Seating in Public?

[Rangefinder]

As many topics in countless threads will show, there is a line crossed when any belief or practice is taken to extreme. On this one, I tend to be among the "casually alert". That being the case, no matter what the environment, I like the odds in my favor without actively focusing on "finding a threat" at all times. The fact is, people inherently do stupid, sometimes crazy things no matter where you are, or what you're doing. Just keeping that in the back of your mind and following a few small precautions isn't being paranoid, nor is it what I call a full time job. IMHO You're almost asking for trouble to find you by ignoring too many of the little precautions, whether it's sitting with a view of the door in a restaurant or keeping an eye over your shoulder at the ATM, or any other scenerio you can think of. How you carry yourself also has a way of projecting and attracting different attention. Just use a little common sense where it's needed and make the most of the day Ignorant < Aware < Paranoid. I like the middle.

[fastmover]

Fastmover, if you think that my mindset is that of a victim, if that makes you feel better and justifies your paranoia, cool. I think if you look at things rationally, most people don't carry or obsess over their safety every minute of everyday, and they live just as long as any of the neurotic's. The difference is they are happy and not scared, nervous, thinking strategy every minute. Those people have created their own hell. Like one carrier on here likes to lecture about carrying and being safe, then hands a kid an uncleared, loaded shotgun which he promptly pulls the trigger on and fires it. THAT scares me, not going out to eat.

There is a difference of being paranoid and being prepared. I do not need to justify anything. However, I do need to keep into consideration that I decided to have a family and also understand the world is not a safe place and I am the one to protect my family.

I do think about safety all the time. I think about what I do and eat and etc to ensure I healthy for my family. I think about dangers and environmental situations that surround my kids and etc daily.

I also am not worried about what most people decide to do if they want to carry or not. it doesn't matter to me as long as I know I have done everything in my power to ensure my family is protected.

It is not a hell it is reality and I bet the innocent people around this country that became victims in public areas and such can testify that it is reality.

Now I was not going to comment on your original post but you feel it is pretty sad to have this mindset and everybody is entitled to their own opinion just as I feel having your mindset is sad.

[Wildalaska]

also understand the world is not a safe place

Now...... I think that THAT mindset is sad...

I'm on Day 3 of "Oh heck I left the Seecamp in the Glovebox of my truck"..Im still alive...the sun is shining and the world is a beautiful place. Im not in Afghanistan or Gary Indiana. I'm not gonna live my life freaked out about statistical ifcomes and if I buy the farm whether it be by random violence or the Big CV or most likely, by some numbnuts who doesnt know how to drive, o well....

How can I say O well? Simple...I'm not afraid...

Because thats what some mindsets are....fear....fear that yikes hey you may REALLY die sooner or later...trying to stop that is mans way of fighting that fear and ya know what...if you have that fear and spend your life fighting it you are not really living...

WildenjoylifeAlaska

[Rangefinder]

+1 Wild

[fastmover]

I apologize to all I posted on the wrong forum. I guess being preared has nothing to do with guns.....It won't happen again

[Twycross]

This is the Tactics and Training forum. Guns need not necessarily be an integral part of the discussion here, AFAIK.

[fastmover]

You are absolutely right and I guess being prepared has nothing to do with tactics either.............

[spacemanspiff]

while you're at it, don't forget to wear dark sunglasses to hide who you are scoping out. and the Mallninja's Secret store is running a sale on the police scanner that runs on your bluetooth phone.

[riverrat66]

I always insist upon sitting in the last row of a theater or anywhere so no one can sit behind me and it has nothing to do tactics either. It's a trait of a lot of Vietnam veterans. Now before I start WW 3 and everyone goes off the deep end, I said a lot of vets not all vets. We don't like anyone sitting behind us, it's just one of those things. If I go into a restaurant I MUST sit off to the side where no one can sit behind me. I will not sit in the middle of the place even if it means waiting for another table. If I go to a sporting event or some sort of public gathering I choose a seat that has some sort of a "wall" behind it and it MUST be an isle seat otherwise I won't go. I don't need to "see" the exits but I always know where they are.

My family doesn't think this behavior is "unusual" because I've been doing it for the last 40 years.

Maybe I am paranoid but guess what? I really don't care what anyone thinks! I do what I gotta do to survive both mentally and physically.

[prime8]

Say the BG comes in w/o warning, and starts shooting? Hes probably going to see the person furthest from him in plain sight. That means you! I practice this technique when in bars,cuz I bounced for the last 15 years.. Too many drunks remember me.. The back against the wall is good, but Id rather be around the corner, thank you..

[Mannlicher]

and I thought I was the only person doing that.

[GunGator]

I'm on Day 3 of "Oh heck I left the Seecamp in the Glovebox of my truck"..Im still alive...the sun is shining and the world is a beautiful place. Im not in Afghanistan or Gary Indiana. I'm not gonna live my life freaked out about statistical ifcomes and if I buy the farm whether it be by random violence or the Big CV or most likely, by some numbnuts who doesnt know how to drive, o well....

well said- Wa

this is one of the reasons i have stopped every day carry.

the constant posturing, evaluating of threats, searching for adequate cover, sizing up possible bad guys, wondering if that bulge is a cell phone or a gun...

Right there with you...1. it is a big responsibility and 2, I realized I was much more likely to die from the steak on my plate than a BG with an uzi LOL
GG

[RoSAR1]

Since when does a movie theater have windows? Secondly, I would rather have a nice table at a restaurant than worry about being able to make a quick exit. You might as well not ever leave the house if you're going to ruin a dinner with your wife worrying about someone breaking into your car every 30 seconds.

[cuate]

Just an old habit, not paranoia. My stomping grounds are Comanche, Proctor, and Stephenville, Texas and the only way I can imaging any hassle would be from either misbehaving with someone elses wife or overindulging in ogling at same's ample busom or derrier.

As I do not do either, I often leave my pistola in the pickup, out of sight. Were it Dallas or Houston, or other big cities where denizens are known to roam and act ugly, its still facing the entrance, but armed ala Jeff Cooper, cocked and locked.

But its not in the restaurant, its the parking lots at malls and different places one wants to watch with a jaunticed eye, better to be tried by 12 than carried by 6 !

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Waiting for the kids to finish a test.

One question is do you pick your firearm depending on the restaurant?

If you go to the dread Burger Barn of scenario fame - do you take extra mags and a BUG. I recommend the BUG be in an ankle holster as it is easy to get to when seated.

If you are going to a 3 or great star Michelin restaurant - then will a simple and discreet Seecamp in your sport jacket pocket suffice.

While you might be in a gun fight between supporters of banning the production of fois gras and various gourmets - a 32 ACP probably will stop most psycho foodies.

I'm bored.

[Doggieman]

as for me, I'm fairly scrawny so I've always had to be "alert" when even just walking down the street. As I age I find myself getting jitterier and jitterier around people, which can't be a good thing. If somebody is walking behind me on the sidewalk I'll stop and pretend to look in a window or something to let 'em pass.

But as for not liking to sit with your back to a door or a window, that's pretty normal, in fact that's so normal that even Feng Shue says that the "chi energy" is bad when you sit like that. Hell sitting like that was making people nervous 5000 years ago!

[razorburn]

I agree with wild and the others. I'm 21 years old, a college student/personal trainer. I have no family out here, no life to protect but my own. And for myself, those things in my life I carry to protect are the same things I'll lose if I start being condition orange or whatever all the time. I carry so tomorrow, I can walk on and see the birds fly. Or so I can enjoy a date with a cute girl. A night out with my best friends. If I must spend all these times watching my back, in high alert, these moments are lost anyways, and my life becomes just little more than strenous labor. And for me, that kind of a life is no longer worth protecting anyways.

[invention_45]

It must suck to be that scared of life, never able to relax and enjoy the precious time we have here on earth. Its also funny that on other threads the"when its your turn to go" sentiment is expressed when someone else gets it. I could never be that paranoid, or afraid of life, 24/7. There are times and situations to be concerned, and there are times to lay back and enjoy the ride. I guess you can be buried with your guns if it keeps happy, but if you can't look at the one you love because you are assessing the situation, or enjoy a good meal cause you must look out for threats, its very sad.

Python - Get back to me after you've had an irrational ******* harassing and stalking you for 3 years.

[Beckerich]

isnt that a sort of compulsion that people from war have? You have to always know the way out incase terrorists burst in with uzi's shooting blindly? Take a xanax...

[Trip20]

1) We have those who think daily carry is a joke, and poke fun of people who have "the fear." By the way, fear is not when you pay attention, try to be mildly prepared, or keep a casual awareness, fear is when you can't go to the restaurant in the first place.

2) Then we have a very small minority who can't look down at their plate long enough to cut a piece of steak because they might miss the tactical leapfrog maneuver performed by Team Bad Guy.

Can't there be a middle ground?

I go out every day w/out a gun. Hell I don't even carry OC spray. I carry a pocket knife, that's about it. I remain casually aware of my surroundings most of the time - not all - I'm pretty easily distracted. It's a passive response; it's not something that takes thought or scrupulous concentration.

Being aware of what's going on around you is normal. Placing yourself in a position that makes it easiest for you to observe is also normal, and many - probably all - of you do this with out even thinking about it.

I try to sit in a seat that has the best view of the restaurant, if possible. I'm a people watcher and a busy body. I don't do this to be a mall ninja or because it makes me "tactical" - sorry to disappoint you. I hate the word tactical. I just realized this.

Anyway, if WI someday passes a carry law, I won't change my seating arrangement.

[RoSAR1]

In Ohio you can't carry in a restaurant unless you take your wife to Denny's. Depending on what I was wearing I would carry anyway but still, just something to think about.

[PythonGuy]

Invention-45,

Of course there are special situations where threats have been made and you'd be more alert. Even the average person at an ATM or other area of potential risk should be alert. I am talking about the average guy being on a 24/7 mindset of protection to the extent they take a gun into the bathroom, or decide where to sit based on a possible commando raid, that's where I draw the line. Others like Trip20 have made good if not obvious points about the level of awareness in everyday life. I do post about the absurdity of paranoia on here with tongue in cheek; I think its bad publicity for normal, responsible gun owners. But I mean seriously, look at some of the threads on the T&T section, its a little crazy really. One thread has a person clearing their house because they left a door they thought locked, unlocked. That's a great way to shoot a neighbor or family member. If you have to walk around your house with a gun to clear it at every little noise, how long till you end up in the nuthouse? And worse still, this same person gives advice on personal safety like they actually know what they are talking about! Guns are for fun too, I think that gets lost all too often on here. More then 99% of this country do not carry guns; somehow they make it through life just fine. Window seat anyone?? Or how about eating outside in the fresh air, how scary!!

[invention_45]

Python-

Ok, that's better. I do believe you should take into consideration that there could be some people here who have had or are having threatening experiences but would rather not say what they are. So that group looks paranoid. Included would be former soldiers or anyone whose job put them under threat, even if it was long ago. Some things, once learned, become very habitual, like putting on your seat belt.

Another thing is that there's really no standard regarding how people think. Some value safety far more than freedom, as is obvious from the Patriot Act and Prohibition II. Some value freedom (from worry, I suppose) over safety and don't have guns at all. And everything between, and that's only on that one issue.

So it doesn't shock me to see that somebody who has never been under any sort of threat can create a habit of being choosey about restaurant seating and things like that. Remember Luby's?

Nothing I've seen here bothers me, so long as the way the individual is managing his firearm and safety includes obeying the various laws that apply.

[Wildalaska]

I'm carrying my Hi Power today!

And wearing a shirt with a collar! Not even wrinkled!

I wonder if one has anyhting to do with the other

WildilieditswrinkledAlaska

[Eghad]

sit where I can see the incoming traffic to that section but I usually dont pick the tables.