General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDrove by a gun store last night
It was packed. Packed with men who look just like me... middle-aged, overweight, and out of shape.
All hoping their SHTF fantasy comes true so they can fearlessly lead the way and be the hero. Praying they get the opportunity to kill someone. It's this mindset - grandiose, delusional, paranoid, insane - that confounds me.
Answer me this - If the dreaded 'Gubment' does come for their weapons, how are people who look just like me going to confront a well trained army of highly motivated, highly trained 20-somethings? Not to mention tanks, A-10 Warthogs, etc? The last time I looked, Warthogs were nowhere to be found at Bass Pro.
Scuba
(53,475 posts)BeyondGeography
(39,382 posts)The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,869 posts)I feel ever so much safer knowing he's armed and ready to protect the Republic.
geomon666
(7,512 posts)Love the Rand sticker on the gun.
BeyondGeography
(39,382 posts)calimary
(81,507 posts)lookin' like a TOUGH GUY!
FSogol
(45,529 posts)rbixby
(1,140 posts)Makes you look super badass when you prove that the only voice you're listening to is the one inside your head.
TheCowsCameHome
(40,169 posts)Thanks for the clarification.
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)Jenoch
(7,720 posts)a black wire which is probably plugged into an mp3 player, the generic kind, not an actual iPod.
global1
(25,272 posts)Seems to me like a lot of spent money is represented in this pic.
Erose999
(5,624 posts)The irony is that most GI's carry the least equipment they can safely get away with, right? I mean why dress up in all that crap if you didn't need it. This guy has obviously never read any Tim O' Brien.
loose wheel
(112 posts)And he is still lighter in the equipment department than them. For starters that is a military surpus "flak" jacket without SAPI plate inputs. It is far lighter than modern body armor, and it won't stop that first round.
I only see one extra magazine of ammunition, compared to the average soldier who patrols with about 600 rounds of ammunition. He also would be carrying something heavy on his back depending on his job and payload. He could be carrying counter-IED equipment, a radio, or the extra tools needed for his mission. On average, a US infantry soldier is carrying an extra 90 lbs, as I ssuspect this guy is, but they can take their extra pounds off.
Also , that guy isn't wearing a stage III armor helmet.
Other than all that, yeah he's a real threat.
Erose999
(5,624 posts)tactical equipment necessary for that objective.
Hassin Bin Sober
(26,343 posts)Hasn't seen his pee pee since 1989 =====>
Bake
(21,977 posts)But I'm sure you have personal knowledge of facts about the size of his member?
Bake
Hassin Bin Sober
(26,343 posts)....to political demonstrations with guns? Who knew. Or was that you? If so, I, um, apologize
BTW, my comment was about the size of his generous gut.
Bake
(21,977 posts)But we ought to try to keep it focused on their behavior (if not their observable appearance), not their package size. Otherwise we sound as foolish as they look.
Bake
Hassin Bin Sober
(26,343 posts)His behavior and his appearance are linked in this tragedy of a display.
I usually stay away from "fat jokes" on DU. But come on. At some point, you have to tell yourself you will "water the tree of liberty" by maybe driving a truck towing the "water buffalo" (no pun) or working in the mess kitchen.
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)I think only defending them sounds foolish... everything else is pretty much dead-on.
calimary
(81,507 posts)Glad you're here. Interesting observations. I would guess our gallant warrior has probably never served.
TheCowsCameHome
(40,169 posts)You should see him in full-dress !
Politicalboi
(15,189 posts)Eric Cartman.
Yavin4
(35,446 posts)There's plenty of open spots in Afghanistan.
calimary
(81,507 posts)NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)Never grewed up!
Recursion
(56,582 posts)I think there's a lot of that going on too.
Hoyt
(54,770 posts)HappyMe
(20,277 posts)LiberalEsque01
(13 posts)If some politicians weren't so 'hair-trigger', as one might say, to jump on the banning bandwagon then you wouldn't have buying panics.
Hekate
(90,829 posts)Politicians don't want a ban -- they are too cowardly to go that far. But they will finally have to listen to the vast majority of the US population and rein in the sheer madness that is going on.
Enjoy your stay, bud.
Hekate
lunatica
(53,410 posts)ellisonz
(27,711 posts)calimary
(81,507 posts)Good to have you with us! If we'd been on this slow 'n' steady for the last couple of decades, and not allowed the NRA and its goon friends to intimidate and menace us into silence and acquiescence, panic buying might not have been such an issue.
Steady pressure. Steady pressure.
dmallind
(10,437 posts)It's a routine truism on DU that fat people are somehow less capable with guns than lean folks. There is absolutely no reason to suspect this is so. I don't think the idea is being able to run marathons. I think it's the scoffing crowd who have the absurd fantasies here that using guns somehow necessitates being able to carry on a two-day mountain assault with 65lb packs. In reality unless your fingers are too fat to fit through a trigger guard, your weight has bugger all to do with how much skill and effectiveness you can bring to bear with firearms.
As far as silly Red Dawn fantasies go, here again the error seems to be on the side of those who see uselessness and adiposity linked. The Afghans have been holding off armed forces quite well. While no doubt most Afghan peasants are wiry coves in fact, can anybody point out which tactics of theirs requires great aerobic fitness? They are not exactly sprinting miles and then outrunning drones that respond are they?
snooper2
(30,151 posts)LOL
Comatose Sphagetti
(836 posts)Nothing.
Being overweight does, however, limit your ability to run, jump, react, respond, repel, climb, .......
Victor_c3
(3,557 posts)When you are required to run and sprint from position to position then fire well-aimed shot, steady breath makes all the difference.
I don't know how many of you guys have military experience, but we used to do "stress shooting" exercises where we'd run and get ourselves worn out physically then shoot. I never did it too much, but it was a bitch.
calimary
(81,507 posts)Cool screen name! Glad you're here. Good point.
Ian David
(69,059 posts)Meet your 2012 U.S. Olympic Shooting Team Medalists: Vincent Hancock (gold), Kim Rhode (gold), Jamie Gray (gold) and Matt Emmons (bronze). Congratulations to the medalists and the entire team for an excellent showing in London!
http://summergames.uxadditives.com/facebook/meet-your-2012-us-olympic-shooting-team-medalists-vincent-hancock-gold-55670/
Not exactly overweight.
FSogol
(45,529 posts)Fresh_Start
(11,330 posts)of course most of them will miss
but it might wake up a few of them to the insanity of their fantasy
regjoe
(206 posts)are "praying they get the opportunity to kill someone," but they are the ones suffering from delusion and paranoia? Answer me this: With that mindset and all those evil guns and evil ammo around, how come nobody was shot?
On the off chance that you are serious, I will answer your questions.
IF the government were to come for the weapons, its biggest hurdles would be:
ALOT of the soldiers, especially the Guard and Reserve, would not be willing to go against their fellow Americans. IF you believe our soldiers would be "highly motivated" to kill their neighbors, you are mistaken. You can fantasize about soldiers being brain dead drones who have to do what ordered, but that is not the reality of the situation.
Age doesn't mean jack. For every "highly trained" 20 something, there is a formerly "highly trained" 30, 40 and 50 something.
The fighting would not be on a battlefield, it would be guerrilla style. Ambushes. Hit and run. Tanks and planes are only useful IF you know where your target is.
The geography also plays a HUGE factor. We do NOT have enough combat troops to control a mass revolt. The government would be fighting them on their "turf" and they know their "turf" better than anyone else.
I could go on and on.
Point is, it's not as easy as some of you unrealistically believe it is.
Tsiyu
(18,186 posts)The peace they enjoy in the US is not "doing it" for them. They want a more armed peace. They want to be ready for elephants, alien life forms and Communists. Of course, they have never known "real war." They are like children playing in the woods, picturing the dead falling down easily when they point their sticks.
They want what they want, like heroin addicts and Nigerian e-mail scammers and Zombies.
It's this fatal flaw in humans , where nearly every empty man wants to be king and have all he desires.
The gun, he believes, makes him king.
The more guns, the taller that throne.
Then you have the "community" gun nut, believing himself the 'savior" of his neighbors. He looks down on all of them, and picks the lazy way of making himself valuable to them by virtue of his superior firepower, yet they are supposed to look up to his godlike prowess with a firearm. And actually trust this pompous ass.
Interesting characters, strange ass times....
yellerpup
(12,254 posts)is known to cure these delusional wannabes provided the war doesn't kill them. So much fantasy, so little knowledge. If they want to fight and kill people, they should be first in line at the draft board.
It was funny (kind of) how, before our first firefight how the guys in my platoon were itching to see some combat. I personally wasn't looking forward to the possibility, but that is a different topic. On 18 June 2004 my platoon was thrown into a firefight that ended up lasting nearly 24 hours. Without getting into the gory details, that fight stopped everyone in my platoon from wishing for combat again!
That was a crazy week for us. On the 20th we were on a patrol and hit an IED and got into another (very brief) firefight, the 22nd we were given a new vehicle and hit another IED, and on the 24th we were involved in a 14 hour firefight in downtown Baqubah. crazy crazy.
yellerpup
(12,254 posts)Hard to imagine fighting for your life for a solid 24 hours, survive, then go back and do it day after day. I can't understand why some seem willing to recreate a war here and kill their own people in the name of freedom. One crazy week? Dude--one crazy week? I bet you were there for longer.
Victor_c3
(3,557 posts)Yup, I did 13 months, however most of my time wasn't that crazy. We probably saw something about once a week or two. Most of the time it was an IED or a random sniper shot or a single person throwing a grenade at you and those situations were over as fast as they started. I can't really talk like I had it rough. I got lucky and only did one rotation to the middle east in the 5.5 years that I was active duty. When I got out in 2007, most people had done two or three stints.
Trust me, it wears you down and beats you. I didn't realize how worn down and beaten I was until I got out of the Army. Being around fellow Soldiers who had been through stuff like I experienced really helped a lot. Getting out and suddenly being away from the Army environment and trying to make it as a civilian was very hard and continues to be a struggle. Fortunately I got myself into the VA and I'm a regular there.
As was mentioned before, I don't get why anyone would want to play war or watch war movies or read war books....
yellerpup
(12,254 posts)My cousin was a clerk in Cu Chi (1968), he came home and got into college and at some point he found out about all the VietCong tunnels under his camp. Freaked completely for a couple of months, but managed to get himself back together. He still has nightmares though. The only glory in war is coming out alive and that would be miracle enough for me! Take care of yourself and we'll try to rustle up a dream job for you soon!
nadinbrzezinski
(154,021 posts)The problem is 98% think they know, when they know jack.
Welcome home, and we have a vets forum here.
calimary
(81,507 posts)I've never served in the military, myself, but it always seemed to me that the very same people who saber-rattle and can't wait to charge the light brigade have never seen any action like that, never lived through it - that is, if they're among the lucky ones, never lost anything or anyone or any body part to it. Real easy to roar for war when you're sitting in that big comfy chair at home, on the other side of the planet from the war zone, in front of your flat screen TV in the nice air conditioning and quiet suburban streets, with all the beer or soda and snacks you want.
Reminds me of "All Quiet on the Western Front." Strong, strapping young men all rarin' to go and see combat, only to find themselves plunged into the most horrifying, blood-soaked, pain-filled nightmare they ever thought they could imagine.
klyon
(1,697 posts)the sugar high could kill you
If people really saw what war looked like they would be too sick and afraid to go.
calimary
(81,507 posts)They have no idea! Their idea of war is to shoot shoot shoot, kill kill kill, and then hit reset, and everything's all fine and dandy again.
"Blaze of glory" and all that. And they have NO clue how much that "blaze of glory" stuff HURTS - when REAL LIVE flesh and blood and bone is involved! Hell, I've never served, never even been close to warfare, but even an unexperienced, unenlisted, civilian dunce like me knows that.
regjoe
(206 posts)regjoe
(206 posts)Yes, a few people who own guns are like you say, but the vast majority of gun owners, especially the "community" gun owner, do not fall into this line of thinking.
The majority of gun owners don't sit around dreaming of armed conflict with the government, it's time we stop treating them like they do.
Tsiyu
(18,186 posts)I know that ALL gun owners do not believe this.
However, I have no need of a dozen assault rifles or 30 round magazines. Those who are purchasing these types of weapons ARE often deluded and believe they will have to use them in an armageddon type near future.
Read some of their blogs, forums, etc. These are very paranoid, frightened, and potentially violent freaks. JUST LIKE YEAGER.
They are planning for masive hordes to start wandering in their neighborhoods at our nation's imminent financial collapse. These are the types who vote to end all social programs, because their solution to poverty and hunger is to KILL THE POOR.
Shadowflash
(1,536 posts)There would be no fighting.
These so called 'survivalists' would pee their pants and throw their hands into the air if the government could ever come for their weapons. They are great at looking tough when there is no chance of them being called out to put up or shut up but when the rubber hit the road they would fold like cheap suits.
regjoe
(206 posts)It is the average regular citizen who is forced to choose sides, that is the wildcard.
I don't believe it would happen either, I was just giving some facts to counter the government "gunships" will take care of everything rhetoric.
Shadowflash
(1,536 posts)that the amount of people it would require to take up arms in this country, to replace our current government with some backward, redneck, teabilly theocracy, would actually do so, I would suggest you're kidding yourself.
This would be a very small amount of idiots who would be less akin to Clint Eastwood and Sly Stallone, as they see themselves, and more like this guy --
ellisonz
(27,711 posts)Yet. You should check out the figures on self-inflicted gun injuries...
The current rhetoric is that more guns equals more deaths and that everyone who wants or owns a semi-automatic weapon has a secret desire to kill kill kill.
IF any of that were true, gun shops and gun shows would be battlefields.
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)I thought current rhetoric was that only good guys with guns can kill bad guys with guns...
calimary
(81,507 posts)Glad you're with us. Some really good points here, too.
LiberalFighter
(51,103 posts)barbtries
(28,811 posts)700 just since Newtown. and that was yesterday.
nobody was shot?!
ETA: by the way, this is just the number of gun DEATHS. the number of people shot is greater by how much i don't know.
nobody was shot. how can you say that.
hobbit709
(41,694 posts)Every parking space in front was empty.
Bay Boy
(1,689 posts)That means they are out in the woods running maneuvers!
(that's not any whackier of an idea than what the OP figures a full parking lot means)
calimary
(81,507 posts)Good to have you join us! The whole thing rather scares me. I find that yen for the biggest big-ass guns on the block - to be just a wee bit UNSETTLING!!!!! Not to mention off-putting and confusing as hell. I just don't get it.
GeorgeGist
(25,323 posts)NickB79
(19,274 posts)The shelves are pretty bare here in MN, and have been for the past couple of weeks.
Locrian
(4,522 posts)Like a lot of things that are "marketed" to us ? This is just another fear based buying ploy by gun (and accessory) manufacturers. If not directly, they sure benefit. The mechanism is the same - fear and then the desire to 'solve' it by buying something.
Some people may be able to see thru the 'logic' of it - akin to dressing like your favorite superhero sans the dangerous 'toy' - but it's similar in nature. And it's going to work on a large segment of the population - just like normal advertising does. Add in the 24/7 glorification of the 'hero with a gun' on almost ALL tv/movie/games and what do you expect?
BTW - I don't lump all people who are 'into' guns for target, hunting, etc. But I do suspect that a lot of this is 'good old' market dynamics.
Maybe making it more "uncool" and less accepted (cough, movies, tv, etc) like we did with cigarettes would help a tiny bit? In any case, I think keeping the pressure up from people fed up with the statistics is at least some counterbalance.
(disclaimer: not a gun nut, I support restrictions, yadda yadda etc....)
JoePhilly
(27,787 posts)Dick's Sporting Good store.
I've been going to this store for years ... occasionally, but rarely, I'd see some one buying ammo.
Now, its every single time I go. I was there the other day picking up some Softball gear for my daughter.
Both of the guys in front of me in line had a large stack of Ammo.
Initially, I thought they were together. But then the one pushes his ammo to the side of the cashier table, says "I'll be right back", and then turns and goes back towards the corner of the store that has the weapons and ammo. Apparently he forgot something.
The other guys pays and leaves. Then I pay. I see the guy drive away.
The one guy (the one who paid and left) was pretty old, the other one (who forgot something), well ... he looked like you (based on your description I mean) and, well, he looked like me too.
These shootings are great for the gun industry's bottom line.
Bay Boy
(1,689 posts)when people hear that the price of oil is taking a hike. Everyone goes to top off their tank
at the gas station.
Currently people are figuring ammo prices will go up by a large amount or that
certain types won't be available.
samsingh
(17,601 posts)rrneck
(17,671 posts)weight.
OneTenthofOnePercent
(6,268 posts)Kent State, as one example. It was a fucking public uproar. And shit, we get upset when our own government launch drone strikes against PAKISTAN.
A)What the hell do you think will happen if the government openly executes strikes on US soil?
B) Do you really think that governemnet authorize bombings and attacks against a bunch of douches just because they have some rifles?
Actually, it's kind of fucked up you'd fantasize about our own armed forces doing that, to be honest.
Comatose Sphagetti
(836 posts)Just because you were offended, that doesn't make me wrong.
MightyMopar
(735 posts)Robb
(39,665 posts)Who exactly do you think wept for them? How much hesitation do you think a targeteer would have when told to stick a missile on their front door?
ileus
(15,396 posts)to finance a new dirtbike.
what these goobers are paying for AR's is crazy. We'd be crazy not to let go of one or two now (and keep one or two in the safe)
Volaris
(10,274 posts)but every one of us will admit that if ANYONE is going to take those guns from our "Cold, Dead Hands." it will sure as hell be Armed and Armoured Federal Agents who are under orders not to give a shit if were dead or not lol
onethatcares
(16,188 posts)able to lay down after they've been shot at first?
and before the gunship comes in.
I don't believe in taking away everyones guns but I'm really worried about the idiot that has
6000 rounds of ammo that can go through the walls of my home from his living room.
Lady Freedom Returns
(14,120 posts)There are people out there that thinks the government will ban many types of guns and they want to get them now.
Hayabusa
(2,135 posts)Said tank was also about an inch long and made entirely of metal and resin... A local game store is next to a gun shop in a small strip mall. I've joked to myself that in the store you may be able to buy an AR-15 or an AK clone, but thanks to Osprey I can read all about 'em for much less money.
obamanut2012
(26,142 posts)If you were just driving by?
Comatose Sphagetti
(836 posts)flvegan
(64,416 posts)You gleaned this from what facts? Be specific.
Comatose Sphagetti
(836 posts)Bake
(21,977 posts)I'm sure you have some facts to back up your opinion.
Bake
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)Ratliff worked mostly behind the scenes to produce videos for the YouTube channel FPSRussia, a site dedicated to showcasing high-power firearms. FPSRussia -- which commands nearly 3.5 million subscribers and has generated over 500 million page views -- is one of the top 10 channels ranked on YouTube.
In addition to his contributions to FPSRussia, Ratliff also worked for FPS Industries, a company focussing on "product development and testing for hard use firearms shooters," according to its website. FPS Industries is located in Carnesville, Ga.
Ratliff was known as an outspoken gun advocate. In a message posted to Twitter on Aug 11, 2012, he wrote: "I went to the movies with my pistol in my pocket the whole time I was praying that somebody would try to pull a Batman!"
NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)Odin2005
(53,521 posts)RKP5637
(67,112 posts)former9thward
(32,082 posts)are battling to emigrate here. Very few going the other way.
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)Right. That certainly explains why they come here for the idiotic gun debate and first class American Exceptionalism...
six of one, half a dozen of the other... both rather idiotic.
avebury
(10,952 posts)with a few well placed drone attacks.
Glassunion
(10,201 posts)Or is that my fault for living next to some idiot?
NickB79
(19,274 posts)I've thought the same thing before: if the people prepping for SHTF situations were serious, the first thing they'd do is start eating as healthy as possible, learn how to grow a big-ass garden, and start running 10 miles a day.
Instead, they seem to think they can stockpile enough guns, ammo and cans of ravioli and camp out in their living rooms while the mobs kill each other, then somehow emerge and rule the flaming rubble.
tabasco
(22,974 posts)and say "thank you for not blowing me up."
LP2K12
(885 posts)Yes, some are overweight, middle-aged men.
However, some... like me, are mid-20's, military veterans.
OMGZ, the gubnet haz tankz and wurthogz?
Yep, we have tanks, planes, and armored vehicles in Afghanistan as well.
Guess what. My best friend was inside an up-armored vehicle and was KIA by an IED. A primitive IED.
Don't underestimate the minds of those who want or need to cause destruction. It can happen. They may not win, but they wont surrender easily.
That's why reform matters.
Meh, this argument doesn't matter anyone because no one wants to listen to anyone else.
Hassin Bin Sober
(26,343 posts)What reform?
CommoFreq
(11 posts)It just doesn't.
Walk away
(9,494 posts)or their family before they would need it to protect themselves from a stranger. So, let's hope evolution takes care of the problem before the government needs to knock on any doors.
patriots
(7 posts)i dont think the afghans had warthogs either
CJCRANE
(18,184 posts)It's a strange world where the RW have come full circle, from being vehemently against the taliban, to identifying with them.
um no i do not identify or support them i was merely stating that they didnt have access to all these superior weapons