Thoughts:
1 - Really nice move using the picture of the Black Panthers from the 1960s. No attempt to create a bias there, no sir!
2 - Rant about OCing and OCers almost sort of retracted but certainly done backhanded.
3 - I've also noticed more OCers showing up at public demonstrations. However, most of them seem to be OCing because that is their normal mode and is not related to the demonstration. In the same vein I've noticed an increase in locavores and organic activists/advocates showing up at public demonstrations. That must be as much of a conspiracy as the OCing, as listening to them go on about their cause will bring on your death (or at least the wish for it) faster than waiting for an OCer's handgun to jump out of the holster and start throwing lead indiscriminately.
4 - which brings up the paranoia only slightly controlled by the wearing of a vest. (And I'll bet he meant a bullet-resistant one rather than a nice tattersal weskit.)
5 -
It dawned on me in that moment amidst the smell of charred pepperoni and stale tear gas that the open carry events weren’t peaceful because of the character of those attending. They were peaceful because the presence of firearms provided a deterrent against law enforcement aggression. I thought back to the events where open carry activists were present. The only law enforcement interaction was when Ohio State Police stopped a waterboarding demonstration. We were conducting a live demonstration of torture on the Statehouse steps without a permit in an area we had already been instructed to leave. The officers probably had a half-dozen charges they could have booked us on. The officers stopped the demonstration and then immediately pulled back. They kept their distance. They didn’t arrest anybody. As I thought about it, I realized that officers always kept their distance at open carry events. The reason was clear in that moment: they were staying out of range.
In your dreams! Or maybe in your RPG in Mom's basement with your buds and a steady supply of Cheetos and chocolate milk.
At an event this week, I watched as Ohio Open Carry and armed Anonymous activists provided that deterrent for a #BlackLivesMatter event commemorating the one-year anniversary of John Crawford III being gunned down inside of a Wal-Mart by a cop who never faced justice. The event succeeded in completely shutting down Wal-Mart. Again, uniformed officers stayed well out of range. They never came within 100 yards (effective rifle range). They stayed out of sight. The officers did place a few plain clothes officers in a nearby parking lot to observe. I never saw them outside of their vehicle.
Why, oh why is there an OCDO rule that makes it wrong to even think about smacking him up side the head?
stay safe.
