He started of with the typical "Are you a cop?". When I told him I was just an armed citizen doing a little shopping with my wife, he realy didn't know where to go from there. He pulled away with a puzzled look on his face before I could say anything else, but he sure had his eye on me the rest of the time.
"Nope. Have a good day, be safe!"
or if I want to be snarky....
"Why, did someone commit a crime?"
I think far too many people feel its necessary to explain themselves to perfect strangers.
Simple, friendly answers are all folks get from me, and if they want to strike up a respectful conversation about it, great, but most who start off with questions like "Are you a cop" just want to vent their insecurity all over you, and you know armored car drivers are not going to be stopping and striking up a discussion about your glock, or current events.
Most of the time, people are just looking for simple re-assurance that they are not about to be gunned down like they expect from watching too many movies, not life stories.
The next thing you will normally get asked is....
"Why do you have that?!"
or...
"Why do you have a gun?!"
or on occasion...
"Is that a real gun?"
Most people know deep down why you are peaceably carrying the firearm, they just cant override the instinct to interview a perceived threat. (make no mistake, there are plenty of people that are disturbed or made uneasy by it, they just don't say anything, probably a majority)
The simple way to disarm the situation is simply answer a questions with a question (the Socratic method), and put the ball in their court to try and explain why you shouldn't be, instead of your attempting to explain why you should be.
"I'm sorry, but what do you mean, why?
and/or...
"Do you disagree with the right to carry a firearm?"
These questions elicits deeper thought in most people, and requires them to approach the subject from a default position of your being correct in your actions and the answer is "obvious" but they just don't get it. In an attempt to save face, they will re-phrase their question in a less confrontational way, or they will simply start to attack with some of the typical refrains.
such as...
"Well, you shouldn't be flashing it around like that!"
or...
"Well, your gonna scare people wearing it like that."
or everyone's favorite...
"Well, this isn't the wild west anymore, people don't need to be carrying guns."
If they attack in this method, I end the conversation and walk away, as its normally just going to end up in a scene, and your the one with the gun.
"Its too bad you feel that way, have a good day."
This keeps the problem as theirs, and anyone watching sees your not even trying to be confrontational in any way. It also sounds better on your recorder if it needs to be referred to later.
I'm all for educating the public, but unless a person approaches me in earnest to learn, I'm not going to waste my time with spirited debates in public places on the matter.
