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0|0|0|||1||%28GotW%29 You know...|Gryphon||14:34:09|11/28/2015|... I was looking forward to continuing Gun of the Week%2C but it %28and%2C unfortunately%2C the hobby itself%29 is starting to feel pretty inappropriate.  Before much longer%2C firearms collecting will be one of those things you never discuss with anyone whom you don%27t already know does it too%2C like collecting 18th-century pornographic engravings.%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited  http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D
1|1|0|||||RE%3A %28GotW%29 You know...|Berrik||18:57:34|11/28/2015|Speak for yourself. It%27s perfectly socially acceptable where I live. 
2|2|1|||||RE%3A %28GotW%29 You know...|Tabasco||19:13:54|11/28/2015|%3ESpeak for yourself. It%27s perfectly socially acceptable where I live. %0D%0A%0D%0ASeconded%2C half the people I work with are owners if not collectors 
3|2|1|||1||RE%3A %28GotW%29 You know...|Gryphon||22:43:01|11/28/2015|[updated:LAST EDITED ON Nov-28-15 AT 10:43 PM (EST)]%3ESpeak for yourself.%0D%0A%0D%0AWell%2C as it happens%2C I %5Bi%5Dam%5B%2Fi%5D speaking for myself.  My own interest in the subject hasn%27t waned%2C but given what%27s going on out there in the country at large lately... I dunno%2C it feels strange to be over here talking it up.%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited  http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D
5|3|3|||||RE%3A %28GotW%29 You know...|drakensis||05:24:19|11/29/2015|What you post is entirely up to you but these threads don%27t bother me despite being in a country with much more restrictive gun laws and no great personal interest in them.
4|1|0|||1||RE%3A %28GotW%29 You know...|Nathan||00:50:35|11/29/2015|%3E... I was looking forward to continuing Gun of the Week%2C but it %28and%2C %0D%0A%3Eunfortunately%2C the hobby itself%29 is starting to feel pretty %0D%0A%3Einappropriate.  Before much longer%2C firearms collecting will be one of %0D%0A%3Ethose things you never discuss with anyone whom you don%27t already know %0D%0A%3Edoes it too%2C like collecting 18th-century pornographic engravings. %0D%0A%0D%0AWell%2C speaking just for myself...%0D%0A%0D%0AI%27m a very firm proponent of stronger gun control laws%2C up to and including the repeal of the Second Amendment. Most of the country%27s population%2C by a large margin%2C live in urban areas where guns are going to be encountered in the hands of either criminals or paranoids too stupid to hold fire. Most arguments I%27ve seen in favor of %27gun rights%27 exhibit what I view as a terrifying and monstrous disregard for the safety of others - or an outright delusional view of the role of force in society and law and order%2C or most often of all%2C both.%0D%0A%0D%0ABut I live in an extremely rural area where not only is gun ownership and use a major component of local culture%2C of great antiquity%2C it%27s also a vital part of the local ecology for its role in fighting the spread of Hoofed Rats. More%2C I%27m interested in technology%2C which is often at its most sophisticated and refined in tools of war and murder.%0D%0A%0D%0ASo it%27s important to draw a distinction between shattering the diseased gun culture and actually %5Bi%5Dstigmatizing guns%5B%2Fi%5D%2C or worse%2C %5Bi%5Dgun owners%5B%2Fi%5D simply on that basis. Part of that is continuing to talk about guns in a fashion that respects them as more than just childish phallic symbols - which is something that your little column here does admirably.%0D%0A%0D%0AIn as far as I get a vote%2C I%27d like to see you continue.%0D%0A%0D%0A-----%0D%0A%0D%0A%22V%2C did you do something foolish%3F%22%0D%0A%0D%0A%22Yes%2C and it was %5Bi%5Dglorious%5B%2Fi%5D.%22
6|2|4|||1||RE%3A %28GotW%29 You know...|Verbena||08:49:37|11/29/2015|I must admit my own views on guns and gun culture are almost precisely the opposite of this--I firmly believe that if guns are criminalized%2C only criminals will have guns. I could go on all day about it but this is not the venue.%0D%0A%0D%0AThat said%2C some of the more radical opponents of gun ownership love it when guns are stigmatized%2C when they%27re blamed for the actions of their owners...and when people start thinking it%27s somehow unacceptable to do nothing more than discuss their history and technology.%0D%0A%0D%0AI am not an expert on the history of guns%3B nearly everything you%27ve written about here is news to me and I%27ve found it fascinating. What it has -not- done is make you look in any way insensitive to what%27s been going on in the news lately. Honestly%2C I thought of this as a separate subject entirely...and most importantly%2C not political or related to current events in the slightest.%0D%0A%0D%0AI understand why you%27re hesitant%2C and this is 100%25 entirely your decision. But I don%27t really think anyone will mistake your historical and technological interest articles for modern day political commentary or crass insensitivity of any kind.%0D%0A%0D%0A------%0D%0A    Fearless creatures%2C we all learn to fight the Reaper%0D%0A    Can%27t defeat Her%2C so instead I%27ll have to be Her
7|2|4|||1||RE%3A %28GotW%29 You know...|Gryphon||15:07:53|11/29/2015|%3EMost arguments I%27ve seen in favor of %27gun %0D%0A%3Erights%27 exhibit what I view as a terrifying and monstrous disregard %0D%0A%3Efor the safety of others - or an outright delusional view of the role %0D%0A%3Eof force in society and law and order%2C or most often of all%2C both. %0D%0A%0D%0AI think what you%27re seeing there%2C unfortunately%2C is a consequence of how thoroughly %28and%2C on both sides%2C often deliberately%29 polarized the issue has become.  Very few of the visible commenters on either side will acknowledge the possibility of any middle ground at all.  This is a self-perpetuating state of affairs%2C since each side%2C seeing that the other refuses to consider any kind of concession at all%2C increasingly casts itself in the role of an underdog fighting for its basic survival.  That%27s not a climate that invites consensus.%0D%0A%0D%0AMeanwhile%2C those of us in the middle - people like me%2C shooters and collectors who don%27t regard the concept of rational regulation as an existential threat or an affront to our basic rights - get so tired of being regarded as The Enemy by the strident ban proponents %5Bi%5Dand%5B%2Fi%5D the super-aggressive advocates that we see no viable option other than to retire from the field altogether and just let them fight it out.%0D%0A%0D%0A%28The thing that bothers me most about where the whole debate has come to is that the aggression and rampant %5Bi%5Dad hominem%5B%2Fi%5D on both sides make it increasingly unlikely that whatever regulation we ultimately end up with - and we will ultimately end up with some%2C society won%27t let this shit go on indefinitely - will %5Bi%5Dbe%5B%2Fi%5D rational.%29%0D%0A%0D%0A%3ESo it%27s important to draw a distinction between shattering the %0D%0A%3Ediseased gun culture and actually %5Bi%5Dstigmatizing guns%5B%2Fi%5D%2C or worse%2C %0D%0A%3E%5Bi%5Dgun owners%5B%2Fi%5D simply on that basis.%0D%0A%0D%0AUnfortunately%2C not only is that a recognized %5Bi%5Dtactic%5B%2Fi%5D%2C it is something the most visible part of the Gun Lobby is managing to do without any help from the other side...%0D%0A%0D%0AThe other day someone on my Twitter timeline retweeted a news item about a kid being arrested for bringing a rifle to school%2C and I remarked at how much the times had changed%2C given that when I was in high school%2C a number of my classmates %5Bi%5Droutinely%5B%2Fi%5D brought their rifles to school in November - because that%27s when deer season is.  Slightly to my surprise%2C the reaction I got %28apart from people thinking I was snarking on the authorities for overreacting%2C when I was in fact observing that 25 years ago there would%27ve been nothing %5Bi%5Dto%5B%2Fi%5D react to%29 was someone flat-out calling me a liar and saying that would %5Bi%5Dnever%2C ever%5B%2Fi%5D have been allowed.%0D%0A%0D%0ASo%2C like I say%2C how times have changed.%0D%0A%0D%0AOne last observation in this same vein%2C and then I%27ll go find something else to talk about.  A few years ago%2C my mother was teaching elementary gifted-and-talented at a school an hour or so north of here.  You think %5Bi%5DI%5B%2Fi%5D live in the sticks%2C this place is the sticks and a half.  Anyway%2C they were doing a unit about life in colonial America%2C and Mom had the idea of arranging a demonstration to show the kids what the colonial American%2C particularly in really remote areas like Maine%2C was up against in terms of sourcing a decent food supply.  Most of these kids had older relatives who hunt%2C but hunting in the early 21st century is not the same enterprise as hunting in the 16th.%0D%0A%0D%0ATo that end%2C she went to the administration of the school and the local constabulary and asked them if she could arrange for me to bring a flintlock rifle in and show it to the class.  That way%2C we reasoned%2C they could get a feel for how long%2C heavy%2C and generally unwieldy such a thing is compared to a modern deer rifle%2C and what a lot of paraphernalia goes with it%2C and how long and involved a process preparing it to fire is.  This demonstration would obviously not have involved %5Bi%5Dactually%5B%2Fi%5D loading and firing the rifle%2C but even in pantomime%2C it would be obvious how much harder it is to employ a muzzleloading flintlock rifle in the field.%0D%0A%0D%0AKeeping in mind that this is a profoundly rural school%2C we were somewhat surprised by the administration%27s reaction to this proposal.  The local cops were interested%2C and would have been perfectly happy with it if we had undertaken to bring no live gunpowder onto the school grounds%3B we would have had to coordinate it with them closely%2C as they were going to have to send one of their guys to %22supervise%22 in order for the enterprise to be in compliance with various laws about firearms on the grounds of public schools%2C but other than that%2C they had no problems.%0D%0A%0D%0AThe school%27s principal%2C on the other hand%2C reacted as if we had proposed that we train the children to fire indiscriminately into a crowd with an AK-47.%2A  %22Horror%22 is not too extreme a word to describe the official reaction.  Mom%27s contract was not renewed at the end of that school year%2C and no one would ever tell her why not%2C but we both have suspected ever since that it was in large part because she had the temerity to propose such a course of action.%0D%0A%0D%0AAll of which is a long-winded way of not really explaining why one feels a bit odd discussing these matters in public nowadays%2C particularly with all the lunatics%2C assholes%2C and deranged Walter Mitty types out there diligently making the opposition%27s tarring brush wider and wider.%0D%0A%0D%0AHowever%21  In view of the support expressed here%2C and taking the point that letting the increasingly toxic climate chase me off my own porch does nothing to counteract the problem%2C perhaps I%27ll keep on with Gun of the Week for a while longer%2C anyway.%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A%5Bfont size%3D%221%22%5D%2A A dark irony there is that%2C quite by design%2C one does not %5Bi%5Drequire%5B%2Fi%5D training to fire indiscriminately into a crowd with an AK-47.%5B%2Ffont%5D%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited  http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D
8|3|7|||||RE%3A %28GotW%29 You know...|Bushido||20:47:37|11/29/2015|I think part of the acceptance here might be due to the fact that your posts are less about the OMG%2FSHINY%21 factor and more about the historical and design factors of your firearms.%0D%0A%0D%0A%28Also%2C while I have never held or fired a real firearm%2C I could probably wax poetical about my Nerf gun collection if given the chance%2C so I somewhat understand the appeal.%29
10|4|8|||1||RE%3A %28GotW%29 You know...|Offsides||13:57:40|11/30/2015|%3EI think part of the acceptance here might be due to the fact that your %0D%0A%3Eposts are less about the OMG%2FSHINY%21 factor and more about the %0D%0A%3Ehistorical and design factors of your firearms. %0D%0A%0D%0AThat%2C and that you tend to focus not on how well a gun can be used to kill something%2C but the technical side of how it works%2C why it works%2C and why they decided to make it work that way.  You%27re not talking about %5Bi%5Dguns%5B%2Fi%5D%2C you%27re talking about %5Bi%5Dmachines%5B%2Fi%5D that just happen to be firearms.%0D%0A%0D%0APlus the fact that you%27re not one of those people who%27s crazily to the far %3Cdirection%3E on the issue%2C making what you say about them a%29 interesting and b%29 believable.%0D%0A%0D%0AOffsides%0D%0A%0D%0AP.S. I think that whole thing with your mom just proves how crazy the issue has gotten.  When the local cops are just fine with something and the school goes nuts about it%2C somebody%27s not being rational.  Not to mention the fact that if nobody ever teaches kids to respect guns %5Bi%5Dproperly%5B%2Fi%5D%2C why are we surprised that so many people these days are either scared to death of them or otherwise think they%27re not a big deal...%0D%0A%0D%0A%26%2391%3B...%26%2393%3B in order to be a realist you must believe in miracles.%0D%0A    -- David Ben Gurion%0D%0AEPU RCW %23%26pi%3B%0D%0A%23include %3Cstdsig.h%3E%0D%0A%0D%0A
11|3|7|||1||RE%3A %28GotW%29 You know...|Peter Eng||01:00:29|12/01/2015|%3E%0D%0A%3EHowever%21  In view of the support expressed here%2C and taking the point %0D%0A%3Ethat letting the increasingly toxic climate chase me off my own porch %0D%0A%3Edoes nothing to counteract the problem%2C perhaps I%27ll keep on with Gun %0D%0A%3Eof the Week for a while longer%2C anyway. %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%0D%0AI should note that you don%27t talk about firearms as either a substitute portion of male anatomy or a Horrible Thing.  You%27re talking about this in a calm%2C rational%2C historical view.%0D%0A%0D%0AIf everybody dealt with firearms in the way you%27ve dealt with them%2C whether in your two Gun of the Week posts%2C or in NXE%2C WL%2C or UF%2C this world would be much more sane%2C and there would be a lot less dead people.%0D%0A%0D%0APeter Eng%0D%0A--%0D%0AInsert humorous comment here.
9|1|0|||1||RE%3A %28GotW%29 You know...|Sofaspud||13:38:06|11/30/2015|Others have already weighed in%2C with far more cogent arguments than I feel capable of making at the moment%2C but I will say this%3A%0D%0A%0D%0AI really enjoy reading your articles%2A and if there%27s anything I can do to convince you to keep going%2C I will do it.  Just name it.%0D%0A%0D%0A%28%2A any and all of them%3B I have yet to see one you%27ve written that I %2Adidn%27t%2A like%2C even on subjects I ordinarily have no interest in%29%0D%0A%0D%0A--sofaspud%0D%0A--