What do you do to prevent getting burned out fighting against anti's?

[Kimio]

I've not been in this fight long to be honest, and I'm already getting pretty burned out seeing all this anti gun this, anti gun that.

I'm trying to pick and choose my fights, but there are times where I see all this horrific amount of bias, that it just gets discouraging. Especially when we have an administration that blazenly disregards the constitution and the checks and balances in place. An administrationg that tries at nearly every turn to shove more gun control down our throats.

Wehave held the line in many battles so far, but I wonder how long we can keep this up at times.

So tell me, veterans of this war, what do you do to keep that ole fighting spirit going?

I've got quite a few semi anti to outright anti acquaintances, and I tend to get tired of having to argue my points with them. The latter group I typically avoid bringing up the topic all together, since it usually goes nowhere.

[BarryLee]

Generally most of these battles will be won or lost in the courts or the legislatures. The best thing to do is get involved with groups like the NRA on the national level and statewide groups in your home state. Then work within the system to support candidates and legislation that protect our rights.

While debating individuals may be helpful the truth of the manner is even if you convert one person does it matter? How many individuals have you converted? Groups like the NRA have the resources and the expertise to get the message out to a lot more people than we can as individuals. Do they always represent us they way I wish they would? No, but I still believe the NRA is the best thing we have going.

[doofus47]

As with any guerrilla campaign pick and choose your engagements.
Don't waste your time arguing with people whose minds are made up.
Not every argument about guns is a life or death debate.
Be a good listener; try to learn why this particular person is anti-this or anti-that.
Be a generally good, well-rounded, helpful citizen. A lot of FUD from the anti-gun movement revolves around how 'erratic' anti-social and dangerous guns make people. If you mention you went to the range, don't get into the details of your super-cool new race gun with 5.25" barrel and your 1/4" groups at 25 yards. Maybe mention it after you have already talked about the joys and travails of coaching your kid's soccer team or volunteering at the soup kitchen. We're just regular Joes who happen to own guns.

[tirod]

Don't invest anger into it.

It's no different than many other ethical decisions we make. I don't argue about homosexuality, I just stay married to the same opposite sex spouse for 41 years.

I don't argue religion, I just keep recognizing who is God, not which one.

I don't get into Ford vs Chevy - cause even the best Chevy race car user ever, Smokey Yunick, new it's faults. Every man made thing has benefits and disadvantages. Same as DI vs piston, although the piston camp has a very short list.

The issue is to AVOID anger. Sure anti gunners appear to adopt some very stupid and selfish reasoning that is easily manipulated by those who intend to appoint themselves rulers over them. I can't say we are doing much better considering our adventures of the past 15 years. There's something to day about what Ike warned us about concerning the industrial-military complex. How are we "better?'

Well, first, the battleground isn't being confrontational or even ready to exchange quips with those loudmouths who holler at any opportunity about guns. If they are spring loaded to make public scenes - let them. It's their reputation and credibility on the line, if we engage them it's only to risk ours.

Never forget, when arguing with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

While it might be fun to ask at the end of their tirade, "So, do you go to movie theaters much lately?" it's not going to help.

What helps is continuing to train and add to credentials that the anti gun public requires as their minimum.

I'm a prior service Veteran who worked as an MP my last year.

What we don't want to do is engage them on the merits of banning guns - we need to ask them how we should manage and fix how our society is bringing up murderers. Just as simple as that.

If they naively claim that no guns = no murders, then pass it off with "most murders are committed without a gun, what do we do about the murderers?"

Get them focused on the cause, not the tool, because it's the sociology that they are extremely weak on. Direct their focus on fixing the human issue.

Then you can discuss why the last two shooters got guns when they were legally banned from doing it - and how NICS doesn't work because humans make errors.

All our governmental systems are subject to human error, keep pushing that button. Humans are the source of the problems. Organizing humans into systems means we are including the problem, not excluding it.

Focus on the real issue - humans. Focus on it being an exercise of ethics, no anger. We don't need angry "supporters" - we get too many shooting movie theater patrons as it is.

[jmr40]

Choose your battles.

You aren't going to change the mind of anyone who has already made up their mind about any topic. In their mind the harder you try to convince them they are wrong the more irrational you seem to them. In other you reinforce their beliefs instead of changing them.

Instead try to come across as a rational, reasonable, responsible gun owner to those sitting on the fence. Deal only in facts, not so much emotion. Getting caught in deceptive arguments is counter productive.

The last stats I saw showed about 10% of the population was strongly pro-gun. Somewhat less than 10% was strongly anti-gun. It is the perception of the 80% who have no strong feelings either way who influence how the politics goes.

In recent years we have been winning that battle.

[rickyrick]

Be a champion for all rights, not just gun rights.

Frequently gun owners will demand unfettered, ultimate recognition of their rights to own and carry a gun, and to question that right is blasphemous.... Then turn right around and oppose someone else's right on a different matter.

Everyone's rights are in danger to some degree, support someone's right even if you don't agree with it or are of a different crowd.

On that note, some political groups don't mind rights taken away from them; as long as it's for the good of the group.

I'll give you one: mandatory vaccinations. That's scarier than loosing gun rights. It is your right to decide what substances you put into your body, and what medical procedures are performed on you. Even if you 100% believe in vaccinations, you should still support someone's right to refuse it. This does not represent my views, it's only an important example.

[Dragline45]

We as gun owners are far more knowledgeable on the subject than those fed lies and misinformation by the media. One of my favorite pastimes is schooling liberal anti-gunners on gun control.

While I never bring it up personally, the minute they start spouting misinformation I cant help myself but to butt in.

[DaleA]

Old foggy here viewing stuff through the distorted lenses of time...

To me it seems like things are much better NOW than they were in the late '60's, '70's and '80's.

There's 'right wing' talk shows and Fox News now and back then there were less choices of media and it seemed like they were all solidly anti-gun.

At the newsstands you'd get a Playboy, Penthouse and a couple Hustler magazines and try to sneak your 'Shooting Times' in amongst them hoping no one would notice.

Despite some 'stats' being published the gun companies are doing pretty good business and I think a lot of new folk are buying guns and taking up shooting which means more new shooters.

I also think a lot of people mess with the people conducting polls for sport or because they think it's none of there business. That is, I think there are an increasing number of folk that own guns.

I like looking at the comments to news stories and for gun stories the comments seem to tilt toward our side. Way back when we didn't have the ability to comment directly on news stories and the 'letters to the editor' always seemed to be anti-gun.

[Tom Servo]

Don't fight anti's. Their minds are made up.

Convince people who are in the middle or who are undecided. That's where the battle is won or lost.

[g.willikers]

Definitely support the organizations who are on the front lines of this fight, like the Second Amendment Foundation and, of course, the NRA.
Don't forget your state organizations, either.
On a personal level, share what you know with those willing to listen and ignore the rest.
Nothing wrong with inviting folks to go to the range.
Lots of minds have been changed that way.

[Brotherbadger]

Don't fight anti's. Their minds are made up.

Convince people who are in the middle or who are undecided. That's where the battle is won or lost.

Agreed. You'll never convince everybody, but you convince enough of the undecideds and suddenly anti gunners are the crazy ones.

[tirod]

Precisely my point about approaching it calmly and rationally.

Leave the spouting off to the anti gun ranters who seem to go around picking fights. Being - not just appearing - calm and in easy control of who you are goes a long way in presenting a better "sale" than they are.

If they rant on and on - let them - the more the better. If anything, when they stop to let you give them some reason to continue on, it's better to simply recognize they are upset and their behavior isn't all that. Disengage. Don't confront.

The people around you who remain to discuss it then are open to hear your views, subtly presented. By no means go off the same way that the anti gunner did.

The point is that isn't not a fight, there aren't battles, and there isn't life and death struggles going on. It's a lifestyle that reflects that you are right and their vitriol is simply a symptom of their flawed thinking. If they want to be extremists hunting down targets to spew venom at, then it's their message. Let them.

Don't be them.

There will likely be someone nearby who says, "Wow." And then you can say something like, "I was at the range just the other day and we were discussing the same subject." (You probably were - from our perspective.) "We came to the conclusion that people who hate guns would really like all those who have one to be law enforcement officers. Imagine, millions of cops wherever you go, ready at a moments notice to enforce public standards of behavior."

Oh yeah, the anti gunner left, take their words to the extreme, paint the picture, and watch how the middle roaders take that in.

"Not the world I want to live in." Sigh. "How bout them Raiders?"

Changing the subject gets you off the hook - if someone continues, it wasn't you. The point being you aren't loaded with statistics and argument ready to go off with a hair trigger. Let THEM do that.

We don't FIGHT the antigunners. We live a peaceable life and sell that to the public.

[wogpotter]

Don't fight anti's. Their minds are made up.

Convince people who are in the middle or who are undecided. That's where the battle is won or lost.

^^^^ this.

Remember that to the "true Believer" facts don't count, feelings override facts & "spin" is acceptable. This leads to a lot of frustration if you let it get to you.

Here's what I do & what I hope for. I'm not trying to convert the "true Believers" so I pretty much ignore the jibes & am in fact winning when they switch from "The Agenda" to personal attacks, frustrating as that is.

I find a source of good info & take the faked, spun & falsified information apart with it. Then I stop unless I hear some reasonable commentary in return. sometimes you will, mostly you'll get dead silence. That's OK too it just means after the personal insults they have nothing left to contribute.

Middle of the road & undecided will draw conclusions from the conversation, even if they don't respond.

[Catfish King]

Always decide to use reason, wisdom, logic, facts or truth instead of histrionic bouts of gainsaying; additionally, approach their "argument(s)" with a circumspect rationale and mentality that actually considers their side of things. In short, remain teachable. As for me, and in order to be teachable, instead of making the mistake of thinking, "I am always right about gun issues," when it comes to how others see things, I'll try to think for the anti's. (Because they are usually not thinking for themselves, but I digress.)

For instance, after totally deflating an particular anti's "argument" against standard capacity sized magazines for guns, somehow he moved the topic to a discussion about silencers. After first attempting to think through his emotional rant of "silencers are only made to kill secretly," I found he genuinely identified a gap in my overall thinking and knowledge base. Simply put, not only did I did not know or have an answer for him right then and there, I didn't even have an answer for myself, and I also identified a previously unrecognized prejudice towards silencers in me.

Although the answer was simple once given some thought, and now I own several silencers, back at that time and place an anti was able to force me to learn about myself.

Hope this makes sense.

[Davey]

I just stop caring what all the 2A haters think and say. Easier that way.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

For talking to the middle ground folks:

Emphasize the need for personal protection with clear and reasonable examples. Like the Petit family, Denver church or Dr. Lee Silverman.

Don't go off into political issues or conspiracy. Stick with gun rights.

Be reasonable if discussing some restrictions like NICS, UBC, etc. Don't rant.

Avoid discussing having NFA guns in order to lead the Revolution against the health care law - if you get my drift. Silencers are a diversion in the early discussions. You need to get the core ownership issues established, not wander into esoterica of the gun choir.

If you get middle of the road people to accept that law abiding citizens should be able to buy and carry (concealed) handguns for SD and own long guns of military pattern (AR) for SD or sport - that's most of the battle.

Middle of the road folks will probably not be sympathetic to OC and especially the AR and AK strolls through WalMart.

[rickyrick]

There are antis to everything. Not just guns. We need law and order to prevent chaos.

There are antis among differing gun users. I was too. I used to be one of the ones questioning why people own silencers or dozens of magazines. I even thought that there was no good reason to own an AR pistol. I've even stated that no one needs a semi-auto to hunt. Now I've performed all of those except the silencer.
There are many instances of things like this on numerous threads here on this forum.... Just ask about using .223 on a 200lb pig and you'll see what I mean. People's beliefs will overshadow reality.

[Catfish King]

Rickyrick: ...People's beliefs will overshadow reality.

+1


Calmly discussing realities, rather than myths from the anti's, is the best way to make people think instead of reacting towards either end of the pro or con extremes.