Although open carry is technically legal in my state, it is generally frowned upon and most police officers are actually taught at the academy that open carry is NOT legal. The interesting consequence is that the populace is so unaccustomed to seeing citizens with guns that if they do happen to notice when I'm carrying ... it is automatically assumed that I am a police officer.
Funny story... I was standing in line at a concession stand at a mall theater. My then girlfriend, now wife nudges me and says, "I think you are about to get talked to." I get my soda/popcorn and turn around and there are two guys with theater name tags on behind me. One says, "Um.... excuse me, are you an officer?"
I say, "Why yes, I am a Navy officer."
He says, "Would you mind showing me ID, because only officers can carry guns here."
I said, "Really? Well, OK..." and show them my military ID card. I doubt if he even knew how to tell if I was a military officer from my ID card. Maybe he recognized LT from TV...
He says, "Thank you, have a nice day." And I went in and watched the movie with my gun on as normal. My girlfriend and I had a really good inside laugh about that, though.
Another time my wife and I went to another movie theater, not in a mall this time. I went past the ticket taker and I heard a woman behind me say, "That guy had a gun." The ticket taker said, "Who?" The woman said, "That guy that just walked by you!" The ticket taker said, "ummm... okaaaay." I think he really wanted to end it with, "AND?" That was it. No mass hysteria or people running for the exits.