Life before CC vs. life after CC.

I've CC'd for more than twenty years. As said above I found myself less likely to be goaded into a confrontation and I wasn't an aggressive person to start with. I wholeheartedly agree that "Cocky and carrying" is a very bad idea.

Honk if you've never seen an UZI fired out of a car window!
My favorite was: Keep honking, I'm reloading. :D:D
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
An armed society is a polite society...goes both ways, eh?
Click to expand...

Sorry, but this is one of the most misunderstood and ludicrous statements about guns that exists.

The quote from Heinlein...

An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life.
Click to expand...

It basically means that people are living in fear of violence all the time because if they do or say something wrong, they may have to fight for their lives. That isn't being polite. That is fear.

Being armed doesn't make gangsters polite to one another. Being armed doesn't make armies polite to one another, or countries.

It is merely a quote about fictional events of a fictional society. Believing it works in real society is naive. Beyond this Horizon is hardly a good model for society to follow, even if we could.

If I had thought for one second that I'd be a different person carrying a gun than I was before I started to carry one, I'd have never carried one.
Click to expand...

Absolutely right.
 
DNS is quite correct. In the book, the hero - Hamilton Felix - almost has decided to give up carrying as he is sick of the macho 'politeness' gunfights.

He is convinced to keep carrying or he would have to be a deferential wussy to young studs. You could wear an armband which meant you did not engage in 'polite' gunfighting.

The society itself was a genetically stratified tyranny. Not very pleasant. Hamilton was seen as not being a good citizen as he was high quality genetically and didn't breed. He finally hooked up with a rare female who carried - that was discouraged in general. Be the nice lady protected by your male as the norm. She was an experimental genetic type and their hook up was acceptable.

Felix did carry a 1911 as he disdain the ray guns. Young bucks he shot with it were shocked by the bleeding hole as compared to the neat cauterized wound of the blasters.
 
I dont honk, I yell out the window "it isnt gonna get any greener" :) they usually move.

Why act any different? well unless you are a complete jerk as some are these days.

A smile, a look of confidence will get you far. Besides, we all know each other in my small town.....only one stop sign anyways...
 
I find myself more aware and paying more attention to those around me. I find I have more confidence in what rare personal conflicts I find myself in. This, contrary to some expectation means I am less likely to get hot headed or rash and more likely to be able to de-escalate and calm the situations down. I work in customer service at a repair shop that also handle police impound and towing, so I deal with angry people all the time. Knowing that I have an edge they don't know about helps me to stay above the petty insults and anger they throw sometimes. I believe most ego and machismo that leads to fights is caused by fear and insecurities of one type or another. I find myself less subject to such fear.

( I must say that conflicts are truly rare, even in my position. I can count on one hand the number of serious ones I have ever had in four years here.)
 
Quote:
If I had thought for one second that I'd be a different person carrying a gun than I was before I started to carry one, I'd have never carried one.
Click to expand...

Well, I didn't start carrying with the idea it would make me a different person; but it certainly has. For one, as I've become more aware of the responsibility involved, I have gone out and increased my skill - not just in firearms manipulation; but in things like conflict resolution (verbal judo).

Those increased skills have certainly made me calmer and less reactive in the one or two volatile situations I've found myself in since I started carrying. I also place a much higher priority on avoidance now than I would have in the past - especially after seeing how even a "good shoot" can turn your life upside down.
 
If I had thought for one second that I'd be a different person carrying a gun than I was before I started to carry one, I'd have never carried one.
Click to expand...

Well, I didn't start carrying with the idea it would make me a different person; but it certainly has. For one, as I've become more aware of the responsibility involved, I have gone out and increased my skill - not just in firearms manipulation; but in things like conflict resolution (verbal judo).

Those increased skills have certainly made me calmer and less reactive in the one or two volatile situations I've found myself in since I started carrying. I also place a much higher priority on avoidance now than I would have in the past - especially after seeing how even a "good shoot" can turn your life upside down.
Click to expand...

I could not agree more! I don't see being changed by the responsibility of carrying a concealed weapon as something to be denied or embarrassed by. I think we should be changed by it!
 
I first carried over twenty years ago back before Arizona (where I was living) even had any legal recourse for CCW.

I was going through a real rough patch – divorce, company downsizing, career/industry change, impending long distance move – so I was often not in a good state of mind. I found that carrying forced me to be more level headed which was something I needed at the time. Admittedly, the fact that I was carrying illegally (FWIW – a misdemeanor back then) when I was carrying concealed probably made me even more careful than when I was open carrying.

In the past year I have found a way to get a CCW permit from where I am outside the US via mail. So I now have my permit and will be carrying concealed legally while back in the US next time.
 
I'd like to say that nothing changed when I started to carry, but the facts wouldn't agree. I have always been a courteous, shepherd type of guy. I look out for people. Now, I make it a point to be the most positive person that people will interact with on any given day. I don't always succeed, but I always try. Before I carried, I was less concerned with what people thought of me. Now, I actually consider myself an undercover ambassador of sorts for the gun community. Why? Because stuff happens. Like this... I used to manage an LGS. I am now a manager in a different kind of retail environment. One of my old regulars came into my store today and obviously recognized me. Long story short, my team at work now knows I'm a gun guy.

So... Yeah. It is different for me. I am a better version of me.
 
I've only been carrying for a little while, but I'm already noticing changes in myself. I got my CWP because I've always tried to be cautious and prepared and now I am even more cautious (and definitely more prepared!).

Now I find myself paying attention to what places have signs prohibiting concealed weapons and paying attention to people walking past me. I try to make sure that people don't bump into my strong side and I occaisionally check my clothing. You'll have to teach yourself to not draw attention to where your weapon is concealed through excessive looking, patting, etc. I typically have my fiancee periodically look to see if I'm printing or not, so having your wife help you is a great advantage! When I'm alone or standing up i just pull my shirt down, same way i would if i wasn't carrying.

As far as mindset goes, keep in mind that all of our fates are bound together. If somebody does something stupid with a firearm it affects all of us law-abiding folks. I never want to be that guy, so caution and discretion is of the utmost concern.

I hope this helps.
 
DNS and Glenn, thanks for the explanation about a polite society. I had misunderstood.

Groverdill and hillking, you are going to be the same person with or without your weapon. Yes, you'll be very aware that you are armed for a while, and drive a little differently for a while, but you will go back to being yourself eventually. And remember who you were: you've never committed a serious crime (or more likely, no crime at all) in your life. You're one of the good guys in our society, and your behavior doesn't need changing. You've passed society's test already.

If someone else's behavior needs correction, point that out, in a reasonable manner, like you have been doing. A toot on the horn is still gonna be needed once in a while.

And if someone gets bent out of shape, you can let it go, and just say to yourself, "okay, I let that guy live" when it's over.
 
It didn't really change me. I only carry about 50% of the time, just a pocket .380, and I was never confrontational in the first place.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top