Concealed carry
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As I was researching permitless carry, friends and strangers alike told me their gun stories. I heard about the organist who started carrying a pistol in her purse after the Sutherland Springs church shooting, and the left-wing activist who’d bought a rifle after he was doxed by white supremacists. I learned that a friend of mine had had a handgun hidden inside his waistband pretty much every time I’d seen him for years. Different people gave me variations on the same argument: if they were going to be armed—where “they” meant anyone from mass shooters to the Mexican cartels to racists to police officers—then I might as well be, too. “I wish there were no guns,” the country singer Natalie Maines told USA Today in 2013. “But I’m also of the mindset if nothing else changes, I’m getting a gun.”

Thanks to the new law, it would be easier than ever to join their ranks. Even without my permit, I could show up at a gun store and, assuming I passed the federal background check, walk home armed—or, if I wanted to bypass the check entirely, I could buy a gun in a private sale. I would start to scan for signs that other people were carrying, noting how they carried themselves, looking for a hitch in their step or whether they subtly favored one side. Scholars have found that people carrying guns have a tendency to perceive others as armed, whether they are or not; perhaps I would begin to imagine guns where there weren’t any. Fraught situations would become charged with deadly potential—a potential that, as the Rittenhouse verdict indicated, I could use to justify violence.

When I spoke with Patrick Blanchfield, author of the forthcoming Gunpower: The Structure of American Violence, he wondered about the “social accommodations” we make for the pervasiveness of guns in public, and he brought up the cognitive load of carrying a firearm. “You have to constantly think, There’s a gun there,” he said. “The use of the gun becomes a live option. It’s imaginable. That’s not the same as saying it’s inevitable. But it’s imaginable.” It seemed to me that more and more people were bowing to the idea that the problem of guns would be solved with more guns. And that a world operating under that self-replicating logic left all of us moving differently through it, carrying a little more weight.

I thought about how [former Texas State Rep. Poncho] Nevárez had described his life now. He’d left the state legislature after a drug scandal and gotten sober. The sense of ambient threat he’d once felt had abated, and he seemed grateful for it. He told me he still shoots, but he doesn’t carry that often anymore. He no longer saw the world as a place made safer by being armed. “I don’t live in a place like that,” he said. “We may at some point. But I don’t want to feel that way. And I don’t.”

— Rachel Monroe in Free Country

107 COMMENTS

  1. people carrying guns have a tendency to perceive others as armed

    Yup. So behave yourself.

    Fraught situations would become charged with deadly potential

    Try not getting into “fraught situations.”

    Maybe it’s all my privilege oozing out but I’ve never found myself in a “fraught” or potentially “fraught” situation that I couldn’t just walk away from. It takes two to escalate. Stop escalating. If you can’t live in society without acting like an animal, hooligan, tough-guy or any other type of hostile miscreant you should be exiled or put down.

    • “If you can’t live in society without acting like an animal, hooligan, tough-guy or any other type of hostile miscrean“

      So tell that to all your ‘tough guy’ brothers on this list who are constantly calling for my imprisonment or death.

      Or is your sentiment meant only for those who don’t look like you or share your religious delusions?

      • Because posturing on the interwebs is the same as bowing up and shouting in people faces out in the real world.

        • “Because posturing on the interwebs is the same as bowing up and shouting in people faces out in the real world”

          No, it isn’t.

          Those voices you hear is reality calling you back.

        • Okay, so by that response I guess you don’t even understand your own comment, can’t piece together context or suffer from such a high level of autism even sledgehammer to the face obvious sarcasm goes undetected. Or your simply a disingenuous troll.

      • minor49IQ…Do you realize 50% of democRats polled would have Americans who have not been vaccinated placed in camps? When bozos like you think you can impose your deranged will upon others you start a fight you are not going to win. Don’t whine when someone fires back.

        If there are others on this forum telling you what you can do and cannot do or what you can have and not have and treating you like a child please prove it otherwise you wear the dictator badge.

      • Don’t flatter yourself, MinorIQ, no one on this site gives a shite whether you are imprisoned or killed. You are a fun punching bag when you show up with your predictable Leftist/fascist idiocy, and even I will admit you’re not as much of a dunderhead as dacian the stupid, but beyond that, no one really gives a shart about you.

        But you keep deluding yourself that you are relevant, if that keeps you warm at night.

        • Hi, nameless, brainless troll! That YOU would try to choose me off as writing at a first grade level??? That some funny s***, right there!!

          Have you visited the cable, lately??

      • Miner, have you ever thought that if maybe you didn’t troll on here, commenters wouldn’t give you such a hard time? You are NOT a victim

    • Nailed it!

      “Stop escalating!”, a phrase I had to repeat to my wife and daughter, too often. Regardless of firearms or not, it’s a good point to not keep tweaking someone else until they pop.

      There are cries to train our cops to de-escalate, but we should do so as a society in general.

  2. This former Texas Representative, is this article is accurate, is in violation of Federal Law. He had to fill out that pesky ATF form to buy a gun and it prohibits you from buying if you have convictions for drugs or sue them. Somehow I think this article is full of donkey dust. And not just on this point alone.

    An armed society is a polite society. Except for folks like dacian.

    • A “scandal” doesn’t necessarily mean a conviction, and the 4473 asks “are you a user”, not “have you ever been”.

      • Then let him prove he wasn’t a user when he bought the weapon. This is what he wants for everyone else, especially those that abide by our laws far better than him.

        • “Then let him prove he wasn’t a user when he bought the weapon“

          I’m sorry to disappoint you conservative authoritarians, but that’s not how America works.

          In America, is up to the prosecutors to prove your guilt, not your responsibility to prove your innocence because in America, we are all innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

          That pesky United States Constitution sure does get in the way of your attempts at authoritarian control of your political opponents, sorry about that…

        • Many of us contend that the prohibitions on guns for excons are unconstitional

        • Miner49er It seems that you like to cite the Constitution when it’s convenient for you. How about that Second Amendment? What part of “shall not be infringed” don’t you understand?

        • Walter,

          It’s easier to ask what part of the Constitution he DOES understand . . . and the answer is “no part”. MinorIQ is a marginally literate commenter, but his historical and Constitutional knowledge could be engraved on the back of a spoon in 10 point type.

        • Miner49er Funny how the only times you cite the Constitution is when it suits your Lefty agenda.

      • e.Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance? is the exact quote of the form.
        Unlawful user means just what it says. It does not put a time frame on it. Your interpretation is one, however yours is a dodge.

        • “ARE you an unlawful user,…..”.
          That ARE YOU is present tense. If I had been one twentyyears ago but am not now, then I can honestly and accurately answer NO. IF the question was “are you now or have you ever been….”, nuther story.

          It is STILL up tHE TIME THE FORM WAS SIGNED n “unlwful user”. Since I was not, they cannot prove this whithuot fabricating “evidence”. Whcih IS something at which these clowns are far too effective in doing.

        • Tionico (Rolling my eyes) That is NOT “present tense” as you allege. To be “present tense” they would be referring to your using at that very moment. Nice try though. Any use of a controlled substance without a doctor’s prescription, is UNLAWFUL USE.

          I am glad you can answer “no”, as would be a crime if you lied on the ATF form. Can you cite anytime where the AFT “fabricated” evidence? I did not think so.

  3. The message is being twisted.

    People need to consider that everyone else around them could be armed regardless of wether or not they are themselves. Part of the fact that this isn’t happening is due to such low levels of proper education about firearms within the general population.

    The idea is not and never has been that everyone increase their own internal level of tension and stress over the idea of anyone else being armed. Even if it were cops. The point is that there are all kinds of hazards and dangers in life and being armed is often the best way to be prepared. This means (or atleast should mean) everyone needs to treat everyone else with respect. This is where the idea of a ‘polite society’ comes from. Stop trying to provoke everyone and start being more courteous and respectful. This is how everyone lowers their stress.

    More people need to be carrying. More people need to come to the realization that where they are is the place they are ‘the first responder’. It does not matter if it’s at home, in the car, at work, or shop at a mall or grocery store. Cops, SWAT, fire departments, security guards, and the FBI show up AFTER the fact.

    • “Stop trying to provoke everyone“

      Then stop showing up at political events armed like a junior Rambo, flaunting your AR 15 and tacticool gear as if you’re prepared to slaughter those who disagree with you.

      • As if BLM, Antifa, and others aren’t doing exactly the same thing.

        Personally, I’m not in favor of such demonstrations.

      • So one has to pick and choose only one Constitutional right to exercise at a time, and exercising multiple is “provocation”?

      • Then I suggest you stay away from such scary gatherings. You don’t need to exercise that constitutional right.

        That’s how you think and sound. But trust me when I tell you that you will suffer losing yours far sooner than I will mine.

        • it is simple. The question isn’t whether you have the right. You obviously do and you can certainly do that if you want. The question is…is it a wise thing to do?

          There are many things in life like that and many laws, juries, lawyers, and judges have been swayed by it.

      • Miner49er When did Prndll say he brought AR-s and the like to a political event? Aside from that, there is this thing called SELF DEFENSE. In light of your ANTIFA and BLM thugs showing up at Conservative protests, armed defense is in order. It’s why Rittenhouse was found not guilty.

  4. reminds me of the gal at the grocery checkout that saw another customer touch their hip and declared the gesture as a “tell.”

    • The author fails to appreciate that concealed carriers couldn’t care less who else is lawfully carrying. Only the unarmed concern themselves with the armed. Still, I’ll probably head to the range later to shoot my cognitive load.

      • Barely care who is unlawfully carrying as there is absolutely no way to stop it worth considering. Criminals are going to be criminals and I advocate for all able/willing to carry to do so. Also yes does seem like a good range day now that I have the ice cleared out.

  5. Life is always a double edge sword. Looking past the sick paranoia, racism and sadism of the Far Right I would concede that yes there are times (very rare) that you would need a gun to save your life but the Stats prove that the majority of the time people who get involved in gun fights either get them unnecessarily killed or crippled or end up getting themselves sued for millions. Ask Bernard Goetz, the subway vigilante, if it was worth saving a few dollars out of his wallet and then losing a law suit in court that awarded the plaintiff millions in compensation was really worth it. Not to mention losing his gun rights for life.

    The Stats also prove you are way more likely to get killed by a person in your home either accidentally or on purpose because the gun made it so easy for a person to use when he or she lost his temper or you use the gun on the freeway when someone cut you off in traffic. A polite society is not an armed society.

    The Far Right live in their own myopic little universe. They only see things in stark black or white, never the varying shades of grey in between which are the real reality of life. Dacian 2022.

    I might add living your life in a sick paranoiac panic where everyone in a store is viewed as a homicidal maniac which make you dash into the store, buy something quickly and then dash out is one hell of a way to try and live your life. But the abnormal is normal to the paranoid Far Right storm trooper who is always heavily armed with at least 2 guns, 4 magazines and a knife and an ammo bunker at home that would have easily supplied the entire Russian Army in WWII. The Storm Trooper thinks this is the normal way to live.

    • As usual, you’re proving that you’re an idiot. Most crime takes place in Democrat run cities. The only rational conclusion is that most criminals are Democrats. More Democrats are murdered than Republicans. More Democrats commit murder than Republicans. More Democrats are violent than Republicans. When I have to go into a Democrat city, you’re damned right I’m going to be carrying! In Republican run cities and states, I can relax, and not worry about who wants to kill me.

      • I think most, if not all, of the mass shooters in the USA have been Democrats (or other leftists and liberals) exclusively. Very self-explanatory.

        • to GRA

          FBI stats prove the most terrorist attacks including the Jan 6th terrorist attack on our Capitol and way of life was done by Far Right Jackbooted Storm Trooper Far Right extremists who are well known for hating all minorities, refugees and immigrants, non-Christians, liberals, and leftists and Democrats and even Independents. Only the stiff armed party line will be tolerated. And freedom of speech is to be eradicated according to their historic actions.

          By the way your rant against Jews was noted by others beside just me on this forum This is exactly what Hitler and the Nazi’s preached. We obviously know what camp you reside in and it proves exactly what the FBI said about Right Wing extremists being so dangerous. Same people just another era in time.

        • dacian is part of that mass hysteria thing. There was no terrorist attack at the capitol on Jan 6. But, he read it on CNN, so he believes it. Poor little idiot – we should do something to help him. We should do something to help all of the left wingnuts. Maybe we should stage a real coup, and show them what it looks like?

        • GRA specifically said “mass shooters”. Dacian immediately jumped to his terrorist screed and obviously failed to read or cannot address the statement.

        • And freedom of speech is to be eradicated according to their historic actions.

          Laughable since cancel culture is coming from the left. They sure do project. The modern left is an authoritarian doctrine hell-bent on running our lives cradle to grave.

        • dacian the stupid, uneducated, demented and paranoid,

          Actual stat, WITH CITATION, or you’re a lying POS (actually, you’re a lying POS, anyway, but I still want your stat and cite).

          Feeling particularly stupid today, dacian, or just haven’t had your coffee, yet???

        • dacian I guess you think the take over of Seattle in the summer of 2020 was just a party? How about Portland? New York City. All places where your ANTIF and BLM thugs burned looted and murdered.

          Jan 6th was not a “terrorist attack”, unless you want to classify Seattle, Portland etc as terrorist attacks?

    • Goetz was sued in a leftist and seditious court. Such courts in NY are known to be corrupt. Awarding the settlements were markers of the downhill descent of our national civil courts system. In reality they should have re-armed him and let take out a few more turds that terrorized morning subway commutes.

    • Dacian, No, no, no. the real racism is from you Lefties with your welfare programs which are designed to deprive anyone who receives these “benefits” of their personal initiative. When you can get bare essentials for life for nothing why would a lazy lout look for a job.

      With the crime rate in major DEMONcRAT run cities, it’s not “paranoia”. It’s called common sense.

      Your “accident in the home” nonsense is just that, NONSENSE. Most “accidents in the home don’t have a damn thing to do with firearms. Nice try yet again.

      An armed society is most definitely a polite society. If you think your adversary is armed and capable of protecting himself and his family, you are less likely to do something stupid. Of course maybe not in your case.

      You Lefties love to tell us about all that gray area. The fact is there is right and there is wrong. There is truth and there are lies. There is no such thing as a “little white lie”; they are all black ( no racism involved).

      You Lefties are all about trying to control people, Your favorite is “pass a law”. Who cares if it is unenforceable.

    • dacian,

      it gives me a sort of weird wicked pleasure to know that for every ~8 hours you spend in public you will be targeted as a potential victim of a violent crime at least three times, and if it happens that you will probably try to tell them it isn’t real and they don’t really exist as you lay bleeding.

    • ya know Dackie, there are SOME STATES into which I simply wil not travel. New York is one of them Fact is I will not ven book a flight into New York as a layover. Nor wil I in New Jersey.Same reason. A wether delay can hold me overnight, forcing me to take possession of y checked luggage, and the handgun(s) and ammunitioin inside, which WILL include some defensive hollow point ammunition, cause that’s what I keep in my duty weapon. New Jersey somehow are so deluded they consdier my possession of each round a separate felony. SO thorugh NO action of mine I could be up for about forty felony ciunts, maybe even an hundred or more. Simoly for existing inside the rotten State of New Jersey.
      One example.

      I won’t even drive through some states, eithern, NY, NJ, MD, IL, VA, and OR mi\ay soon join that list. I can have all the fun I want in the other states, wihtout the risk of blinking and becominga felon for breathing.

  6. “Fraught situations would become charged with deadly potential—a potential that, as the Rittenhouse verdict indicated, I could use to justify violence”.

    There was no potential there. It evolved from “potential” to “actual” or “kinetic” well before Kyle fired his rifle.

  7. I’m kinda curious. How many people THINK ABOUT guns all day? Carrying or not, my mind is on other things. I don’t look at every person I meet, and wonder if he’s carrying. I don’t spend my day worrying about what’s in the other guy’s pockets. I put keys in this pocket, wallet in that pocket, change in that pocket, and holster goes on the belt like so. And, I forget all of them. When I need my keys, I think of them, and I reach for them. When I need my gun, I think of the gun, and reach for it – or not.

    I figure it’s just noobs who are new to guns who think about their gun all day. Kinda like a child given his first handkerchief, and wants to pull it out at every opportunity. It makes him feel all big and grownup to have his own handkerchief.

    • It’s always nice to be lectured about what it’s like to do something that you do all the time by someone who’s never done it. I’m far more mentally preoccupied with the presence of my phone than I am with my gat.

      Rachel needs some psychological counseling.

      • Huh – that makes me think, Gov. I’ve never jumped out of an airplane in my life. Maybe I could spend a couple days researching sky diving on the internet, then publish a self-improvement book on sky diving? It shouldn’t be too hard to pass myself off as an expert sky diving instructor, should it?

        • Seems like that would envolve burdening yourself with a heavy cognitive load. Probably best to just stay off Wikipedia and go on living with the peaceful bliss of knowing that you have no idea what it’s like to jump out of an airplane. Once you take that (figurative) leap there’s no going back.

        • Paul:
          After I read your comment, I almost fell off my chair from laughing. Thank you; you’ve made my day.

    • As this is very specifically a website about guns, it becomes easy to misinterpret certain things. I’m reasonably confident that most of this sites readers and commenters spend time thinking about other things in life. As for me, the biggest portion of my life revolves around science and technology.

      Over the last few years though, there have been many changes in life across the board. As more people are going nuts getting sucked into Covid hysteria and seeing racism in every aspect of existence, being armed becomes a natural instinctual thing to do.

      Personally, I would never want to be so relaxed to the point of complacency that I don’t know I’m armed. I would also never want to walk around without a care in the world thinking nothing can harm me.

      Society needs to come to the realization that guns are here to stay. People have them and carry them. It isn’t something to get hysterical about. Personally, an armed public is the least of my worries.

    • I don’t think about guns, unless I’m shopping for one or planning to attend a training course. Or trying to find ammo (seriously I haven’t seen .30-30 on the shelf in 2 years).

      It doesn’t matter to me if other people are armed. I’m not out there to cause trouble. If they do, I’m prepared to deal with it. I actually don’t do the concealed carry thing (not practical for a number of reasons I won’t get into). It’s not really about the tool, though, it’s about mental preparedness, skills, how you carry yourself, and exercising common sense. The tools are secondary, and they still would be even if I didn’t leave them at home.

    • Hmmm good point abut the noobs. I remember back when I first decided to start going about my daily bidniss armed. I was constantly aware of my gun, the spare mag, did that guy notice it, is it showing now, does my shirt make it print badly, is that guy a threat, why is he looking at me funny, etc. I first started with chamber empty Once I was comfortable carrying the thing, and had a long enough track record of NOT having it fall out onto the floor in the produce aisle, I realised the time it might take me to rack the slide and THEN get the sights on target might be several multiples of the time the Bad Guy needed to ventilate me…. I decided to carry “hot”. Fifteen years or more now, only had it fall out and clatter to the floor once, that was when I was sitting on the pot and had not yet learned how to stabilise it whist doing that. I take the end stall if it is empty, but there was no one in the one next to me anyway. So I skated that time. Lesson learned.

      I’ve yet to see any vids or narrative on how to deal with such situatioins whilst armed. Had to figure it all out. HOW to get yer britches back up and buttoned with yur handgun in the IWB holster.
      One time I had decided to attend an event at the state Capitol. I checked, and the law allowed conceale d carry inside there surprise surprise. SO there I was, on the Senate Floor, during session, quietly armed, state police all over the place, no one gave me a second look. even went into a different chamber where the governor ws signing some inane bill into law. I stood at the far end of the table realising that if Id wanted him dead he would have been, and no one could have stopped me. Interesting thought.. that much power to permanently change history and I just stood there amused at the concept. Went up and shok his hand when it was al over he never had a clue. Nor did any of the Capitol Police. Fine. They were all on a “need to know” basisl and since they didn;t have any need to know they did not And i didn’t care. Had to walk back to my car after in a rather skanky part of the city, and ws VERY glad I was armed. but did not NEED it that time. Stil and all……

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  9. “Scholars have found that people carrying guns have a tendency to perceive others as armed, whether they are or not…”

    Vague ‘appeal to authority’ argument. Does not withstand the test of actual thought.

    I, for one, do not go around wondering who is armed and who is not. I simply retain situational awareness (well, I try).

    Maybe ‘scholars’ and journalists maintain a minimal amount of awareness because they love their lives in the Matrix.

  10. Rachel Monroe is obviously a paranoid upside-down bitch, just like Gabby Giffords. Another damn articulative leftist like La Raza racist and sell-out Nevarez (who most likely isn’t “sober” anyway) who will spin things with certain buzz words and from a certain angle to further the totalitarian communist narrative. The UN, CCP, Soetoro, et al, Bloomberg, hypocrites Giffords, Brady Bunch and their hatred for handguns, and others are so damn desperate to prove their false fantasy of a non-violent utopia they’ll say and do anything that comes to mind including selling out their own families to achieve their twisted goals. ALL OF THESE ARE ROSENBERG-TYPE TRAITORS AND SHOULD BE DEALT WITH ACCORDINGLY.

    Americans have been needing to wear privately owned firearms since the Kremlin first stated; “We will bury you”, the immigration problem first started getting out of control, and the crack epidemic started. As long as such entities exist such as the UN, CCP, and the others mentioned above and our elections are compromised we will need to maintain an armed society. Those that don’t like it can simply renounce their US citizenship and surrender their passports as they go live elsewhere.

    • “ALL OF THESE ARE ROSENBERG-TYPE TRAITORS AND SHOULD BE DEALT WITH ACCORDINGLY“

      Thank you for making the case that you are not fit to be a member of our society, much less own lethal weapons.

      Your statement is exactly why many reasonable citizens are concerned about just who is armed and what are their intentions, because it seems you’re going much further than just protecting yourself against some random criminal.

      • I have no doubt that there are those that see things that way. What you describe is a mental problem that justifies what GRA just said.

      • You can either come and take mine yourself or we can both leave for the same place together.

        Welcome to your newfound understanding of the reasons for our 2nd. Amendment. Although you may not understand nor like those reasons you now have full realization of what you’re going to have to deal with if your type keeps screwing with us over our God-given rights and trying to force us to live the way your twisted mind thinks we should. I, and many others, eagerly await your future escalations.

      • MinorIQ,

        I give exactly zero s***s what “many reasonable citizens” (which would, of course, exclude you, and dacian the stupid) think about my exercise of my inherent rights, my motives for such exercise, or their “feelings” about it. Y’all don’t get a vote.

        I have an INHERENT right to self-defense, and to keep and bear the means to accomplish that. If you don’t like it, here’s a quarter . . . go call someone who gives a s***. As for my motives, they are simply none of your damn business.

        Have a nice day, MinorIQ!!

    • GRA
      quote—————-Americans have been needing to wear privately owned firearms since the Kremlin first stated; “We will bury you”,————quote

      The quote you refer to was erroneously claimed to be that of Nita Khrushchev. In reality he never said that in a speech he gave. It was either misinterpreted by the interpreter or deliberately misinterpreted for propaganda purposes. Anyone fluent in Russian can read the ENTIRE speech IN CONTEXT and verify this.

      Google translate will tell you it means “we bury you”, a less refined version of Sukhodrev’s “we will bury you.”
      Many argue that he interpreted it too literally, however. “My vas pokhoronim” can be interpreted as several things such as: “we will live to see you buried”, “we shall be present at your funeral”, “we shall outlive you” and “we shall outlast you”, all of which, while certainly provocative statements, lack the open threat of “we will bury you”.

      • With too many people making absurd misinterpretations of things said by so many politicians on all sides, this is too fine a line to mean anything.

      • It figures that a traitorous dacian reads Russian. In fact, he’s probably a Russian shill, paid by the word. He never posts a sentence or two, instead typing out half a page of nonsense. Surely he’s paid!

      • First – it is Nikita Khrushchev not “Nita Khrushchev”

        Second…

        While addressing the Western Bloc at the embassy on November 18, 1956, Khrushchev said (confirmed and later verified by Khrushchev himself) : “About the capitalist states, it doesn’t depend on you whether or not we exist. If you don’t like us, don’t accept our invitations, and don’t invite us to come to see you. Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you!” – The speech prompted envoys from twelve NATO nations and Israel to leave the room.

        Later, on August 24, 1963, Khrushchev remarked in his speech in Yugoslavia, “I once said, ‘We will bury you,’ and I got into trouble with it. Of course we will not bury you with a shovel. Your own working class will bury you,”

        • It was the the Polish embassy in Moscow where it was said in 1956.

          In Russian that Khrushchev used its: “Мы вас похороним!”. The romanized version is: “My vas pokhoronim!”

          Direct Russian to English translation for ‘”Мы вас похороним!”‘ is “We will bury you”

          Khrushchev did indeed say in Russian translated to English “We will bury you”

          dacian, you are not only a liar you are an idiot too.

        • The phrase “Мы вас похороним!” in the original speech on November 18, 1956 was originally translated into English by Khrushchev’s personal interpreter Viktor Sukhodrev.

          The same phrase on August 24, 1963 by Khrushchev was translated originally by a second interpreter who also translated it directly to English as “We will bury you”

          Khrushchev’s actual declaration was “We will outlast you” if the context is considered. But the phrase in Russian was “Мы вас похороним!”, which when translated directly to English without context is “We will bury you” and that’s how Khrushchev’s own interpreters and the embassy interpreters officially delivered it in transcript to the NATO allies.

        • Doesn’t matter how it was translated. Khrushchev was wrong. He and his are the ones that have been buried.

      • Doesn’t take much to get you to make excuses for communists and other enemies of the US Constitution and Bill of Rights.

      • dacian the stupid,

        That apologia for the ignorant, pig-faced peasant you worship may be your lamest effort, yet. .40cal has already put paid to your ignorant assertion about what Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev “really said”, so I need not bother.

        But I suppose it’s to be expected that all you Leftist/fascist @$$holes will stick up for each other. Have a nice day, and go visit the cable.

      • Hmmm I have buried three of my grandparents, both of myparents, a number of their siblings, and quite a few former friends. Does that make me “daynjrus?”

        If my friend of sixty plus years dies of the stroke he’s recenty had, I can accurately say “I will bury you” and he will be thankful I care enough to travel and do that. I helped him bury his own Father, a good friend of mine.

        This is a difference that makes no difference Dackie Boy. Nice try.

  11. The author seems to indicate high anxiety over wondering who is armed and who is not. Personally, I am gratified to know that on any given day, about 12% of gun owners here in Pennsylvania are exercising their concealed carry right. About 1/3rd of households own firearms.

    I’d provide a link to those statistics but I don’t recall where I read it and I have to jump on a conference call.

    • twelve percent is likelhy. I live in a deep blue state with a few parts solid blue and which carry the voting in the rest of the state every election WE have about one in ten adults with Mother May I Cards here, and growing. Fine with me. Many more own rifles and handguns but do not have the Mother May I Card to carry them concealed. Open carry is also legal here, but rarely used except in rural and wilderness areas,

  12. “Fraught situations would become charged with deadly potential—a potential that, as the Rittenhouse verdict indicated, I could use to justify violence.”

    If that’s your takeway from the Rittenhouse case; you need to get your facts straight.

    • BeeYellEmm andAuntie Fah ARE by definitoin fraught situations when they are “on the march”. Kyle did not seek them out, THEY sought HIM out and threatened him. He responded appropriately. Had he not he’d be dead and no one would even know who he is. One more victim of those dwarf-brained miscreants. Two of them did not go home that night, and never did again. One did not go home that night, but eventualy did when his vapourised arm healed enough he could. Funny, his arrogance on the stand in that joke of a trial reveal he has not changed one bit, did not learn a thing.
      ADA Binger managed to survive his own very fruaght situation. Which is sad. I ept waiting for thet judge to order him out of his courtroom for his outrageous conduct.

    • Actually, I haven’t heard of Harpers in years. I’m not sure I’ve seen one of their magazines in decades. I vaguely remember them from about the 1970s and 1980s. Probably because I keep better company today, than I did as a young man.

  13. The Pervasiveness of Guns in America Imposes a Heavy ‘Cognitive Load’ on Society”
    No… that’s incorrect.

    The fact criminals are not kept incarcerated and are allowed to be turned loose in America imposes a heavy ‘cognitive load’ on Society.

    • There’s a problem with that, and I’d like you to think about for a bit. MOST prisoners shouldn’t be in prison at all. Lounging around in an air conditioned building, watching television, hitting the gym regularly, and studying how to become a better criminal from the masters – all on the taxpayer’s dime.

      No, petty criminals should be out working, to pay their way through life, and to repay the justice system for the trouble they caused. Just as importantly, petty criminals should be working, to pay restitution to their victims.

      The whole prison-for-profit thing needs to die a fiery death. No shoplifter should spend a year in prison. No non-violent offender should spend years in prison. They should all be out working. Prison is for violent offenders – rapists, murderers, child molesters, robbers. Everyone else should be working, and the court should be taking some portion of their pay every week to pay debts.

      If, at the same time, the nation were to adopt constitutional carry, a lot of violent criminals would be dealt with by the victim, on the spot, saving us a lot of taxpayer money in incarceration costs.

      When America is accustomed to carrying, all the time, and everywhere, then I would encourage government to turn all the criminals loose. And again, the intended victims can deal justice on the spot.

      • Paul:
        I agree with what you have to say about imprisonment for nonviolent crimes and misdemeanors. For a good description of what goes on in American prisons, I recommend the book entitled: Our Class: Trauma and Transformation in an American Prison, by Chris Hedges. You will come away with a different slant on the lack of justice in American jurisprudence, particularly as it pertains to minorities. Frankly, it made me very angry.

      • the biblically prewcribed punichments for crimes NEED to be implemented in our justice system. Murder earns a visit with ol’Sparky, or maybe the Needle, or better yet, the firisng squad. No hood, face the muzzles. Televised. with YOUR NAME mentioned multiple times. WIthin yuor own hearing.

        Theft, the biblical penalty is to restore FOUR TIMES what you stole or destryed. Bidily injury from criminal activity the perp suffers the same damage he inflicted on his victim. Lying, or falese testimony (perjury) the liar suffers the fate his victim suffered when the lie is believed and acted upon, or if he is caught ut before his victim suffers, the same punuchment that would have been visited upon his victim.

        Put THOSE polices in place and watch crime all but disappear. By the tye, the bible also clearly states that a housebreaker if fund inside the home when it is occupied the homeowner may “srike him that he die, and there shall be no bloodguiltiness upon him (the homeowner). Simple presence within an occupied structure by an unwanted uninvited individual may be met with lethal force, no guilt upon the occupants.

  14. Cognitive load of bull

    Sounds like they are living in their self made fear and blaming freedom for it.

    Same $=!+, different pile.

    I’m around guns constantly, knowingly or unknowingly. I’ve trained myself to be aware of my surroundings, stay away from dangerous places, even exciting fun ones that peer pressure might suggest I need to visit to be cool and accepted, and to look for signs of behavior that are up to no good.

    I do not live in a state of fear.

    People living or moving to this country should understand we are an armed populace and there are guns in places and on people. It’s the law of the land. Get over it or move to China, California, Cuba or some other communist country.

    If this armed society was really an issue, there would be carnage every where and those who bad mouth gun ownership would be around anymore to object.

    The fact that the overwhelming majority of guns are either silent or being used in competition,, or target practice or self defense everyday says to me we don’t have a gun problem as we have a recidivist criminal problem exacerbated by liberals.

  15. Cannot understand some of these liberal views. Yes, this is America and they can express their view, however I wish that they would value life as it is irresponsible not to. I am a responsible gun owner, I have concealed carried every day for the last 42 years. As retired L.E. I know that innocent people can be victims of crime and or killed, due to no fault of their own. Only I have the responsibility to defend my life and my family from violent criminals that society refuses to deal with. Therefore, the responsibility for my life rests with me. It is also my responsibility to avoid situations that may escalate into violence. Therefore, I avoid places and people that have a lifestyle that revolves around violence and crime. Same reason I don’t talk with people who have tattoos on their face or neck, proving they make bad choices. Same reason I avoid people of color, because I know that 13% of the total population is responsible of 50% of Violent crime. Before calling me a racist, I will explain. Where I live, we have rattlesnakes, knowing this, I don’t go to where they live and I do not mess with them and avoid contact. This significantly reduces the chance of being bit by a snake. Same reason to avoid people who would kill you for your car or the five dollars in your pocket, I have a firearm for same reason I have a fire extinguisher, because when bad things happen, it just makes sense to be prepared with a tool that evens the playing field, hopefully resulting in a positive outcome and ensure I am still alive. It is actually irresponsible not to want to save your own life. Some people just make bad choices,

  16. Ms. Monroe is carrying a heavy cognitive load of malarkey. Criminals are not dissuaded from carrying firearms by gun control laws of any sort. They are, after all, criminals. By definition, they have no respect for the law. Law enforcement, even at the best of times, will simply not be able to be there for you in your moment of need. So, you can either choose to be a victim, or you can choose to be a sub-optimal choice in the victim selection process. It’s entirely up to you. There are no guarantees, but the ineluctable fact remains that you, personally, are solely and forever responsible for your own safety and personal security. End of story.

  17. Never really worried that everyone else around me may be armed. My only concern has been that I have the tools needed to handle the situation. I carry a good multi tool and a good knife. I have a full medics kit and a 20lb fire extinguisher in each vehicle. I carry a pretty comprehensive tool kit in each vehicle. As well as a few minor items like fuses and light bulbs and belts. Same reason I carry a full size spare tire and not the donut spare. If the worst happens, I have a tool to deal with the issue. Same reason I have a cell phone. The problem being help is always minutes away. So I try to have what I need to do what I can until the professionals show up.

  18. Prndll January 18, 2022 At 14:39
    it is simple. The question isn’t whether you have the right. You obviously do and you can certainly do that if you want. The question is…is it a wise thing to do?

    There are many things in life like that and many laws, juries, lawyers, and judges have been swayed by it.

    I sure as Hell do think it’s a wise thing to do. The same I said before applies to you too. Stay away from those if you don’t think there’s anything smart going on and you won’t have to worry about it.

  19. “I would start to scan for signs that other people were carrying, noting how they carried themselves, looking for a hitch in their step or whether they subtly favored one side.”

    Yeah, sure, because people who carry CCW guns all limp around with a “hitch” in their step! ROTFLOL, maybe if they’re packing a Desert eagle .50 AE, but a Deagle .50 AE isn’t what any sane person outside of Hollyweird would consider a CCW gun. If you’re carrying a gun that makes you have a “hitch in your step, subtly favoring one side,” then you’ve either chosen way too big and heavy a gun as your CCW firearm, or you need to get a better holster (or buy a holster instead of sticking the handgun in your tighty whities, LOL).

    • “I would start to scan for signs that other people were carrying, noting how they carried themselves, looking for a hitch in their step or whether they subtly favored one side.”

      That had me SMH too.

      Both of my sons (20s) and I (50s) carry full size double stack 45s. None of us walk with a “hitch”, or “favor one side”.

      The writer is a total moron.

  20. Color me unsurprised that this nitwit snowflake finds the concept of armed fellow citizens a “heavy cognitive load” – on those rare occasions when the Leftist/fascists actually BOTHER to enter the real world, they must find MANY things a “heavy cognitive load”. Poor dacian the stupid faces a “heavy cognitive load” every time he has to figure out how to put his pants on.

    And I should be concerned about this little snowflake’s “heavy cognitive load” WHY, exactly????? Sorry, honey, if the concept that some of us around you are carrying firearms burns out some of your few remaining brain cells, I guess that’s just T.S., Eliot. Get over it, get your own damn gun, or go cry in your pillow, you fragile twit.

  21. How many people keep a multitool in their pocket or glovebox(or a pocket knife and/or flashlight)? Does that mean they are potential terrorists, just waiting to torture someone?
    No, it means that they are ready just in case they need to cut a box open, or strip some wire, or tighten a screw/bolt/nut, pull a nail from a tire or shoe. Having a firearm could be as easy as having a way to shoot a rattlesnake or put an animal out of its misery after being hit by a car(did you ever see a deer or coyote on the side of the road screaming in pain?)
    These are only tools. Yes, they can be misused, but their are perfectly legitimate uses for any and all of the above without government intrusion.

    PS I am amazed at how many people, even men that worked in maintenance/construction, that do not carry a small knife to do the little things that we do on a daily/weekly basis.

  22. rt66Paul,

    I carry a Kershaw Leek, and a multitool, all the time. And I use them ALL the time. Why people see a knife and think “weapon to fear” is beyond me. I’ve used my Kershaw Leek for over five years – and the closest thing to “human” I’ve cut is lunch meat. Knives are tools. Multitools are tools. Guns are tools. Screwdrivers are tools. dacian the stupid is a tool, just not a useful one.

    Yeah, men carry tools, and use them. Effete, psuedo-intellectual nitwits like dacian the stupid and MinorIQ haven’t apparently evolved to the tool using stage, yet. We can hope for their continued evolution . . . but I wouldn’t bet large sums on it.

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