Open Carry Experiences by Persons of Color?

Now in all my years OCing I have only been stopped one time by an LEO, and he did not exactly harrass me. I do often CC, but that is a topic for another thread.

The one time I was stopped was last spring, it is fairly warm in late spring in NC and I did not feel like putting on my jacket to CC, so I went OC. When I got out of my truck a cop walked up and asked to see my permit. Calmly I said I have a CCW permit, but I am open carrying so he does not need to see it. He responded by saying fair enough. Why are you open carrying if you have a CCW?

Answer? Because I felt like it!

With a smile he said fair enough. What ya carrying anyway?

It then turned into a twenty minute discussion, and an eventual friendship.

As a black man I am used to people crossing the street when they see me, and they cross a bit faster when I am OCing. But it dosent really matter.

Maybe it is just where I live, because I have been harrassed more by LEOs for the clothes I was wearing, or the way I looked at em in my home state of Iowa than anything else down here in NC.

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Thanks for the info and comments; I will be reading the posts you referred me to.

As far as my references, I am indeed referring to Black Americans, it is simply that in the San Francisco area, my colleagues refer to themselves in public as African Americans, just as others use Hispanic, Latino, etc. No disrepect meant.

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Yeah, I've never understood this really. What are you supposed to call a black person in europe or canada, African-european, african-canadian? What do you call a black person who is from europe or canada but immigrated to the US, African-european-american? It's insane, why would someone care if they were referred to as black? I don't care if I'm referred to as white, it's simply the color of my skin. I don't call myself european-american.

I think african american describes someone who has immigrated to the US from africa, independent of skin color. If a white person is born in africa and immigrates to the US, are they not african-american? I mean it sure as heck seems like it to me. I think some people just want to come up with a reason to get insulted and an excuse to get angry over nothing.

As a child I was used to saying "african-american" because my mom is incredibly liberal and wants everything to be super PC, so she always made me say that. Like if I made the mistake of saying "black person" she would say, "WEAK 9mm!! WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!?!?"

So, when I was 16 I was in Canada and I accidentally referred to someone as "african-american." A bunch of @#$%s (All of whom were white) immediately started talking trash to me. They were like, "this isn't the US and he isn't an american, so he's not an african-american you idiot!" I did make the point of saying that the US is not the only country in the americas and that I wasn't calling him african-united-statesian. I mentioned that this is apparently what you're "supposed to say" in the US. The incident did make me think about how odd it really is to require a black person to be called "african american" though.


Now, I think that it is probably very likely that persons of color would encounter more problems on average than a white person when OCing. This is not a good thing, but I really do believe it would probably be the case in many places. I think it happens with plenty of other things so there's no reason to think it wouldn't happen with OCing firearms too.

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Weak 9mm wrote:

Yeah, I've never understood this really. What are you supposed to call a black person in europe or canada, African-european, african-canadian? What do you call a black person who is from europe or canada but immigrated to the US, African-european-american? It's insane, why would someone care if they were referred to as black? I don't care if I'm referred to as white, it's simply the color of my skin. I don't call myself european-american.

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[size=[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_American#The_term_.22African_American.22]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_American#The_term_.22African_American.22[/url]]

[size=[font="Times New Roman"][/font]]

[size=[font="Times New Roman"]This may help you to understand some.

Me? I am an American that just so happens to be black. [/font]]

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You handled yourself well. While I might not have said, "Because I felt like it", preferring something like, "because at this time, open carry met my needs better", all turned out well and you came out fine. Good for you!

Sorry to hear of your past problems in Iowa. Why do you suppose that was?

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I have said that s-o-o-o many times. Not about myself since I am not a black man, but about friends and others who just happen to be black. I couldn't agree with you more with your statement. You had no choice in your birth, just like everyone else. The impressions you make, the messages you send out, the opinions other form, are largely based upon your character and demeanor. People soon look past the physical (unless it is really smacking you in the face) and get the the heart of the individual when quality of character is present.

Welcome aboard from your fine state of North Carolina. I hope you enjoy these forums and find much to learn.

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