De - Evolving

[spacemanspiff]

one week ago today i set my holstered gun on the night stand. as an experiment, it hasnt left that nightstand yet.

yes, i know bad stuff can happen anywhere, anytime, to anyone. but the true risks going to and from work or store just seem diminished to me. i think when i do start carrying again, i'll probably leave the gun locked in the car.

i havent felt 'naked', havent felt at risk either. i'll update this thread when i start carrying again.

[rsmithsss]

You should do whatever you're comfortable doing.

[Mikeyboy]

Spiff....what if the ninjas and zombies attack when your out getting a slurpie???

[Jkwas]

Unless you perceive that you are under a threat of some kind, then why bother to carry. I just started carrying, so I carry many times just to get used to the mindset. Mostly on the weekends. If I have to go out at night, and I perceive a threat, I do also. What you are doing seems very natural and is grounding you in reality. Something we all need to do to keep our heads screwed on straight.

[stephen426]

Spiff,

What are you going to do if you get attacked by the 4 legged type of wild life? Oh wait, you are 4 legged wild life! You are a bear of a guy. I don't even think polar bears would want to tangle with you much less two legged vermin.

Do what you are comfortable doing. If crime is low in your area, you might not need to carry. Big city life is much more dangerous though. I hope everything works out fine for you and that you won't end in any situations where you end up needing your gun.

[spacemanspiff]

now, if i was walking to and from work, thats another story. all kinds of four legged and two legged beasts to encounter.

at some point, i probably will get a gun that will stay in the car, probably a rifle, along with the Bug Out gear.

my neighborhood, as in close streets to my home, isnt that bad. the suburb i guess you could call it, goes from 'excellent' to 'nuke it from orbit just to be sure'. however, lately, havent been hearing gunshots. hasnt been a whole lot of anything going on. biggest thing was back in december when SWAT cordoned off my street cause my neighbor locked himself in when US Marshalls came to serve a warrant.
Spenard, the suburb i call 'home', has its share of drugs, gangs, and prostitution. but what makes it notorious is domestic disturbances. enough so that the expression 'Spenard Divorce' was coined, referring to spouses shooting each other when their relationship comes to an end.

heck, i was always leaving my pistol here at work most nights anyways. having to turn around and drive back at least twice a week.

[Blackwater OPS]

I think wildalaska has brainwashed you.

[Wildalaska]

Thats OK Im here in Wake Forest NC unarmed and the only gun in my sisters house is a Colt Sauer rifle that hasnt been shot in 15 years

Be back in full action next week

WildsouthernboyAlaska
Ken

[TooTall]

AH! A "perfect" world! You know all the neighbors, get along with them nicely, and know that you can trust them. Heck, you can even leave your doors unlocked at night!

No, I'm not making fun of you! I remember when the City of Los Angeles was a SAFE place to live, and no one felt the need to be armed! Back then, the gangs were small and fought amongst themselves with chains and knives. They wore "Zoot Suits", s you could spot a gang member a mile away! They never ventured out of their own "turf", so they weren't looked upon as much of a problem to anyone.

OOPS! Those days are GONE! It seems like only "yesterday" when the gangs started venturing out of their "turf" regions....but it was actually 30+ years ago! Members of the "Bloods" and "Crips" started turning up in suburban and rural areas. Eventually, they even moved to other countries!
The same goes for "La Eme" (Mexican Mafia) and the currently "most dangerous" gang of them all, the "MS-13", which seems to have moved into 33 states AND 6 different countries (Los Angeles-based Salvadoran gang).

Heck, there are Chinese gangs! Vietnamese gangs!
White ("skinhead") gangs! Lest we forget, there is also a VERY active and well-funded "gang" that carried out the tragic events of 9-11-01! Gangs and terrorists are "same-same" in my opinion!

I've carried for 35+ years, and will continue to do so. No, CCW is NOT for everyone, but if all people who COULD carry legally did so, we might have a more "polite" society! If you think about the many horrendous and senseless things that have hit the headlines through the years, you HAVE to wonder if those incidents MIGHT have been lessened IF a CCW permitee was present or nearby!

The Austin (Texas) tower sniper is a prime example of having an ARMED citizenry. No, it has nothing to do with CCW, but....a citizen, armed with a shotgun, assisted a police officer when it became necessary to "storm" that university tower. The crazed sniper had killed 11 people, but had it not been for that police officer AND the armed citizen, it could have been worse!

Sorry for the "rant", but I truly believe in the 2nd Amendment and the NEED to have armed citizens in this nation!

[model 25]

You guys don't want to know what I think

25

[Striker]

spiff,

Has Anchorage de-evolved since I was last there? Wouldn't go to Spenard without a gun in my day!

[urbanassault]

I didnt even know there was crime like that in Alaska, heck I didnt even know there was cities, kinda figured it was just a big field of ice and snow. Guess I watch to much discovery channel.....thats a wierd though. It will be stuck in my head now, "......wonder what its like in Alaska......" hmmm....

[stratus]

Jeez, I thought you were turning into an ape or something. Then I realized the title of this thread is figurative.

Anyway, yeah man, carry when you want, I don't even have a CHL yet and I live in a major city. I don't feel naked at all. I have my brain.

So does that mean I carry sometimes anyway?

.....

[Greg Bell]

You should, of course, do what you are comfortable doing. I, on the other hand, feel uncomfortable without a weapon of some kind. A few years ago we had some thugs go into a local restaurant and hold dozens of people hostage with just one or two weapons. They proceeded to rape some of the staff, and if I recall, injure some of the patrons.

I often think how I would have felt if I was there and my wife was taken away by those scumbags. The funny thing is, I don't really worry about myself--the only time I am really strict about carry is when I am with my wife. If and when I have children, I don't know how paranoid I will get.

The other question is, why not carry?

[Superhornet]

Stratus---I have my brain ?? Thats pretty good, but remember, most of the people who come at you will not have one......My brain will not stop a 40 cal. So--I carry

[Bo Hunter]

My brain will not stop a 40 cal. So--I carry

It will slow it down a lot though - isn't that enough?

[springmom]

Was there anything else that went into this decision? I'm curious, because you've been such a presence on this forum and over on THR, it just seems a real 180.

I don't feel like I'm in danger all the time, but I know the potential is there all the time, so I carry all the time. Just wondering what took you into de-evolution.

Springmom

[nscale]

Spaceman, I recently realized just the opposite . For years I never felt the need to carry, but now crime has increased in my area, I wouldnt say I feel naked without my gun, but I feel much safer with it.

I havent reached the paraniod point yet Well unless you count 10 mags full of ammo spread out all over the house paranoid.

[spacemanspiff]

springmom, its not that i'm against carry, its just that when i'm going to work or the store, the risk just seems diminished in my eyes.

i've been thinking for a while about how i percieved the world before i started carrying, and evolving into a tactical ninja. that was before i was really into guns, and now that i know what i know about them, crime, its refreshing to face each day knowing that i have a CHOICE, whether or not to carry. the last few years i was adamant about carrying everywhere.

maybe i'm just burned out calculating escape routes, best cover, and the rest of that 'tactical' mindset.

no, i'm not giving up my ninjatude, i'm just hanging up my cape for a while.

[miconoakisland]

I never had an instance where I felt I needed to armed, whether I was or not.

I am a horrible fortune teller, so I will never know in advance what will happen.

I'm no ninja tactition, I just arm myself when dressing, just as I use deodorant, brush my hair, brush my teeth, put on my socks and shoes. To me, it is no different.

I carry not because of the risk, but because what is at stake.

I am confident that I won't be breathing my last breath, cursing myself for not being armed.

Not carrying when able is akin to only packing one chute when skydiving. "I never needed a reserve before, and if I die, I'll die doing what I love, besides--it must have been my time to go anyway."

Too many things are out of my control. I'm not gonna bet my life on the good nature of the thousands of humans I come into firing range of everyday.

Wildalaska---tired of hearing complaints about the weather earlier this week in Raleigh yet?

Micitsbelowfiftyandimfreezingonoakisland!

[Fremmer]

"de-evolving"? I'm not sure that term is accurate. If you have carefully considered your decision (and I'll bet that you have), then I would say that you are, in fact, evolving. If circumstances change and you want to CCW in the future, you can always go back to CCW.

And I hope that Wild and his family are doing O.K., or at least the best that they can; we send him our support!

[springmom]

You know, I have been on this forum for several months, and I've come to recognize the tendency to be drawn deeper and deeper into the "preparedness at every single second" mindset. I expect it could pretty much drive you batty if you go too far down that road.

I see the temptation in myself... when you start asking "what if", you can go pretty far off. If being ready for anything and everything is what a person really feels they need to do, fine; but the truth is that most of us only draw our guns when we are practicing drawing our guns, and most of us will live to a ripe old age without ever needing to bug out, shoot somebody in self defense, or set up on the roof to hold off the great unwashed hordes when "the SHTF".

I was definitely tempted to go pretty far in survival planning after the hurricanes this last fall. I've made peace with *not* having hundreds of gallons of gasoline stashed away, with having a couple of weeks of bottled water and canned propane for the Colman lantern and stove, and canned food so that if we get smacked head on by the next Rita or Katrina, we won't go without water and food. I keep my equilibrium on this by looking at my 80-year old dad who only ever carried a gun in WW II and has managed without having any more preparedness than what he carries between his ears.

Take some time to do normal stuff. Forget about bugging out and worrying about everything that could possibly happen, and just relax. Just don't get to the point of taking unnecessary risks; you can carry the handgun without giving in to the all consuming what-if-itis.

Peace, friend.

Springmom

[meanoldman]

As long as you have three or four knives, some shuriken, a manrika gusari and some concussion grenades you should be ok.

David

[Mike T]

"yes, i know bad stuff can happen anywhere, anytime, to anyone. but the true risks going to and from work or store just seem diminished to me.

Is that because it has become routine and a little boring? I understand what you're getting at, but remember statistics show most car accidents occur closer to home. I imagine that's because people let their guard down in situations they're familiar with.

[Garand Illusion]

My brain will not stop a 40 cal. So--I carry

Actually ... a gun will not stop a .40 from piercing your brain. If you want proof, strap on your primary and bug and pepper spray and baton and whatever and stand still while I shoot at your head. As you will see, neither weapon will leap out of the holster to stop the bullet.

And there are several situations where having a gun got the bearer hurt worse:

That texas shooting where the firearms instructor charged out to engage the shooter with his .40 and was himself killed (shooter had on body armor). In this case having the gun got him killed, as without the gun he would have run away from trouble instead of toward it.

Possibly the CCW carrier who was nearly crippled in the Seattle mall shooting. He confronted the shooter and was gunned down. Would he have been hit if he had been unarmed and sprinted for cover or a hiding place? We'll never know, of course.

In the first instance the man who took a stand and attacked DID save the life of others, if not himself. And in the 2nd the man might have stopped an ongoing assault against innocents, and so he definitely did the right thing -- just trying to show that a gun doesn't make the bearer safer in all cases. And probably not in a majority of cases.

For me ... I try to carry a good percentage of the time. Especially if I'm doing something that might attract a BG's attention. It's doing my part to keeping society, and my family, a little safer. And most often it's not an inconvenience in Colo, so why not?

But I have to chuckle when I read some of the posts by the "sheep dogs" on this site who seem more sheep than dogs. i.e. people who won't use ATM's, go to a carwash or a 7-11 after dark, go downtown, etc.

I go wherever I want armed or not. From a general pov, I HOPE a BG will try something against a big and possibly armed guy like me rather than a defenseless older person or young woman or whatever.

And if I want a ho ho or a bottle of woohoo at midnight ... the fear of BG's is not going to scare me away from a 24 hour convenience store. If the unarmed 20 year old behind the counter has the guts to work there all night, I've certainly got the guts to drop in and pick up a snack.