Boy you certainly give us a full brain buckets' worth of knowledge to ponder/mediate on. Your post resonates with thoughts I often have about the firearms community. More specifically, the drive or purpose behind or not behind, but the "saturation purpose" - meaning the very thing that from the core of the individual, to the epidermal of purpose, that drives an individual to become a gun owner. I can recount stories of individuals, including my fellow Veterans, who I have built chest rigs or PC's for, and those same sets of gear remain where they were first hung after I delivered them. They have not been removed from the Gorilla hanger I provided them. They have remained in the closet that doesn't get opened nearly often enough. They do however get pulled out - usually for picture-taking time, but interestingly enough, never pulled out for PT, or pulled out for that 5 mile ruck in September, in Texas, when it is literally a "melt your balls off" kind of heat.
Doc - it's all about the heart. Even more so than the mind. The heart tends to rule above the mind for the "deeper than your average shallow" kind of person. Gun owners fall into that same bucket, however they have a few "free shots". It's not quite the same thing to throw on a PC loaded with good quality ceramic plates and get out and validate whether your knees can get it on or not - vs - grabbing the latest fancy M18 variant or latest revolutionary Glock and hitting the range. One requires a truer commitment, the other requires a whimsical thought to hit the range. The consequences of either are where it begins to separate. Do I wish that more gun owners would take that God-given right to keep and bear arms more seriously? Hell to the yeah. Hell, I just wish they would view gun ownership as a RESPONSIBILITY. Not to their own self-preservation, or even that of their families, but of their fellow man. The same way I wish the guys I've built PC's for, would realize that plate carrier isn't just a piece of gear that protects them. It ENABLES them.
To do more. Be more. and to potentially stay in the fight - just a little longer. Not for themselves, but for those around them - people they do not even know. Granted, I'm reaching out into the "possibilities", but if we do not train for those, we really aren't training. Firearms fall into a very similar bucket. We can own a firearm for the sake of it. We can own a firearm for the sake of protecting our own skin. We can even own a firearm for the sake of what people think is the most honorable goal - of protecting our family. But when a gun owner accepts the responsibility, that they are their brothers keeper AND protector - if people can get a hold of that - I daresay the 1-way ranges would be filled every weeknight and weekend. We just aren't there. Not to sound like a crotchety old man, but social media is ruining that potentiality for us. That's why your words - your message is so relevant and important for us. If it just inspires one man, one woman, one family, then we stand a greater chance of breaking down that barrier that the outside world has perfected in building. So yeah my Brother. going to the range MUST be much more than just expending a 300-400 rounds. It must be more than sitting in a bay and calling every shit shot alibi, but to take ownership that goes well beyond the tool and extends to our fellow mankind next to us. our neighbors, the people we really don't like and let that matriculate down to those people closer to our hearts. I look forward to the next "chapter". Keep inspiring us. Keep going deeper. Hopefully those around me are wearing their big boy shorts and can handle it!
As always, Doc, you leave us with profound insights to ponder.
I’m sure glad that MacArthur had the wisdom not to cheat the world out of the gift that is any and all Japanese martial arts.
This gave me motivation to finish building my rifle range and to start dusting off those marksmanship skills again.
Thanks, Doc!
P.S. More Dark Operator please!
Can’t wait, Doc. Trying to internalize what you wrote.
Doc,
Boy you certainly give us a full brain buckets' worth of knowledge to ponder/mediate on. Your post resonates with thoughts I often have about the firearms community. More specifically, the drive or purpose behind or not behind, but the "saturation purpose" - meaning the very thing that from the core of the individual, to the epidermal of purpose, that drives an individual to become a gun owner. I can recount stories of individuals, including my fellow Veterans, who I have built chest rigs or PC's for, and those same sets of gear remain where they were first hung after I delivered them. They have not been removed from the Gorilla hanger I provided them. They have remained in the closet that doesn't get opened nearly often enough. They do however get pulled out - usually for picture-taking time, but interestingly enough, never pulled out for PT, or pulled out for that 5 mile ruck in September, in Texas, when it is literally a "melt your balls off" kind of heat.
Doc - it's all about the heart. Even more so than the mind. The heart tends to rule above the mind for the "deeper than your average shallow" kind of person. Gun owners fall into that same bucket, however they have a few "free shots". It's not quite the same thing to throw on a PC loaded with good quality ceramic plates and get out and validate whether your knees can get it on or not - vs - grabbing the latest fancy M18 variant or latest revolutionary Glock and hitting the range. One requires a truer commitment, the other requires a whimsical thought to hit the range. The consequences of either are where it begins to separate. Do I wish that more gun owners would take that God-given right to keep and bear arms more seriously? Hell to the yeah. Hell, I just wish they would view gun ownership as a RESPONSIBILITY. Not to their own self-preservation, or even that of their families, but of their fellow man. The same way I wish the guys I've built PC's for, would realize that plate carrier isn't just a piece of gear that protects them. It ENABLES them.
To do more. Be more. and to potentially stay in the fight - just a little longer. Not for themselves, but for those around them - people they do not even know. Granted, I'm reaching out into the "possibilities", but if we do not train for those, we really aren't training. Firearms fall into a very similar bucket. We can own a firearm for the sake of it. We can own a firearm for the sake of protecting our own skin. We can even own a firearm for the sake of what people think is the most honorable goal - of protecting our family. But when a gun owner accepts the responsibility, that they are their brothers keeper AND protector - if people can get a hold of that - I daresay the 1-way ranges would be filled every weeknight and weekend. We just aren't there. Not to sound like a crotchety old man, but social media is ruining that potentiality for us. That's why your words - your message is so relevant and important for us. If it just inspires one man, one woman, one family, then we stand a greater chance of breaking down that barrier that the outside world has perfected in building. So yeah my Brother. going to the range MUST be much more than just expending a 300-400 rounds. It must be more than sitting in a bay and calling every shit shot alibi, but to take ownership that goes well beyond the tool and extends to our fellow mankind next to us. our neighbors, the people we really don't like and let that matriculate down to those people closer to our hearts. I look forward to the next "chapter". Keep inspiring us. Keep going deeper. Hopefully those around me are wearing their big boy shorts and can handle it!