You Carry a Gun? What Are You Afraid Of?

JeffCooperHave you ever heard that question?  If you have heard it once, you have probably heard it numerous times.  You take a firearm with you when you go out to the movies, mall, or church or when you take the dog for an evening walk.  You must be afraid of something.  Right?

This is the mentality of many people and it’s an odd one.  How does someone come to be in such a condition where the first explanation they jump to is fear?  One possibility is that they are so afraid of everyday life that they project that same fear onto others.  Wearing a seat belt clearly indicates terror at the prospect of being in a motor vehicle.  Safety glasses when using power tools?  What are ya, a sissy?  And just think of all those millions of young ladies living in perpetual fear as they lug around a can of pepper spray on their keychain.  Own a flashlight?  Ha!  Most people stopped being afraid of the dark at a pretty young age.  This type must buy Depends by the truckload.

How does having the tools to protect oneself, one’s family, or those around them equate to cowardice?  When a hatchet wielding schizophrenic starts trying to dice up the crowd in your theater, bravery must be to hide in the corner and hope his arm gets tired before he chops his way to your child.  When an armed madman starts murdering mall shoppers or movie goers, what is bravery? In their mind it must be to run away from the sounds of violence and hope that someone else who thought to bring a gun shows up to stop the attacker before the body count gets too high.  These people are a bad joke.   

Two lawyers are walking through the woods when they spot a vicious looking bear.

The first lawyer hurriedly opens his briefcase, pulls out a pair of sneakers and starts putting them on.

The second lawyer looks at him and said, “You’re crazy! You’ll never be able to outrun that bear!”

“I don’t have to,” the first lawyer replies as he kicks his colleague in the shin. “I only have to outrun you.”

Too bad that they weren’t terrified enough to trek into bear country with bear spray or a firearm.

Do not take this to mean that people who legally carry a firearm do, or even should, think of themselves as some sort of person out to play hero.  But there was a time when people had some modicum of personal responsibility.  A person took care of themself and looked out for their families.  It is a sad culture when so many expect others to take care of every aspect of their lives from buying groceries to providing a 24/7 personal protection detail.  There is a reason why “when seconds count, the police are only minutes away” is a cliche.  Because it is often true.

I hope that if any of these people ever find themselves in the midst of a violent encounter – be it rapist, mugger, hatchet-wielding-madman, or vicious animal attack – there is some meek, scared person around to lend a hand.

Tell us why you carry a firearm (or don’t) below.

23 Responses to You Carry a Gun? What Are You Afraid Of?

  • taxn2poverty says:

    “It is a sad culture when so many expect the government to take care of every aspect of their lives”…please rest assured that damn well includes retired LTCs that make more in retirement at taxpayer’s expense than the taxpayers themselves can make working two jobs. And let us not forget the loads and loads of medical benefits available to the military retiree and his/her family. Sad culture indeed!

    • Bob Glass says:

      Just think of all the men and women who have sacrificed life and limb for your freedoms Sir! be grateful for the people willing to stand in harms way here and abroad.

      • chance says:

        Im still waiting for somebody to explain how the slaughter of goathumpers halfway around the planet is protecting what little rights I have left… Personally, I see the biggest threat to my freedoms here at home wearing ties and fake smiles…

    • PJ says:

      Don’t hate the player because the game is too hard. 20 years active service = more than you will ever accomplish/endure in 3 lifetimes. Look at yourself in the mirror and wonder where your manhood went.

    • Green Eyed Jinn says:

      Please stick to the topic or go masturbate somewhere else. But of course, I doubt you have that level of self-control. I carry daily precisely because I consider it likely that I’ll come in contact with somebody as irrational and unstable as you.

  • G21 says:

    Great article.
    I too have heard the accusations that I must be afraid because I carry. You have helped me put into words what I already knew instinctively.
    Also, I carry because I expect a societal collapse in my lifetime. Who knows whether it will come while I’m working, shopping, driving or at home asleep. If it comes while I’m away from home, I want to be able to defend my and my wife’s safety and possessions.

  • kevin says:

    I carry because a cop is a little to heavy t5o bring with me everywhere

  • I carry because a SWAT team won’t fit in my pocket.

  • TPSnodgrass says:

    I carry because I love my family, too much to NOT carry. Our family doesn’t believe in relying on “luck”.

  • willford says:

    NOT ONE DAMN THING

  • mr.eman says:

    I don’the carry at work because my job takes me into doctors offices etc. all day and they are all posted no weapons. I carry a flashlight/ stungun instead. all they see is a flashlight.

  • tuesdayissoylentgreenday says:

    I am planning on living to a old age. Would not want a scum bag to shorten my plans.

  • Conrad says:

    I carry because I still have the God given right to protect my wife or who ever is at my house visiting, do you REALLY think the police will be their when the crime is being commited? Do you really think it is a good idea to put your gun in one room and your ammo in another room? so think, which one do you go for first?, by the time you get everything together, you have run out of time! your DEAD! the trash they let out of jail today, well they are just trash, they go back to their old ways, the boys in their starched shirts and fancy cars are making a bundle of money off the states by pleading my client had a bad up bringing, came from a broken home and bla bla bla. LOCK and LOAD and carry with pride.

  • Conrad says:

    If guns kill people, I guess pencils misspell words, cars drive drunk and spoons make people fat!!!

    • Josh says:

      At the SAFE Act protests I went to when I lived in New York a few years ago, my sign read ” *If guns cause crime, the ones that belong to us seem to be defective.”.

  • Fran McQ says:

    ICE released a slew of felons in AZ yesterday. We have no intention of being victims of this administration, so my wife and I both carry.

  • Java1911 says:

    I carry because I love myself and my life. I don’t carry because I am afraid. I carry because I am not naive and I know bad things can happen and I don’t live with the mindset that it will never happen to me.

  • Donna Brock says:

    I carry because I love myself, and love my family. And I’ve had to use my weapon once before when my boys were young, or I wouldn’t have grandchildren now! My sons know when their children are with me, I’d do everything in my power to keep them safe! That’s not only why I carry but why I practice. Just carrying doesn’t do you a lot of good if you don’t know how to handle it and use it! You need to do more than just get a CCW permit! That just teaches you the laws. You need to know how to handle your weapon! Take other classes! Learn tactics! Practic! I saved my life and the lives of my four sons!

  • Jerry says:

    I fear standing next to a loved one’s casket, knowing I could have put up a fight but did not. I fear watching a killer work his way down a line of cowering people and being unprepared. I fear turning my future existence over to someone who cares nothing about me. I fear looking at myself in a mirror and seeing less than the man my father expected me to be.

  • DesertRatJak says:

    I carry daily. The only thing I fear is HAVING to use it. However, that doesn’t mean I won’t

  • Josh says:

    @taxn2poverty You’re one cynical bastardo.

    I carry because when seconds count, emergency personnel are just minutes away!

  • Tom Bodine Sr says:

    I do not carry because I am afraid. I carry to make the bad guy afraid.

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