imported post
He does have valid and rational points in his post though. Peoples' eyes do pop out, but it's not as bad as some people think.
Personally, I conceal more than I open carry. As I've said before, there are just some days where I don't feelready to deal with the unwanted attention. I do also agree that there are people who don't really help to out open-carrying in a positive light, but it's an individual responsibility as each open carrier is a representative of the practice. I personally am more polite and courteous when I OC, just so that I can be an example that OCers are regular civil human beings and to try to dispel the myths about us "gun nuts" as we're called.
The big thing to remember is just like I said, when you OC, you represent all OCers out there, just like officer conduct represents all officers in the LE profession. We're in the same boat where the public views one bad apple as a reflection on all.
I think OC with a positive reflection of who OCers are will go a long way to proving our case. The less ammo that antis are given to use against us the better. Unfortunately though, I think that hoplophobia (sp?) is going to continue to be a predjudice that is more socially/morally acceptable by society than any other prejudice for a long time to come, and it's our job as responsible gun owners/carriers to shoot holes (no pun intended) in their arguments and misugided rationale and ignorance of who we are.
