The "gun culture"

[AJMD429]

Not meaning to turn this 'political', since we have plenty of those threads lately, but I just was thinking how alien 'our' lifestyles must seem to some of the non-gun, or 'city-folks' type people.

Last night I needed to take my daughter to a relative's home to dog/house-sit, and it is in a fairly remote area by Midwestern standards, with a half-mile long driveway that winds through the woods. They have an alarm-system, and fenced yard around the house with dogs, but she as always had her semiauto [ ] CCW piece to keep her company. Since the house had been sitting empty for 24 hours, I figured I'd not only drop her off, but do a bit of a house inspection and perimeter check (wouldn't even a 'city-dad' think to do this for his daughter?) before leaving her alone for the night. Without really giving it any more thought than I'd give going out to change the oil (I'd grab a roll of paper towels, an oil-filter wrench, oil-plug wrench, and filter/oil from the barn), I grabbed one of my 'Night Scout' leverguns, and while I had the safe open, figured I'd ask her if she wanted a long gun with her. She said she'd rather just stick with a handgun since a long gun was awkward when she took the dogs outside on a leash, but since her CCW piece is only a 380 (the 9mm I got her last year is too big and spoils her girlish figure ), I handed her a 38 Special Taurus and box of +P JHP's for it. Off we went. There is always a 9mm in my vehicle as well, by the way.

Dropping her off and checking the house/yard out was of course uneventful, but as I drove home I couldn't help but think that in many nations, having any ONE of the five firearms we had on the way there (her CCW 380, backup 38 Spl, my 'car' 9mm, the levergun, and my own CCW piece) would land us in prison. EVEN SOME PLACES IN THE USA would get us in serious trouble legally. On top of that, there are many hoplophobes and/or just culturally-limited citizens in this nation who would soil themselves if they were in that close a proximity to that many firearms.

Yet among my own friends, this is the NORM; we don't obsess over violence or death, and we aren't particularly 'worried' about our own safety; we just take it as a matter of course that we should be ready to deal with 'life' just as we should have a spare oil-filter in the barn for our vehicle, an umbrella in case it rains, or a fire extinguisher in case there is a fire. Yet it seems our nation is becoming a nation full of people who TAKE PRIDE in their lack of preparedness, and even take pride in their ignorance of things like firearms or any sort of self-sufficiency. Is this some kind of perverse disease? Why would any human take pride in not having a clue about how to plant a garden, heat with wood, field dress a deer, catch their own fish, change their own oil, or use a firearm...???

There is a huge cultural divide in this nation, and it isn't rich vs. poor, or black vs. white or Democrat vs. Republican - it is largely 'urban vs. rural', at least in mind-set if not physical location.

I know SO many people who would toss an AR-15 on the front seat of their truck when they went out to cut wood or check the pastures, without thinking it is any sort of 'political' statement, or 'violent' thing, any more than taking an axe with them would mean they are hoping to find someone whose skull they can split open with it. YET for much of the television-watching and facebook-crowd, this kind of thing is inconceivable.

We think those people are out-of-touch and strange, and even a threat to our way of life and our stable society. Yet they of course think the exact same of us...

Truly a conundrum.

[bdhold]

they watch too much television, believe it, and never get outside

television is the greatest ill in our society. It lies to us constantly, all day and all night, on every channel, until we believe that lying is the norm.

[AJMD429]

they watch too much television, believe it, and never get outside

television is the greatest ill in our society. It lies to us constantly, all day and all night, on every channel, until we believe that lying is the norm.

Read this book in college and it is very true:

http://www.amazon.com/Arguments-Elimina ... roduct_top

[North Country Gal]

I grew up, hunting and shooting. Not at all a big deal for a gal to shoot, either. You were considered a bit odd if you didn't shoot and hunt.

Over the years, though, my careers and demands of raising a family have landed me in the big city, more than once, most recently in the Chicago area for the sake of a job. While in Chicago, I made many friends and, being sweet natured and open minded, most of my urban friends - some of whom had never stepped foot outside of Chicago - all assumed I was like them. When they learned of my rural roots, they were surprised. When they learned that I was a shooter and that I grew up hunting, they were shocked. To this day, some of them think I was pulling their leg. In short, there is no way I could ever begin to explain what it was like to live in farm country, grab a shotgun and a bird dog, then walk out the back door and hunt pheasants all day, not to mention cooking said birds for dinner. Might as well change the subject to UFOs or Bigfoot.

These are people who fear guns, even hate guns; people who have never even touched a gun in many cases. We can hit them with every stat and piece of logic in the book and it won't compute. I can understand their irrational fear of guns and where it originates, but I also know that these recently proposed gun laws, being falsely touted as a way to make us safer, are nothing more than attempts to placate these fears.

Any legislation generated from fear and hatred is beneath us as a free people. Indeed, when we have become so desperate as to trade our freedoms for simply the illusion and fantasy of being safer, we are no longer a free people. This is not the country I knew as a child.

[Griff]

An email I received:

In 1887 Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the
University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the
Athenian Republic some 2,000 years prior: "A democracy is always
temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent
form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until
the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous
gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority
always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from
the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally
collapse over loose fiscal policy, (which is) always followed by a
dictatorship."

"The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the
beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200
years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:

From bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;
From dependence back into bondage."

The Obituary follows:
Born 1776, Died 2008

It doesn't hurt to read this several times.
Professor Joseph Olson of Hamline University School of Law in
St. Paul, Minnesota, points out some interesting facts concerning
the last Presidential election:

Number of States won by: Obama: 19 Romney: 29
Square miles of land won by: Obama: 580,000 Romney: 2,427,000
Population of counties won by: Obama: 127 million Romney: 143 million
Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by: Obama: 13.2 Romney: 2.1

Professor Olson adds: "In aggregate, the map of the territory
Romney won was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens
of the country.

Obama territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in low
income tenements and living off various forms of government
welfare..."

Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the
"complacency and apathy" phase of Professor Tyler's definition of
democracy, with some forty percent of the nation's population
already having reached the "governmental dependency" phase.

If Congress grants amnesty and citizenship to twenty million
criminal invaders called illegals - and they vote - then we can say
goodbye to the USA in fewer than five years.

If you are in favor of this, then by all means, delete this message.

If you are not, then pass this along to help everyone realize just how
much is at stake, knowing that apathy is the greatest danger to our
freedom..

Personally, I think Professor Olson is an optimist.

[AJMD429]

It is always neat to meet people who 'cross cultural stereotypes' like someone who not only likes NASCAR racing, but attends opera, or someone who like most of us, has one foot firmly planted in the guns/hunting culture, and likely another out in academia, the business world, arts, or wherever.

I think the funniest thing is that the 'rural' types are the ones stereotyped as having a limited cultural horizon, lack of empathy for others' religious beliefs or lifestyles, and in general being intolerant and illiterate. To the contrary, it is mostly from the 'other side' that I see an almost blissful ignorance of history, the tendency to pre-judge people based on religion or income or lifestyle or occupation, and the urge to force their values and views on others.

Anyway, to veer back away from going 'political', when I pass a golf course and see all the people there, and the money they spend on their gear, and the 'right' clothes for the hobby, I think how within that culture they just take it for granted that 'everyone' yearns for the top brand of clubs, cares about which brand balls they use, and would of course spend their spare time on the golf course. I think we all can be that way within those groups, be they model railroaders, bicyclists, people who like to work on cars, or whatever.

It just seems that of all the sub-cultures out there, the 'gun' culture is the one outsiders are SO clueless about. Think about what goes through the mind of a 'gun' person who doesn't play golf (i.e. myself) when they drive past a golf course. We might think it seems a quaint waste of time to play golf, or even have a mild curiosity to play it someday, but we wouldn't fear those people the way so many golfers-who-aren't-shooters would react if they drove past a gun range and saw us with our garb and gear.

[Griff]

...but we wouldn't fear those people the way so many golfers-who-aren't-shooters would react if they drove past a gun range and saw us with our garb and gear.

You would if you'd ever been the "ball catcher" at a driving range. They seem to take particlur delight in pinging their balls on the cart cage. NEVER put a gun in their hands!

[Sixgun]

Doc,
I see it all the time here in the East. You should see the dirty looks I get at traffic lights with NRA stickers and personalized license plates that are gun oriented.

My theory is that what the government think tanks have been doing for the last 40 years is working.........for them. Guns are portrayed as evil. Every news cast is full of murders, accidental shootings, robberies with guns etc. and little to NONE coverage on the other 99.99% GOOD of what guns are used for..............protection, competition, hunting, collecting, making a decent living, casual target shooting and other pastimes that are all American.

The seed has been planted. Its only a matter of time before we are all disarmed or at the very least, severely taxed and registered, like in the rest of the world. ---------------------Sixgun

[FWiedner]

Yet it seems our nation is becoming a nation full of people who TAKE PRIDE in their lack of preparedness, and even take pride in their ignorance of things like firearms or any sort of self-sufficiency. Is this some kind of perverse disease? Why would any human take pride in not having a clue about how to plant a garden, heat with wood, field dress a deer, catch their own fish, change their own oil, or use a firearm...???

There is a huge cultural divide in this nation, and it isn't rich vs. poor, or black vs. white or Democrat vs. Republican - it is largely 'urban vs. rural', at least in mind-set if not physical location.

I think you're just a little off base.

You consider the thought that these people take pride in their lack of preparedness. I would submit that most of these people truly believe that they are wholly self sufficient.

They work, pay their bills on time, send their kids to private schools, keep a nice home and even pay a crew of undocumented agricultural engineers. They know it all. They've got it together. Life is sweet and they are on top.

But... They don't know that water doesn't come from a tap. They don't know that milk doesn't come from a carton. They couldn't identify an edible vegetable if it wasn't in a bin at a grocery store. They don't believe in hunting or the necessity of killing animals because everybody knows that meat comes from the store, ready to eat. If things get scary, all they have to do is dial 911.

They don't even know that they don't know.

While it may pan out as a cultural divide, what it is is a major segment of the population trapped in the urban/suburban lifestyle and spoiled or dumbed down beyond the ability to survive in the natural world by the conveniences of modern life.

While adults in that group must be held responsible for their own deficiencies, it IS how they were raised.

[Barcelona Rick]

You know Doc I wonder how people can be so much alike and so far apart. I know many very fine people who have hunted and used firearms their entire life that just don't think hi-capacity magazines make any sense. They have been faithful sportsmen and women and many are WWII vets. They are accustomed to a bolt or lever rifle.....a pump or autoloading shotgun and a revolver or 1911.....it has gotten the job done for them for many years.

I also wonder why the different races see things so differently......I have worked in the past with black men that shared the majority of my values but are completely opposite in my views on government......the divide seems to be increasing....

My views too are different from many on this board.....I am a fiscal conservative but believe in assisting the needy.....I use VA Health Care......I will assist children in any way possible......that puts me in the croshairs of many.....Pray this isn't going to be portrayed as political because it is not.....

rick

[765x53]

I'm not sure there is as much of a cultural divide as the political and info-tainment elites would like to believe.

A few weeks ago there was some controversy over an eastern rag publishing a list of gun owners.
I'll wager a more complete list is published every year. It's called "The Phone Book".
I feel certain that even in places like MA and Conn. gun owners are the majority, even though they hide the fact or deny it.

[olyinaz]

I grew up, hunting and shooting. Not at all a big deal for a gal to shoot, either. You were considered a bit odd if you didn't shoot and hunt.

Over the years, though, my careers and demands of raising a family have landed me in the big city, more than once, most recently in the Chicago area for the sake of a job. While in Chicago, I made many friends and, being sweet natured and open minded, most of my urban friends - some of whom had never stepped foot outside of Chicago - all assumed I was like them. When they learned of my rural roots, they were surprised. When they learned that I was a shooter and that I grew up hunting, they were shocked. To this day, some of them think I was pulling their leg. In short, there is no way I could ever begin to explain what it was like to live in farm country, grab a shotgun and a bird dog, then walk out the back door and hunt pheasants all day, not to mention cooking said birds for dinner. Might as well change the subject to UFOs or Bigfoot.

These are people who fear guns, even hate guns; people who have never even touched a gun in many cases. We can hit them with every stat and piece of logic in the book and it won't compute. I can understand their irrational fear of guns and where it originates, but I also know that these recently proposed gun laws, being falsely touted as a way to make us safer, are nothing more than attempts to placate these fears.

Any legislation generated from fear and hatred is beneath us as a free people. Indeed, when we have become so desperate as to trade our freedoms for simply the illusion and fantasy of being safer, we are no longer a free people. This is not the country I knew as a child.

Well said!

[olyinaz]

Doc,
I see it all the time here in the East. You should see the dirty looks I get at traffic lights with NRA stickers and personalized license plates that are gun oriented.

My theory is that what the government think tanks have been doing for the last 40 years is working.........for them. Guns are portrayed as evil. Every news cast is full of murders, accidental shootings, robberies with guns etc. and little to NONE coverage on the other 99.99% GOOD of what guns are used for..............protection, competition, hunting, collecting, making a decent living, casual target shooting and other pastimes that are all American.

The seed has been planted. Its only a matter of time before we are all disarmed or at the very least, severely taxed and registered, like in the rest of the world. ---------------------Sixgun

It's everywhere Six. I came back from my trip the other day to a flat front tire on my Jeep in the lot. "Dang! Must have picked up a nail." NOPE. Perfect tire - someone let the air out. I have the AZ Veteran license plate and an NRA sticker on the jeep. Your guess as to what happened is as good as mine, but I think I know how it went down.

[gamekeeper]

Sadly as a Englishman living in England I can identify with all the above posts.
My country has already gone to the dogs, the USA must not follow us, if you do freedom will surely be dead and just a memory.

I think FWiedner sums it up well.

[Sixgun]

But... They don't know that water doesn't come from a tap. They don't know that milk doesn't come from a carton. They couldn't identify an edible vegetable if it wasn't in a bin at a grocery store. They don't believe in hunting or the necessity of killing animals because everybody knows that meat comes from the store, ready to eat. If things get scary, all they have to do is dial 911.

Bingo! That part really hit a note. I never thought in an million years that intelligent people could actually believe the above words to be true in their minds, but I guess this is what society has raised.

Being here in the East, where stupidity reigns, I laugh when a so-called "natural disaster" comes upon us such as a hurricane, a loss of electricity more than a half day, or snow accumulation that's more than 10 inches--------------people get real scared. They would not know what to do if manufactured goods were not there for them.----------6

[Nazgul]

You hit the nail AJMD-"within their culture they think....". I find it hard to talk sometimes to others because, and this is terrible in this part of the country, I don't follow basketball, or other sports for that matter. Don't follow NASCAR either. Have nothing against any of it, just not me. I reload and shoot. My other passion is history, of the early US and many other areas. The connection to what seems a simpler time, a time of self reliance, making things work to survive.

The original post seems right in line with the way I live. I have checked out places in the same manner before leaving. Just to be sure of their safety. The presence of a gun is no more notable than tools in the car or house. We are not paranoid, do not see conspiracies everywhere or feel particularly threatened. Just have this desire to be prepared for the vagaries of life, a flat tire, water leak, power outage, or gunfight ( ).

As a country we are having a bad time. Some are not willing to take care of themselves or their families. I am willing to help anyone in need, just has to be a real need. We have redefined the idea of "need". It is thoroughly confused with "won't" or "don't want to".


Don

[bdhold]

It is always neat to meet people who 'cross cultural stereotypes' like someone who not only likes NASCAR racing, but attends opera,

thank you

[Old Ironsights]

At one time I had a website devoted to this issue. It was called "Urban Refusal" and all it did was counterpoint Urban vs. Rural cultural issues.

It failed miserably because, at least then, almost all Web traffic was Urban and the majority of "hits" were one-hit-wonders from Urban IPs who never came back.

Most upsettingly, I never actually attacked the Urban paradigm, and was actually living un an Urban Metroplex.

But the very idea of workinng with dirt and animals and weather and, and, and was so alien to them that they couldn't deal with it. (I am "friends" - as much as possible anyway - with a couple of Chicago Media Figures. Both are personally "Libertarian-Conservaive" and present themselves that way in their professional Persona.... but one, who grew up in a Downtown Highrise, just can't fathom anything at all about "rural" unless it has somethig to do with race horses. The other... from a Greek family, at least understands keeping goats...

[BenT]

These people have a lack of curiosity on how the world works. That's all . They are not challenged to think.

I just got razzed last weekend from my cousin when he stopped by to watch us boiled down sap. He told me " can't you ever have a simple answer to a question" . Of course I responded that everything works by "Magic". These type of people want answers not discussions to make them think. My cousin is a good guy, but that is just how his brain is trained.

The most I felt out of touch with the urban crowd was a couple years ago I was at the hockey rink watching the kids play. Parents were talking about fitness clubs they go to. I responded with that I just cut firewood all winter to stay in shape, of course I always have gun when doing it. They laughed at me like I was a freak. I responded with the old " you know it heats twice " saying.

I've worked in big cities and small towns, I enjoy talking to people and can blend in any environment.

[Griff]

But... They don't know that water doesn't come from a tap. They don't know that milk doesn't come from a carton. They couldn't identify an edible vegetable if it wasn't in a bin at a grocery store. They don't believe in hunting or the necessity of killing animals because everybody knows that meat comes from the store, ready to eat. If things get scary, all they have to do is dial 911.

Bingo! That part really hit a note. I never thought in an million years that intelligent people could actually believe the above words to be true in their minds, but I guess this is what society has raised.

Being here in the East, where stupidity reigns, I laugh when a so-called "natural disaster" comes upon us such as a hurricane, a loss of electricity more than a half day, or snow accumulation that's more than 10 inches--------------people get real scared. They would not know what to do if manufactured goods were not there for them.----------6

And given how many eat out every nite, I wonder how many actually know how to prepare food from it's raw state to a prepared meal. Sure there's a lot to be said for Pillsbury biscuits in a tube... convenient, adequate; but biscuits from scratch?

[2571]

I think it kinda sad you have to carry a gun into a house and check the perimiter with a gun when it has only been vacant for 24 hours, especially when there are dogs on the premises that ought to warn you of something amiss.

I wouldn't want live in that kind of daily fear.

Chacùun à son gôut.

[FWiedner]

I think it kinda sad you have to carry a gun into a house and check the perimiter with a gun when it has only been vacant for 24 hours, especially when there are dogs on the premises that ought to warn you of something amiss.

I wouldn't want live in that kind of daily fear.

Chacùun à son gôut.

I think you've just become some kind of poster-boy.

[AJMD429]

I wouldn't want live in that kind of daily fear.

I "fear" that the house could have been occupied or burglarized about as much as I "fear" having a flat tire or that it might rain, but having said that, I keep a spare tire in the trunk of my car, and an umbrella on the back seat.

Oh yeah, since I "fear" the mice in my car might chew up the umbrella the same way they chewed up my mileage-log and vehicle registration when they were in the glove compartment, I keep them with the umbrella in a 50-cal ammo-can. Before I did that, I'd lie awake at night in a pool of sweat, heart racing, afraid that at that very moment, a mouse might be chewing through the umbrella.

When I go out to check the chickens tonight I "fear" I might step on one of the half-dozen piles of dog-turds in the driveway that get deposited daily, so I will take a flashlight, too. I tremble in fear at what could happen if I didn't have that flashlight!

I am just one bundle of "fear" alright...

I guess I'd better stay inside and cling to my Bible and my guns...

The other thing I "fear" is that I may have hurt your feelings if you were sincere and not joking like I assume you must have been. However, I "fear" I could be wrong about that...

[Sixgun]

I wouldn't want live in that kind of daily fear.

Chacùun à son gôut.

Chacùun à son gôut..............French? (I'm not very worldly) If it is French, you should have fear. I hear eating snails can give one AIDS and if you have AIDS, please frequent another forum as I don't want to catch any weirdo disease. Besides, I'm all out of Vaseline.---------------------Sixgun

[AJMD429]

Chacùun à son gôut..............French? (I'm not very worldly) If it is French, you should have fear.

Sixgun, you frighten me sometimes. . .

[claybob86]

"All we have to fear is fear itself - and spiders!"

[North Country Gal]

... And bears (in my yard), oh my! Of course, bears in the yard (we really do get them) is as far from urban culture as hunting or shooting.

"Del Gue: Jeremiah, maybe you best go down to a town, get outta these mountains.
Jeremiah Johnson: Ive been to a town Del."

My thoughts on urban life and urban culture to a T.

[AJMD429]

"All we have to fear is fear itself - and spiders!"

Yah - I am not a fearless macho-man, but I don't really spend much time in any real state of fear, at least for myself.

On the other hand, I DO very greatly fear what is happening to this nation and its culture, its freedom, and its relative safety. Good will likely prevail, but it is all so unnecessary to have to 'experiment' once again with socialism and police-state governments, when we all know they are universal failures. What has happened at Sandy Hook, and Boston, and all the violent incidents before those, seems to be just the tip of an iceberg which we are heading towards with wild abandon. The Democrats seem gleeful about it, and although the Republicans seem uneasy about it, they are too busy arguing among themselves which way to turn the rudder to avert trouble.

[horsesoldier03]

They definately want to keep a stigma that paints gun owners as evil. Our schools constantly try to push things such as sex education for kids at ridiculous ages, however they refuse to emplace programs such as EDDIE EAGLE to educate kids about guns. They choose to paint guns as evil and want to keep them ignorate to the LEGAL/SPORTING uses of firearms. Their stratagy seems to be a constant errosion of our gun culture one generation at a time. It seems we are only a few generations before they will have a majority.

[AJMD429]

Their stratagy seems to be a constant errosion of our gun culture one generation at a time. It seems we are only a few generations before they will have a majority.

That's why EVERY 'Grandpa' and aunt and uncle and grandma and father and mother and cousin and next-door-neighbor who enjoys hunting or target shooting or 'used to' enjoy them when younger, NEEDS TO GET OUT AFIELD WITH ANOTHER YOUNG PERSON EVERY FEW WEEKS, instead of just getting depressed about "the younger generation". Please encourage all your friends to do so...!

[AJMD429]

One other observation - probably most of us who grew up in the 40's through 70's knew how to make 'pipe bombs' and other 'fun stuff', just as much as we knew how to bait a fish-hook, make a paper-airplane, or change the oil in a lawn mower. All this garbage about how the terrorists in Boston must be ever-so-sophisticated because of how they made the bombs or the materials they used just makes me roll my eyes - MOST kids 'back then' could make that kind of stuff if they really wanted to, and some of us DID - but we didn't use that knowledge to harm others. Today's children are raised in such a sheltered environment that the assumption is that if they are kept ignorant of 'dangerous' knowledge, they won't ever do wrong. The adults parenting such children and the government ruling over them, must be living in fantasy-land; a BAD kid or adult will always find some way to cause harm, and will always find the knowledge and/or materials with which to do so. A GOOD kid or adult can know all sorts of ways to blow things up, and have access to all sorts of weapons, and will NEVER hurt anyone.

Relying on 'rules' and 'enforced ignorance' to keep society stable and streets safe will never work - only having well-equipped and knowledgeable citizens to COUNTER the evil or aberrant ones, is how to keep us safe and our nation stable.

[FWiedner]

One other observation - probably most of us who grew up in the 40's through 70's knew how to make 'pipe bombs' and other 'fun stuff', just as much as we knew how to bait a fish-hook, make a paper-airplane, or change the oil in a lawn mower. All this garbage about how the terrorists in Boston must be ever-so-sophisticated because of how they made the bombs or the materials they used just makes me roll my eyes - MOST kids 'back then' could make that kind of stuff if they really wanted to, and some of us DID - but we didn't use that knowledge to harm others. Today's children are raised in such a sheltered environment that the assumption is that if they are kept ignorant of 'dangerous' knowledge, they won't ever do wrong. The adults parenting such children and the government ruling over them, must be living in fantasy-land; a BAD kid or adult will always find some way to cause harm, and will always find the knowledge and/or materials with which to do so. A GOOD kid or adult can know all sorts of ways to blow things up, and have access to all sorts of weapons, and will NEVER hurt anyone.

Relying on 'rules' and 'enforced ignorance' to keep society stable and streets safe will never work - only having well-equipped and knowledgeable citizens to COUNTER the evil or aberrant ones, is how to keep us safe and our nation stable.

What depriving people of exposure or access to such information does is make them unaware and ignorant. Perpetual innocence. In many cases they don't have the ability or life experience to recognize hazards that they should have learned about as children.

This is often recognized by the display of what is usually called "a lack of common sense."

[QCI Winchesters]

You know, from the time I was 15, living in an isolated logging camp, I carried an old SMLE .303 everywhere I went, due to the rather cranky bears that lived in the neighbourhood. Still carry a rifle whenever I go outdoors today. Nobody ever seemed to care. Even when going to the beach here, I carry a rifle, due to wild dogs. (stupid hippies let their dogs go when they go on vacation to NZ every year, the dogs become worse than wolves) Whenever we go out in the truck, a rifle or shotgun goes with us. Just second nature.

[gcburt]

Thanks Doc for starting this thread - I've enjoyed the read!!