Not All Liberals, Are, Uh, Liberals? (dirty hippies need love, too)

[jahwarrior]

yesterday, to avoid packing stuff for our move, my girlfriend and i took a drive to Clark's Summit to go to Everything Natural, a health food/organic/vegan/hippie store. they're about the only place i can buy Dr. Bronner's soap around here, so off we went. we had our son with us, as well. he slept for the drive, but woke up shortyl after we entered the store, and began wailing. my girlfriend surmised that the smell of hipsters and patchouli didn't agree with him, so she took him outside to wait.

i approched the counter, and a tall, scruffy young man proceeded to ring me out. he noticed the gun, and said, "whoa! duuuuuuude, what is that?"

"it's a 1911," i said, fully expecting him to not know what in the hell i was talking about.

"sweeeeeeeeet. who makes it?"

this is the part where i got confused. "uuuuuh, Metro Arms? it's from the Philippines."

"whoa, that's hot, man. i just bought, like, a Glock 37. that's the .45GAP, dude."

"oh, uh....how is it? the recoil i mean. is it like the ACP?"

"oh, i dunno, man. i'm totally new to shooting and stuff, so even 9mm is harsh to me, hahaha."

"ah, okay. well, i can tell you, shooting .45 from a 1911 is pretty sweet. it's like a firm push, instead of a snap, like you get with a .40S&W...i don't care for that round."

"yeah, my bro has the Glock 23, and that thing kicks like mules, man. yeah, i got into the gun thing recently, you know? my buds were all, 'dude, you're like totally gonna be like a tea bagger redneck or something,' but i was all, nah, it's cool, man. this is my right, you know? i gotta defend myself, and besides, the Constitution says it's our right and stuff. all my buds are all, like, pro 1st Amendment, but all anti 2nd Amendment. how can you, like, be against one, but not the other? that's soooooo lame."

brain....melting....through....ears.

"so yeah, next thing i'm gonna bag me is prolly gonna be an AK, man. rifle of the people, riiiiight?"

"yeah. anyway, take care buddy. enjoy the Glock."

"alright, bro. peace."

i walked out, bottle of soap in hand, and walked upon my girl talking to our son about dirty hippies. she looked up, smiling, and asked, "are you done....hey, why is your eye twitching?"

i relayed the story to her, and she laughed the whole way to Manning's ice cream, which was about a block and a half away, where we got a vanilla cone, and a rainbow sherbert cone. the girls there either never noticed, or never cared, that i was carrying, but as we ate outside, an Indian/Pakistani/Bangledeshi man nearly walked into the storefront window, for staring at me belt.

 

[77zach]

Truly a beautiful story, maybe there is some hope. Shoot, we can't even get the fairly pro-gun state of Fl to see OC as a gun rights issue.

 

[c45man]

yesterday, to avoid packing stuff for our move, my girlfriend and i took a drive to Clark's Summit to go to Everything Natural, a health food/organic/vegan/hippie store. they're about the only place i can buy Dr. Bronner's soap around here, so off we went. we had our son with us, as well. he slept for the drive, but woke up shortyl after we entered the store, and began wailing. my girlfriend surmised that the smell of hipsters and patchouli didn't agree with him, so she took him outside to wait.

i approched the counter, and a tall, scruffy young man proceeded to ring me out. he noticed the gun, and said, "whoa! duuuuuuude, what is that?"

"it's a 1911," i said, fully expecting him to not know what in the hell i was talking about.

"sweeeeeeeeet. who makes it?"

this is the part where i got confused. "uuuuuh, Metro Arms? it's from the Philippines."

"whoa, that's hot, man. i just bought, like, a Glock 37. that's the .45GAP, dude."

"oh, uh....how is it? the recoil i mean. is it like the ACP?"

"oh, i dunno, man. i'm totally new to shooting and stuff, so even 9mm is harsh to me, hahaha."

"ah, okay. well, i can tell you, shooting .45 from a 1911 is pretty sweet. it's like a firm push, instead of a snap, like you get with a .40S&W...i don't care for that round."

"yeah, my bro has the Glock 23, and that thing kicks like mules, man. yeah, i got into the gun thing recently, you know? my buds were all, 'dude, you're like totally gonna be like a tea bagger redneck or something,' but i was all, nah, it's cool, man. this is my right, you know? i gotta defend myself, and besides, the Constitution says it's our right and stuff. all my buds are all, like, pro 1st Amendment, but all anti 2nd Amendment. how can you, like, be against one, but not the other? that's soooooo lame."

brain....melting....through....ears.

"so yeah, next thing i'm gonna bag me is prolly gonna be an AK, man. rifle of the people, riiiiight?"

"yeah. anyway, take care buddy. enjoy the Glock."

"alright, bro. peace."

i walked out, bottle of soap in hand, and walked upon my girl talking to our son about dirty hippies. she looked up, smiling, and asked, "are you done....hey, why is your eye twitching?"

i relayed the story to her, and she laughed the whole way to Manning's ice cream, which was about a block and a half away, where we got a vanilla cone, and a rainbow sherbert cone. the girls there either never noticed, or never cared, that i was carrying, but as we ate outside, an Indian/Pakistani/Bangledeshi man nearly walked into the storefront window, for staring at me belt.

Funny story. Don't believe for a second that only card carrying conservatives own and carry guns. Many liberals have joined the ranks of the firearm owning public. Now if they would only stop voting for politicians that are enemies of the second amendment.
Seventy million firearm owners in this country and O'Bama got into office and the Senate is still controlled by democrats.

 

[Lord Sega]

I really like your hippie's thoughts on rights:

... this is my right, you know? i gotta defend myself, and besides, the Constitution says it's our right and stuff. all my buds are all, like, pro 1st Amendment, but all anti 2nd Amendment. how can you, like, be against one, but not the other? that's soooooo lame.

This needs to be made into a T-shirt.

The only thing I would have added is a bit of advice/caution to his "I'm totally new to shooting and stuff" is that it is a big responsibility and to remind him to get a lot of range time on his weapons for familiarity and safety and also to be up on the laws.

I'm all for anyone who can legally carry to do so, but from your post he seems just too casual in the personal responsibility category.
I'd be twitching a little too after that conversation, I'd have a hard time trusting this guy with a butter knife let alone a firearm. Just my thoughts.

 

[ManInBlack]

I'm all for anyone who can legally carry to do so, but from your post he seems just too casual in the personal responsibility category.
I'd be twitching a little too after that conversation, I'd have a hard time trusting this guy with a butter knife let alone a firearm. Just my thoughts.

Why would you say that? He was gainfully employed, made the choice to exercise his 2A rights in spite of his freedom-hating friends, and he is leaning toward making the commendable decision to invest in a combat-grade rifle, which is unfortunately often neglected by "shooting enthusiasts."

I'd say all indicators point to this young man being quite responsible.

 

[hammer6]

Why would you say that? He was gainfully employed, made the choice to exercise his 2A rights in spite of his freedom-hating friends, and he is leaning toward making the commendable decision to invest in a combat-grade rifle, which is unfortunately often neglected by "shooting enthusiasts."

I'd say all indicators point to this young man being quite responsible.

agreed. that's the same mindset the statists have....

 

[Lord Sega]

Dudes, you are like sooo right. I took the dude's speech patterns from one brief discussion and like totally stereotyped him.

That was unfair and I appologise.

I am not a Statist looking for big government to require training & a permission card to carry, OC or CC.
I'm actually Libertarian/Conservative. Test yourself here at The World's Smallest Political Quiz: Quiz
However, I would love to see all the states having the same laws, preferably Constitutional Carry.

However, I am a believer in personal responsibility, and becoming familiar with your weapons for use/safety/carry is part of a gun owners responsibility.
I was just suggesting a nudge to wards more range practice so that he would not be "totally new to shooting and stuff".

 

[Venator]

AR-15 owners wont like this, but the sentiment is right on.

"...i'm gonna bag me is prolly gonna be an AK, man. rifle of the people, riiiiight?"

 

[thebigsd]

AR-15 owners wont like this, but the sentiment is right on.

"...i'm gonna bag me is prolly gonna be an AK, man. rifle of the people, riiiiight?"

Hey, hey, hey.....I love my AR and my AK equally

 

[KBCraig]

...she laughed the whole way to Manning's ice cream, which was about a block and a half away, where we got a vanilla cone, and a rainbow sherbert cone.

In the spirit of the moment, you should have gotten Ben & Jerry's.

It's unfortunate that the civil rights community was split into left/right shortly after GCA'68 passed. From the American Revolution, through the abolition movement, on through Jim Crow and most of the 1960s, what we now call "the liberals" or "the left" were just as well armed, and just as adamant about defense of themselves and their communities as today's "right" "conservatives" are. Possibly even more so, since they openly formed what would now be called militias, while modern "conservatives" worship government.

After the deaths of JFK/MLK/RFK and passage of GCA'68, gun control somehow became a litmus test. Those who favored equal rights for all, could not support equal rights for gun owners. And, sadly, vice versa.

I favor human rights. That includes the right to be armed if you will, how you will, and where you will. It also includes the right to travel and freedom of association, speech, and religion. Live and work where you prefer and marry whomever you choose, all without government restriction or approval. Work a trade or earn a living without licensing or permission, and keep the money you earn.

Many pro-gun folks call me a "liberal" for some of those views; I find no shame in wearing the badge of Thomas Jefferson. Some who style themselves liberal civil rights activists call me a heartless conservative for my other views, but I find myself in good company with Goldwater and Reagan.

Give up the left/right, liberal/conservative false dichotomy, and return to what's really important: basic human rights.

 

[ManInBlack]

I favor human rights. That includes the right to be armed if you will, how you will, and where you will. It also includes the right to travel and freedom of association, speech, and religion. Live and work where you prefer and marry whomever you choose, all without government restriction or approval. Work a trade or earn a living without licensing or permission, and keep the money you earn.

I agree with 99.9% of your post, but I would just point out that the right to freedom of association means that people should have the right to exclude others, for any reason, from their clubs, businesses, churches, etc. This is also integral to the right to private property. This was radically changed in America by the so-called Civil Rights Act of 1964, prior to the GCA. However, I find that many of today's liberals are eager for government to tell citizens exactly who they must associate with. I am not saying that you fall into that category; I merely wanted to make the observation.

 

[KBCraig]

I agree with 99.9% of your post, but I would just point out that the right to freedom of association means that people should have the right to exclude others, for any reason, from their clubs, businesses, churches, etc. This is also integral to the right to private property. This was radically changed in America by the so-called Civil Rights Act of 1964, prior to the GCA. However, I find that many of today's liberals are eager for government to tell citizens exactly who they must associate with. I am not saying that you fall into that category; I merely wanted to make the observation.

You are correct in your observation, and I do believe the right of freedom of association should allow anyone who owns or controls property to exclude whomever they wish.

I despite racism (or any other *-ism) just as badly as I despise gun control. I will respect signs saying "No (fill in the blank) allowed" the same way I respect signs saying "No guns" -- by taking my custom elsewhere, and discouraging everyone I know from doing business with them.