After a very silly dustup at Breda's over open carry, Bob S posts with what, I think, is the head on the nail:
Scene 1 — a library in a fly0ver country small town
- Guy walks into the library carrying a small handgun openly displayed in a tasteful holster. Is mannerly, polite, very discreet.
- Finds his books, checks out and leaves without anyone really noticing.
...
Scene 2 — a library in a fly0ver country small town
- Guy walks into the library carrying a small handgun openly displayed in a tasteful holster. Is mannerly, polite, very discreet.
- A patron/worker notices the firearm and makes a “Man With GUN!!!” call to the cops. The cops show up, checks out the situation and the man finishes his visit by checking out some books and leaving.
- Cops talk to the patron/worker and informs them it was a completely legal exercise of his rights.
Most people who open carry do so simply because it's more comfortable and less of a hassle than carrying concealed, and more power to 'em. Another group, though, practices activist carry. The goal of activist carry to normalize the carrying of firearms, desensitize people to the sight of peaceful folks with guns, and educate people who instinctively think it's illegal to carry a gun. These folks have a political agenda. And more power to them, too.
In Bob's example, each of the scenarios is ideal for a different breed of carrier. For the convenience carrier, Scene 1 is the ideal; who the hell wants to wait and talk to the cops just to take some books out of the damned library? For the activist carrier, Scene 1 is useless. Activism requires attention--the ideal scenario is one in which your enemies cause a big, noisy conflict, and come off looking stupid when they're proven wrong.
I'm not going to comment on the original dustup, because it looks like the situation was more complicated than the press made out (shocking, I know). But there have been more than a few cases when activist carriers have done more harm than good by trying to provoke a Scene 2. Disappointed at the lack of attention they're getting, they flaunt their guns, act like jerks, and generally reinforce the stereotypes anti-gunners have worked to create. And, most depressingly, the loudest OC voices will be on their side in a heartbeat, rejecting all criticism of the demonstration's counterproductiveness by insisting that it was legal.
The worst part about this attitude is that, in the regions with these enthusiastic activist carriers, OC activism becomes self-limiting. If your goal is a world where nobody bats an eye at openly carried guns, but you get provocative with strangers when nobody's paying attention to your guns, your group will become more and more counterproductive as you get closer to your goal.
In this country, you have a legal right to carry a gun and to be a jerk. And nobody should be prosecuted for exercising both of those rights at the same time. But if you're trying to win hearts and minds, you have to do more than not break the law.
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Elmo,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the shout out.
But if you're trying to win hearts and minds, you have to do more than not break the law.
I'll agree with this but add the caveat
How do we get most people thinking and talking about our rights?
Sure isn't by Scene 1 or even Scene 2 in my example.
Oh a couple people may talk about it if the police show up but having the police talk so someone is every day.
I am constantly amazed by the number of people who are completely unaware that you can not Open Carry in most of Texas.
(exception is private property under your control etc).
So -- why not let the jerks attract attention and then win the hearts and minds through discussion.
People don't know the folks involved in Michigan mostly -- they do know you and I.
They can hear us talking about how it is more comfortable -- they can relate to that
-- Hey Texas Summers aren't fun, everyone can relate to wearing too heavy of clothing.
They can hear us talk about how it is a fundamental Right
-- What, people can carry guns. Do you ???
How many people know 'normal people' who carry?
Until we talk about it; very few.
It's a common problem when it comes to protecting the right to do things that are typically done in private. Like I said in your blog, there's a similar situation with regard to sexual freedom. How do you increase the visibility of your community when the only thing that distinguishes you is something you're socially expected to only do behind closed doors?
ReplyDeleteFortunately, the gun rights movement isn't in quite that bad a situation, because frankly I think Scene 1 OC isn't all that controversial in most of the country.
And that's where we differ: I think the guy in Scene 1 is accomplishing quite a bit for our rights. There may not be a scene, and he may feel like nobody's noticed, but as he goes around openly carrying every day, people will notice. And what they'll see isn't a pushy jerk who needs to be explained by his movement, but a normal guy doing normal things who happens to be armed. If there are even two dozen people in your town willing to OC day after day without commenting on it, I think that will do a hell of a lot more good than getting those guys together to make an obnoxious spectacle of themselves twice a year.
I've seen firsthand a group of mostly-liberals go from "Hey, he has a gun!" to "Well, he seems like a good guy. I guess it's no big deal, huh?" after seeing a Scene 1 play out in an urban Virginia restaurant.
If we want people to know that normal people carry, we need to show them normal people carrying, not pushy political activists. To go back to the sexual freedom example, which do you think has done more to normalize gay people in America: forty years of pride parades, or Will and Grace? ;)
Elmo,
ReplyDeleteI can agree that eventually Scene 1 will make a difference -- but the time frame is way too slow don't you think?
If we want people to know that normal people carry, we need to show them normal people carrying, not pushy political activists
What I'm getting at is simple:
The Pushy Political Activists allow us to point out that normal people carry.
Which does more for our rights: a.) 1 year of half a dozen or so people catching a glimpse of a holster or b.) a conversation with half a dozen of your friends where they realize that you carry and you are normal?
Will and Grace wouldn't have happened without the 40 Years of Pride Parades.
I can agree that eventually Scene 1 will make a difference -- but the time frame is way too slow don't you think?
ReplyDeleteNot really. I'm a "conservative" in the sense it meant before it meant "likes voting for Republicans": I think meaningful, stable political change has to come slowly. Sticking with the gay rights movement, they've had decades of slow, steady success, decriminalizing homosexuality piece by piece until they had enough social consensus that made Lawrence v. Texas possible. But now, after they've fought one agonizing step at a time to get antidiscrimination laws in 20 states and domestic partnership and civil union laws in only 15, they've run into a brick wall of consistent failure by adopting a "marriage right now" strategy. They've managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by moving too fast, and forgetting that fundamental changes to the way a society thinks and feels are usually made through long, slow, sustained effort, not through grand, satisfying demands that your rightness be acknowledged.
Which does more for our rights: a.) 1 year of half a dozen or so people catching a glimpse of a holster or b.) a conversation with half a dozen of your friends where they realize that you carry and you are normal?
And which is a better jumping-off point to that discussion: your friends talking about a loud, aggressive idiot who made the news for carrying a shotgun around children, or your friends asking why you're open carrying? :)
Just a thought, Open Carry or Concealed Carry and your rights, I wander how many citizens that disregarded the 2nd Amendment. and fought with their feelings to keep you from possessing your gun, and whether they also belonged to a Gun Rights Organization, or Forum.
ReplyDeleteRemember the Kids!!
Just My Feelings.