If you are willing to have the one on the left fired at you under any circumstances, you are in desperate need of a safety course.
The Dutch version of The Onion posted this today. Couldn't resist translating it: Yesterday, a 19 year old vlogger from America shot her boyfriend through an encyclopedia for a YouTube video. The world is shocked. How did a vlogger acquire an encyclopedia? "The encyclopedia was bought on an open and legal market, that's just how things go in America," according to our U.S. expert. "There's been a lot of criticism about the lack of background checks: the seller had no idea that she was a vlogger. If the seller had known that, suspicion would have been raised. I mean, what in the world does a vlogger need an encyclopedia for?" Was this event preventable? "That's difficult to say. The encylopedialobby is extremely powerful in the U.S. There are people who say: such a thick book, including cd-rom, that's asking for trouble. But there are also people who say: it is my foundational right to look up what rattlesnakes actually are. It's hard to prove them wrong."Bizarre: Vlogger has encyclopedia.
Education is great. I'm all for it. But I also know this guy personally. Short version: Off-duty cop, out driving the family around in the minivan. They stop for a moment to pick some things up at the store, and while Mom and Dad are out of the van, the 3-year old gets ahold of Dad's gun (in the cupholder) and kills his sister. I don't blame the child. A 3-year old doesn't know better. I blame the cop. Who went through extensive gun training. And still left his weapon ... loaded ... safety off (or, ya know, Glock) ... in an unlocked car ... with small children ... The simple fact is that he's a good guy. Smart. Capable. All-around nice guy to have a barbecue with, and if I was his neighbor, I wouldn't think twice about asking him for help on anything at all. But a gun was a part of his daily life. So he got casual with it. And now his daughter is dead because his son got ahold of the gun. Train all you want. Give all the education you want. The more you are around something, the more casual you get about it. (Ask OSHA.)
Isn't part of education supposed to be "This thing is fucking dangerous so be fucking mindful about where and how it is at any given moment"? Casualness comes with lack of reminders.Give all the education you want. The more you are around something, the more casual you get about it.
Well... yeah. And that's easy to say from behind a keyboard. But out in the real world it isn't that easy. What is a "reminder"? How do the reminders remain effective? The reminders themselves become ineffective, because they follow a pattern over time. You can't just have someone jump out of the bushes and attack a guy once a month and scream in his face, "The weapon you are carrying is dangerous! Treat it with respect!" The same is true for truck drivers, or heavy equipment operators, or race car mechanics, or lab technicians that work with lasers, etc, etc, etc. There are a lot of dangerous things in our lives, but even the dangerous stuff gets boring if you work with it long enough. Mindfulness is hard to maintain over the long term. Because we are humans, and we fall into patterns. Casualness comes with lack of reminders.
Sounds simple: break the patterns. How do you do that? That's reaching deeper than my expertise goes. One thing I'm sure of, though: it can be done. All you need is a team of young creative minds as a government contractor. When it comes to a weapon, fuck respecting it. It's not an idol. It's a tool that people could use - even accidentally - to kill other people. They are the one you should respect enough not to leave your gun lying around ready to use. Human beings are social creatures; materialism is just a means to an end. Use that to your advantage if you want to make sure fewer accidental murders happen.Mindfulness is hard to maintain over the long term. Because we are humans, and we fall into patterns.
"The weapon you are carrying is dangerous! Treat it with respect!"
I drive. To get my driver's license I had to take a test. Someone had to educate me enough to past the written and driving test. Also my car has to be registered, mostly because driving is dangerous and the government wants to know who is liable in the event of accidents, or if a car is used for something illegal. My car also has to be regularly inspected, to ensure it meets safety and emission regulations. None of these things restrict my ability to own or use almost any kind of car I damn well please.
Regrettably the gun supporters say that argument is irrelevant because you don't have a constitutional right to drive a car. Honestly I don't understand the argument, since there are many constitutional rights - e.g. voting - that are regulated and can be removed in some circumstances (e.g. you've been in prison).
Toddlers literally shot more people in America last year than Terrorists yet I see comments every time as if this is a tragic accident and not terrible terrible parenting. My ex never would have left a gun out with anybody around and definitely not a child. I get so angry thinking about that, like here's a country of enough adults for this to have not changed already that are so self absorbed they can't fathom changing their way of life to save the lives of children. I remember reading comments that felt bad for the mother who left the gun on the nightstand since these things are easy to forget. That's why you don't leave it out loaded in the first place. Put the unloaded gun in the drawer beside the mag and practice loading it quickly until you're confident you could under stress. My ex didnt need a loaded gun beside him because he had the skill to put it together easily. I didn't even know where the mags where, he had them hidden somewhere. Also a knife that I never figured out how to take out of it's stupid sheath.
Gun education sounds like a great idea. I think it's more than just safety. Owners need to have a healthy respect for the danger. When I used to follow vintage hifi forums more, it was common to have people new to the hobby ask about restoration. The more seasoned members always explained the danger lurking inside an old tube amp. It wasn't condescending or trying to scare them off, it was just helpfully and clearly pointing out the dangers. Maybe that's what's missing with current gun safety. They teach people how to do things right, but maybe more emphasis needs to be put on how horribly things can go wrong. Having a tube amp turned on with the chassis open is a stupid thing to do. Have I done it? Yep. I've measured 500+ V DC with my multimeter, touching the leads to exposed terminals. Gun owners are going to be stupid, but that doesn't mean they (or their family) have to die.