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Old September 30, 2010, 08:20 PM   #101
Manco
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Join Date: July 28, 2010
Posts: 171
Quote:
Originally Posted by Teuthis
Some people become so paranoid that I wonder how life can have any pleasure for them.
Like many others, obviously you don't know what real paranoia is. I do because there is a guy who has been threatening to kill me for a while now because he believes--with every fiber of his being--that I've been doing all of these rotten things to him, without a shred of evidence or any motive on my part. He even believes that I've been doing some very implausible things such as crawling around in his attic in the middle of the night, as well as beneath his floor, when his house happens to be built on a concrete slab. This is clinical paranoia that was brought about initially, as far as I know, by an unusual but documented type of reaction to the weight-loss drug Phentermine. I don't know why his paranoid delusions have persisted for this long--maybe something in his brain got "fried" or he's still taking Phentermine.

One of the key things that makes this a real form of paranoia is that it involves delusions and irrationality. Do you now understand what paranoia really is? Do you now know why some folks were offended that you called them paranoid? There is nothing paranoid about believing that one could be the next undeserving victim of random violence because guess what, it really happens to some people--no delusions are necessary. The vast majority of us realize that the odds of this happening to us are slim overall, and we are therefore still quite able to derive pleasure from life even without having a firearm strapped to our side, contrary to what you suggested. That said, carrying a gun at all times gives some of us a little bit of added peace of mind, much like an insurance policy, as others have suggested, or wearing a seat belt while traveling in an automobile, and there's nothing wrong with taking such precautions.

Personally, I think that some people make too big of a deal about carrying a gun around. It's nothing out of the ordinary for most of us, just like carrying a pen in case we need to write something down, or tissue paper in case we need to blow our noses. We like guns, which makes it all the more natural for us to want to carry one around, just in case somebody tries to do us and our loved ones harm, however unlikely that may be statistically. In fact, I think that making such a big deal about carrying guns around may itself be a form of paranoia. What, are you afraid that the gun will go off all by itself? Does carrying one make you feel as though you'd more likely need to use it? That's not the case for most of us--it's just another EDC tool that we carry in order to be prepared.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Teuthis
Carrying a gun around in one's house is pretty far out,
Maybe for your lifestyle, but is there anything irrational or delusional about it? Do people not sometimes get attacked in their own homes? There's nothing paranoid or "far out" about being prepared for real events that do sometimes happen to real people, even if it's unlikely. It's not that unlikely, though, as there have been home invasions in my neighborhood, and attempts have been made to break into my own house while I was home--fortunately all it took was a locked and reinforced door to thwart them in those instances (maybe not next time), but somebody has been threatening to kill me lately, and that's no delusion on my part.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Teuthis
unless the ghetto surrounds you. Then I might see it.
The "ghetto" is perfectly capable of driving to my perfectly-landscaped suburban neighborhood to rob and terrorize its inhabitants whenever they feel like it, with virtual impunity. The only thing here that could stop them is breaking into my house while I'm home. Everybody else here, as far as I know, is just waiting to be a helpless victim because they're afraid of guns (probably have some paranoid delusions about them).

Quote:
Originally Posted by Teuthis
I carry a gun sometimes when I go outside early because of Javelina and coyotes. Javelina are really mean and unpredictable and coyotes are rabid in these parts. But inside the house I see no need.
That's because javelina and coyotes suck at breaking into houses. But what if they were really good at it?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Teuthis
I think that keeping a gun handy in the house can be a good idea though. Perhaps I too am a little paranoid?
No, you're not paranoid--you just didn't understand what paranoia is, and hopefully now you do. It's perfectly fine to think that keeping a gun "handy" is a good idea, and even that carrying one around on your hip all day long is probably not worth the effort for you. I currently do not carry a gun while at home myself because my house is pretty well fortified, although I always keep one handy for determined home invaders. But just because others take it one step further and wear a gun basically as part of their wardrobe or EDC kit doesn't mean that they're paranoid in the slightest. It just means that they choose to sacrifice a little bit of physical comfort and effort in order to be a little bit more prepared than I am in the event that somebody does successfully break in. I'm thinking of carrying while at home myself now because I can envision myself or somebody in my family compromising our usual defenses for a period of time, such as when carrying things in and out of the house with the door unlocked, working on something out front, or going outside to check the mail, which in my case involves walking to the curb in front of a neighbor's house. In such cases, I may not be able to get to my gun, either quickly enough or at all. Besides, I like guns and the feeling of being prepared for anything at any time.

Last edited by Manco; September 30, 2010 at 08:34 PM.
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