I fluctuate between sheepdog and sheep. Most of the time it's because in my eyes it's the wolves attacking the wolves.

 

fuck :bowdown:

 

In a church, if a madman comes in, being unarmed is equal to being unprepared. You're a sheep in that situation.

 

I know you (and probably John as well) and I won't agree on this, but having a gun doesn't make you a sheepdog. There are plenty of stories of people with guns panicking and making bad decisions, whether in wartime or in shootouts. Conversely, not having a gun doesn't make someone a sheep either. A gun is just a tool, but the ability to make decisions, prioritize, and adapt under duress goes beyond whether someone conceal carries or not.

 

What are your decisions, priorities and adaptations going to do when your only choice is to duck for cover and hope you don't get shot or run and hope you don't get shot? I can list plenty of stories of people who foiled violent occurrences by returning violence. I wouldn't bring a knife to a gun fight so I surely wouldn't bring nothing to anywhere I could possibly face violence.

Don't think I'm saying you don't need decisions, priorities, adaptations, training, tactics, etc. I'm saying that, even with those, without a tool you have no means.

You could be a master carpenter but without a hammer, you won't be building shit.

 

I'm certainly not against returning violence as necessary. Of course, better the mad gunman than you. But your options aren't limited. There are plenty of objects in a church that can be used as weapons like books, staffs, pocket knife, glass, metalware, etc. Obviously, none are singlehandedly as effective as a gun, but you move to marginalize the advantage of the gun, which is range. Also, you use the fact that you outnumber the shooter greatly. This is all besides the point: just because you don't have the proper tools doesn't mean you can't improvise and still be effective.

And at some point, even your handgun can be ineffective. For instance, if it was the tower shooter in Texas, than you'd be totally outgunned. But it would be impractical to lug around a scoped .308 all the time.

Sure you could be caught out there without a hammer. But a really clever master carpenter would think of some way to hammer the nail in regardless.

 

I really like this quote.

Also, I thought that article was great. Well written and makes good points.