't believe that's why they're mad - cause they're idiots and don't know how to process anything beyond "I'm hungry" or "I have to poop".

So their state passes "stand your ground" laws and now they're convinced the hordes are coming otherwise we wouldn't need such a law. And guess what - another 5 years passes and they still haven't shot someone. Now they're really pissed.

They've been stewing for 25 years in anger and hate and fear and goddammit I need to protect my house where is the horde coming to steal my garden gnome?!?!?!

So a 16 year old kid or a carload of college students or a FedEx driver shows up and today's the day.

It's all a goddamn mess. But they'll keep selling guns and hate and fear and if a couple of kids get blown away - well, that's the price to be paid. It's not like the NRA or Fox or the gun manufacturers or their elected toadies who pass shitty laws are liable.

(I guess I'm mad too - but I'm fucking smart enough to know what I'm mad about. Pardon my French.)

[Joinfortmill]

76. Yup

[Ferrets are Cool]

17. Maybe it's not fear. Maybe it's entitlement.

[dutch777]

18. Hard to know what is mental health or anger issues or just lack of socialization + too many guns

Increasing number of unhinged folks in a country with not even a working mental health safety net anymore. Ask anyone that works in a hospital emergency room and they will tell you stories that will make you wonder why anyone wants to work in an ER anymore.

[Farmer-Rick]

22. The only people who come up my 1/4 mile lane are Mormons

Or Jehovah’s Witness. I've at times wanted to shoot at them but have refrained.

But most everyone stops at the top of the hill on the lane. I have a gate across the top of my driveway that keeps 2 very large Anatolian Shepherds from wandering over to the neighbors.

They look fierce but are puppy, pet loving, sweethearts. When visitors come, they run down to the gate, stopping suddenly before crashing. Then they sit patiently waiting to be petted and told what beautiful girls they are.

[Novara]

23. The right wing machine has stoked fear of the other for years

And the chickens are coming home to roost.

Fear is not rational. Fear is visceral. Fear can't be tamped down with reasoning. The right wing pushes fear because they then can present themselves as the solution to fear. Nevermind that they're not doing a thing and refuse to do anything but stoke more fear. They think by keeping people afraid, they'll vote for authoritarians.

There have been more mass shootings than days this year. There are more guns than people in America.

The only way to get rid of guns is to get rid of republicans. And that means getting rid of gerrymandering. Michigan did that and gun laws are being passed as we speak. It can be done.

[Baitball Blogger]

24. Rural areas are not home of the brave.

[IronLionZion]

26. If cheerleaders get in your car by mistake

you have to shoot them as they're running away. No time to ponder. You have to be quick. That'll teach them.

[cachukis]

27. I have a couple of friends that I still play with for over 50 years.

They live in New England and I moved to Florida 43 years ago.
In our conversations, it is evident to me they live in an echo chamber. They both see things through the eyes of business transactions.
The three of us have mutual friends from our conservative college experience.
When I left, they lost the insight of my liberal transformational perspective.
I truly believe we are products of our environment and the social environment is more important to our perspective than the weather.
As a youngster, I told my peer group that I wanted to have a wild blueberry patch and a lobster smack on the coast of Maine and write the great American novel.
Here in Florida, the University came up with a blueberry hybrid that would get to market months before other varieties.
I thought I could start my patch. Hunted for soil suitable, near Eustace, and started to negotiate for property.
Nearly every one I spoke to asked what church would I be joining.
I thought it wise to keep my thoughts to myself.
Heresy is looked upon unkindly among like kind thinkers.
This is a reality in our country.
Maybe migration will affect the thinking of some states. Georgia is much more liberal than when I moved south.
Florida is built by escaped transients, sadly many transactionalists looking for low taxes.
But I don't think we can change a zebra's stripes.
We must, like Finland, change our way of teaching the young.
The christians knew/know this and their indoctrination has taken hold.
If we want to enlighten the thinking here, we have to concertedly work on the kids.
The right knows this and has drawn the battle lines, particularly here in Florida.
Hope I can find some like kind thinkers here to take up the banner.

[Trueblue Texan]

28. Aaaaannd no more soup for you, buster! nt

[Oneironaut]

29. Gun ownership and the NRA play into "Rugged Individualistic Masculinity"

So many mediocre males own guns as a status symbol of their own masculinity, which is fragile. If you removed men from the equation, gun murders, attempted murders, accidents, etc. would be not even a fraction of what they are now.

A lot of gun ownership, especially of AR-15s, is about men feeling powerful.

[colorado_ufo]

34. Yes. It's about domination.

[GoodRaisin]

90. Yep. It's all about the testosterone.

“Look, I’ve got guns. See how manly I am”. Followed by the facebook photoshoot.

[hunter]

37. I don't let anyone I'd care to shoot live in my head.

Life is much more pleasant that way.

I've lived in some rough places and had some encounters with very bad people threatening me with guns. I've also seen the police shoot people I myself wouldn't have shot. But I've never been in a situation where me holding a gun would have improved the outcome. In my personal experience once the guns come out everything is FUBAR.

For most of my adult life I've lived in places where advertising one's gun love, such as the "We don't call 911..." sign you describe, is just an invitation for the local fourteen year old aspiring gangsters to break into your house and steal your guns when you're not home.

The saddest thing about guns is how often gun enthusiasts deliberately shoot themselves. The person they see in the mirror becomes the person they imagine shooting. And then they do.

I grew up in a household where there were always strangers hanging about, strangers to me, anyways. My parents and my siblings had diverse friends and acquaintances. You never knew who you might run into at two o'clock in the morning rummaging through the kitchen cupboards or coming out of the bathroom. When our own kids were teenagers our house was like that. I always figured if the family dogs had accepted someone they were probably all right.

Living in isolation, with Fox News constantly on the television and similar crap spilling from the internet, will twist people. Living in isolation itself isn't bad if your pursuits are positive, for example gardening, art, etc.. It's when you start to see the outside world as a scary dangerous place and isolate yourself for that reason alone when things go horribly wrong.

There will always be aspects of life that are scary and dangerous, for some people more than others, and for all sorts of reasons, but you can't let that consume you.

My own mind turned against me in adolescence and it took about a decade to claw most of it back, but one thing I learned was that an affable nature and shoes I could run in were my most powerful tools of self preservation. I've got some scars and PTSD from the times I've forgotten that.

An affable nature includes being kind to yourself.

[judesedit]

38. Sounds like there's a little meth blended in

[AllaN01Bear]

41. the pic witn dont call 911 use a gun has been around for years .

i live in a apartment and i aint going to cower in fear. good on u.

[NJCher]

45. this is important

I really hadn't thought about it until I read your post, but reading it and some of the other posts on this thread, it is apparent that the gun people, republicans, et al have stoked up a ridiculous amount of fear in this country and now it is to the point where they citizens killing citizens out of undue fear.

Not that this is entirely new. I remember a study from 20 years ago in my television market research days that showed that republicans were prone to "scary world theory." This was created by those police shows that are no longer so popular.

I think we need a national conversation on this. Something has to be done.

[Marthe48]

47. I watch MSNBC for my news and check DU

I avoid any r propaganda.

In a way, I am reinforcing my belief system, and excluding any information that could pop my bubble. I'm not open to seeing another side, or arguing about my belief system, nor do I any longer try to convince others to think my way. But, in spite of my left-wing blinders, I have no desire to go shoot people. I have to ask-what is the difference in what we hear, how we process and how we see the world after processing the information we use to understand what's happening in the world around us?

[ShazzieB]

58. You raise some very interesting questions!

I have to ask-what is the difference in what we hear, how we process and how we see the world after processing the information we use to understand what's happening in the world around us?

I've tried to imagine hearing a knock on my door and just automatically blindly shooting without even questioning whether I'm being threatened. I have a good imagination, and I'm usually pretty good at putting myself in another person's position, but I can't even get CLOSE to being able to put myself in THOSE shoes. My brain just goes *TILT* like an old-fashioned pinball machine.

[Marthe48]

70. I'm not afraid to die

Maybe that's why I'm not scared of what happens. I imagine the asses with guns fear whatever afterlife they think they deserve.

My friend and I have discussed the difference in mindset several times. She is a retired school counselor/MS pshychology She thinks that the r's are wired differently, and there is no hope to get them to change.

[marble falls]

48. I live in a 'larger' small town: Marble Falls, Tx. We haven't had a murder in years. The most ...

... armed place I've ever lived. And I lived in AZ in the late 70s thru mid 80s and they had seriously open carrying laws.

No sense and no sense to it. I refuse to walk in fear in the extremely low crime rate area we live in, but all those "good" people with guns do give me pause.

[TwilightZone]

85. There was a double homicide in September 2022.

Pretty sure that qualifies.

https://www.kxan.com/news/local/hill-country/man-in-custody-after-double-homicide-in-marble-falls/

[marble falls]

86. First homicide since 2017. This was not a random crime, the shooter was an ex boyfriend.

The 2017 murder I can't even find an article on.

This was the big crime in town for years and no one got shot:

[TwilightZone]

87. "We haven't had a murder in years."

You've had two of them in eight months.

Had you added further conditions to your statement or had you said "we didn't have a murder in five years prior to last September", it might have been closer to reality. As it stands, it's clearly false.

The story was big news and in the news for days. If we're going to pick and choose which murders or crimes we wish to count, we can make the stats look like anything we want.

[marble falls]

89. What was that second murder? ...

https://www.fox7austin.com › news › marble-falls-double-murder-case-domestic-violence-police
Double murder in Marble Falls case of domestic violence, police say
Sep 14, 2022By John Krinjak Published September 14, 2022 Marble Falls FOX 7 Austin Marble Falls double murder case of domestic violence, police say Police are calling the deadly shooting in Marble...

Are those the two murders you talking about? I stand by my statement: In plain English there hasn't been any sort of murder here in Marble Fall other than this one domestic violence incident in years. Period.

Are you concealed carry or open carry, by any chance?

[Traildogbob]

50. I had to

Go to the store yesterday. Fat bellied old man ahead of me had a hat that said “God Guns and Guts, Free America”. Kept my mouth shut, but he could tell by my face and stare, do not talk to me. Of course my hat says, “Dysfunctional Veteran, Leave me Alone”.
A man and his 5-6 year old daughter came up behind me and the God guy wanted to talk to the little girl, “Hey little girl, are you in school yet”? I wanted to tell the child that this old man, loves freedom that God gave him but the cost is, it’s OK for littles girls like you to have your head blown off at school, because God approves of the sacrifice. And that shows GUT’S’ like his”. So don’t be in a hurry to go to school, while we have em.”
Never would do that, but all those thoughts are what came to me with that trumper, gun humper. That he is OK with 6 year old little girls slaughtered. And wanted to talk to her about school. If it were my daughter I may have tried explained that hat a little to her. And to never stand near or talk to one wearing that.

[Beachnutt]

52. 61 year old retired guy here

I live alone also right in the middle of DFW and I leave my door open at night with the screen door shut until I go to bed.
I own a pellet gun for nuisant varments.
I don't fear or worry at all, what the hell is wrong with these chickenshit rethug snowflakes anyway.

[Dios Mio]

53. Fox

was on the tele when the cops arrived on the scene I would imagine. Their viewers have been convinced they are under siege. First class brainwashing.

[peggysue2]

55. I agree!

I've read four articles over the last two days about 'scared gun owners' shooting people for no reason beyond paranoia and hate. Each time (rightly or wrongly) I've thought: bet this guy was a right-wing nut steeped in conspiracy.

This is the House The NRA And Right-Wing Media Built: shoot first, ask questions later.

Time to condemn all these blood-stained sandcastles!

Btw, I have a cousin who spouts all the right-wing BS on FB. When my husband wants to annoy me, he begins reading her ludicrous posts.

I do not get it. I never will. But I know from a brief conversation we had three years ago, she's wedded to the 'Golden Age' myth about how glorious and trouble-free our childhoods were before the 'ruin' began. We grew up in the same time period, the 50s and 60s.

Our memories have diverged spectacularly!

[Orrex]

57. I mentioned elsewhere that I encounter that kind of paranoid asshole a lot

It’s ALWAYS (as in literally 100% of the time) middle age white men, and they have detailed & elaborate fantasies about who they’d be justified in shooting, mostly for absolutely preposterous reasons.

“They’re on my property, so I can shoot them, free and clear.”
“They dumb garbage on my property, so I can shoot them.”
“They gave me a threatening look as they passed my house, so I can shoot them.”

The list goes on and on and on. It would be comical if these assholes weren’t actually murdering people, and if these assholes weren’t too often protected by bullshit NRA-authored laws.

And then, if confronted about it, they accuse me of being blind and naive and blind, and by the way the covid vaccine proves that I’m a coward, etc.


But the important thing is that “gun rights” are protected uber alles, because what kind of society would we be if you can’t freely murder a 14 year old for four-wheeling near your property?

[sarisataka]

59. ALWAYS (as in literally 100% of the time)?

Like if a basketball rolls onto their property?

[whopis01]

60. I had a relative similar to your uncle

I had an elderly family member who one day, out of the blue, said something the the effect of:

"If Biden gets elected you better get a shotgun because the African-Americans are going to come and take out homes."

He used a different word than "African-Americans" though...

After the initial shock and disgust at hearing that, I puzzled over understanding where this was coming from. I mean, the guy obviously had racist, bigot views - but it wasn't just that he thought his race was superior to others. He really was in fear of this happening. And somehow Biden being elected was going to be the triggering factor.

He spent most of his day sat watching the TV, watching Fox News and other similar media. He was being told day in and day out that he was under attack from immigrants, and gangs, and thugs, and protestors, and liberals, etc. He was being told that his rights were being taken away and he was going to be a second class citizen unless he defended those rights himself. He was being told by Trump that all these evil people are coming for you and I (Trump) am the only thing protecting you from them, so you better get me elected or you will lose everything.

Don't get me wrong - I am in no way trying to defend this guy or justify his views - but he was far more of a symptom of the problem as opposed to be the cause. Unfortunately, it is a system where the feedback from people like him just push himself and others deeper and deeper into this dark hole. That was his actual understanding of reality. That was how he saw the world.

It is so much easier to get people on your side by pointing out who to hate and who is the enemy rather than trying to unite them around any beneficial cause. And when you give people someone to hate and fear, they focus on that group rather than paying any attention to what you are really doing and getting away with.

[dlk]

62. Not every gun owner is rational

Therein lies the problem with essentially unlimited access to guns.

[Rebl2]

66. The guy that

shot through the door at the young man. He was 84. What were you doing answering your door at 10pm. My parents lived in a suburb of KC when they were in their 80’s and no way would they have EVER answered the door at 10pm unless they were expecting someone.
I think of the number of times I have pulled into a driveway to turn around. I would never have thought that someone would shoot me for doing that. I have people pull into my driveway all the time to turn around-I am on a somewhat busy road.

[jmbar2]

67. I'm also a single woman and have never felt the need for a gun.

I've lived in major crime cities, and travelled solo all over the world.

Imagine how small your world would become to live in such fear.

[BlackSkimmer]

68. Older white (and gay) woman who lives alone here too.

But it's just not white men who seem to be such scaredy-cats...look at the Alabama shootings, the cheerleader shootings, all the shootings in every town every day.

Yeah, it does seem to be men. But they ain't all white.

We have people on here bragging how they carry a gun...most of them men...I really don't understand why they're so scared.

[Joinfortmill]

72. Yikes! We have a problem, America

[The Mouth]

82. I'm a 61 year old white fucker with guns

but the only time (besides target shooting) they are getting used is when the only options are being carried by 6 or judged by 12.

I'm one of the more hardcore RKBA people on here, and have few qualms about the use of (legitimate) lethal self-defense against anyone who would seek to deprive me of life, liberty, or property.

But if someone is so paranoid that they are shooting at kids who mistakenly drive up their driveway or ring their doorbell, they are far too unstable to own a gun.

[bdamomma]

84. Fear and hate

propaganda tools that stoke the fire to total tyranny.

Sick bastards

[betsuni]

88. Property. THEY are coming for your stuff. Kind of an anti-Christianity. God is property.

They shut themselves up in their houses and cars. No society, no town square. Everyone is a potential enemy out to take your stuff.