Making the Second Amendment

by Little Miss Attila on August 11, 2009

. . . look bad.

Reminds me of an anecdote I read in the 1990s by a psychiatrist/gun owner who had once had to counsel someone during a badass clinical depression. I believe that the patient was a cop, but I can’t swear to that detail. At any rate, this poor man was having fantasies about taking his own life. His shrink asked him “how,” (not a question you want to answer in Massachusetts, by the way, though that is a post for another day), and the man who was going through the depression explained that he had thought . . . perhaps pills.

Well, the patient got through that rough patch and over his depression, but his psychiatrist, writing about the incident later, was impressed by his reasoning for eschewing the use of a firearm for that particular sin—even on a quasi-fantasy level. He did not, of course, want to contribute to the statistics that are thrown around about “gun violence,” or the putative link between suicide and firearms. (Though the Swedes seem to manage a robust level of suicide with very few firearms; lack of sunlight can sometimes literally be fatal.)

Hey, CCW people: no guns at demonstrations. No guns when you’re going to have more than one drink. When in doubt, no guns—or there really will be no guns.

What is so fucking difficult about this?

UPDATE: Okay, you people may be right: I should probably go back and re-read the original story before I jump to the conclusions that Jimbo jumped to over at AoS. And, DC–I’m not saying we should roll over as gun owners–only that we should, when presented with a choice between acting like nuts and not acting like nuts, we should choose the latter so as not to give the biased media any more “ammunition.”

But your point is taken: they will distort any and all incidents so as to manufacture the ammuniton.

Off to work today, and I’ll do more homework on this tonight. If I was wrong, I’ll retract last night’s temper tantrum. (And, um–have a new one about something different.)

{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }

Foxfier August 11, 2009 at 8:49 pm

http://bluecrabboulevard.com/2009/08/11/fishy-fishy-fishy/

Some find it kinda suspicious.

Me, I’m trying to recover from a suspicion that humanity is too dumb to live, and the continued existence of our species is proof of the Divine, so I’m withholding judgement on the “was it a plant” question.

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Peter August 12, 2009 at 1:15 am

I’m having trouble with this story. I have some small experience with the Secret Service and they’re awfully good at keeping any gun that isn’t part of their plan away from whoever it is they call The Man at any given time. It happens, that hole in Ronald Reagan proved that but, mostly, the only guns close belong to them and the city, county and other agencies involved.

The Secret Service goes so far as to vet the local LEOs that will be close, and by close I mean withing a couple of miles. It isn’t spread all over but the reason GWB kept reading My Pet Goat on that awful, but beautiful clear fall day in September is that it took that long to check the route back to Air Force One. Is that Highway Patrolman back from break at that crossroad halfway between that school and the airport? How about those deputy sheriffs?

They don’t leave much to chance.

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John August 12, 2009 at 4:11 am

When Clinton came to speak at the Pentagon for the Air Force’s 50th anniversary, everyone attending the speech, who already have to pass security just to come to work, had to pass through a metal detector.

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Desert Cat August 12, 2009 at 6:23 am

1) From what I read, he was nowhere near the President (a couple miles away?). 2) If he carries everywhere and didn’t change his normal routine and intentionally arm himself to go to that event, then…? 3) If I thought there was a chance I was going to be facing pipe-wrench-wielding SEIU thugs, I’d be packing too.

Your last lines read very “if we don’t cower and shuffle, we deserve to get whacked”.

Sorry but I’m very Arizona about my rights.

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I R A Darth Aggie August 12, 2009 at 6:42 am

I’m trying to recover from a suspicion that humanity is too dumb to live

Some humans are too stupid to live. It used to that stupidity was a death sentance. We’ve made life perhaps too easy.

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David, Chandler, AZ August 12, 2009 at 7:22 am

He broke no law. And nothing bad happened. What’s the issue?

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Foxfier August 12, 2009 at 8:35 am

David, Chandler, AZ-
basically, it looks bad. Especially when you’re packing a sign that says the tree of liberty needs to be watered *now.*

And folks are suspicious because it looks so incredibly bad, yet… nothing happened. And it still got on the news.

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Desert Cat August 12, 2009 at 8:51 am

It “looks” bad. (fume!)

*Who*, may I ask is making it look this way, hm?

If we’re going to decide what we do based on how the leftist rabble scum in the MSM can *spin* it, then they have us entirely in their power.

F— em!

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Foxfier August 12, 2009 at 8:57 am

As much as I’d like to agree with ya, Desert Cat, images are very powerful. When we expect everyone to behave like rational adults, we get smacked in the forehead with two-by-fours.

Especially when an image can be spun to make things look worse than they actually are.

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Ozzy August 12, 2009 at 2:39 pm

A President who is truly popular is one who can survive an impromptu “Town Hall Meeting” at a fully armed and drunken bar on the evening of April 15th.

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