Do you carry

Honestly,
I'm getting to that point ... There is an opening for a Information Specialist across the street from us that pays $10K-$13K more than I make now. I've been in this business for 15 years and make less than $31K...
I don't do it for the money. But I am starting to wonder if the headaches are worth it.


And again,
this is more than a local threatening to kick my ass. Hell, I've been threatened about a dozen times... But I never feared death in any of those cases.

 

The notion that many journalists I know would carry is far more frightening than actually getting threatened by someone over a story I wrote.

 

My younger sister is not in journalism, but she is never without some form of gun.

When we recently inherited several pistols, we gave them to her. She was completely surprised that no one else in the family didn't keep at least one gun available at all times.

She simply cannot believe that neither I, my IT brother, nor my parents (both of whom are retired) have no interest in packing. (My rocket scientist sister has one, but she does not carry it. She got it in college.)

I did, however, take the sawed-off shotgun, just because it's an antique and cool. I left her the entire arsenal.

 

Does your sister live in Georgia?

 

Has anybody here--particularly those of you like me who will never carry--thought up things you might say to defuse a confrontation?

Because I have. I haven't had to test any of them, thank God, but I think it's a better strategy than just praying nothing happens and otherwise being put in a panic situation if something does.

 

Here it is mostly gang stuff.

 

I've been in several situations in my life that required some words to avoid violence. Defusing is usually the best option, but there have been a couple of times I found that acting completely fucking batshit insane was a better option. Seriously. People don't like to mess with the criminally insane.

 

I was surrounded by the Van Buren Boys once. Luckily I knew the handshake.

 

Based on news stories, having a gun around for protection is more likely to result in a kid playing with it and shooting a neighbor; a person shooting himself in the head in a "cleaning accident;" a spouse getting shot at 4 a.m. after being mistaken for a burglar; a 16-year-old using it to discipline his brother after an argument over Halo; or going to jail after shooting a neighbor over a beef.

I'd say the odds of it being successfully used as intended for most folks are about one in a thousand.

 

Totally agree with this line of thinking. I don't trust myself enough to have a gun in my home. Not that I think anything would happen, but I don't want to take that chance.

 

Ace: You nailed it.

The local paper is having that debate right now. Two 13-year-olds get home from a sports award night, start fooling around with an "unloaded" shot gun, and now one is dead.

Second incident in the greater region in less than a year.

People are saying, "Lock up the guns," and others are coming back with the "You cannot get it to defend yourself" baloney.

If you're gonna be able to defend yourself -- as unlikely as that is -- you're gonna have to keep it accessible and loaded.

Bad idea.

 

Or you teach your children not to play with guns.