imported post
I still consider myself an new member, having joined MOC last summer. One piece of advice that helped me get over the first hurdle was to adopt the mentality to look forward to my first encounter. If you set out expecting to get questions from folks at the store or even stopped by police, you'll be continually surprised when nothing happens. When you start out, you'll feel like your wearing a great big MWAG sign over your head. But, after a while, you'll begin to wonder if anyone even notices. It's a little funny, actually, here you are walking around in condition yellow and YOU notice everyone else, but to most of them, you may as well be invisible, even in plain sight.
My advice for a police encounter is the same: look forward to it. If you see an officer, why not approach them and ask if they are aware of their department's policy when they encounter an OCer. This is an opportunity to give your local LEOs a positive OC encounter without them on the "offensive" as you might encounter during their response to a MWAG call. Plus, you'll both have a casual attitude at the time that will serve to diffuse any concerns that he/she may otherwise have.
Let me be clear, I'm not trying to suggest that you go out in search of an officer. But if you happen to be in a place where you know one to be, then make the most of the opportunity and get the encounter out of the way. In this way, you won't have to wonder if the officer will be watching you and considering a stop.
This was my first LEO encounter. I knew beforehand that there would be at least one officer at the FH tea party on the 4th of July, so I went ahead and initiated the encounter. It couldn't have been more uneventful. This has been my only LEO encounter ever. I guess I'm one of the lucky OCer's who don't warrant stops and MWAG calls.
http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/forum30/28057.html
One last thought. For some reason, I'm always more at ease OCing with my kids around. This may be a combination of them softening the MWAG appearance and me no longer caring what others think when I've got them to look out for. Or maybe it's some other psychological reason to which I still have blinders. But in any event, if you have kids, take them out to the park and when you go to the store, etc.