Thread: I couldnt help myself...

Different people have different hobbies. They like different things. Someone said something about show ponies earlier.

I fucking hate show ponies and think its stupid to parade a big animal about and say "Oh look how purty it is." I have no problem with people showing off a new gun or something for their gun they just got.

Basically, people that hate on guns will hate on guns, and people that like guns wont give a fuck what they think.

Originally Posted by Anonymous D

Different people have different hobbies. They like different things. Someone said something about show ponies earlier.

I fucking hate show ponies and think its stupid to parade a big animal about and say "Oh look how purty it is." I have no problem with people showing off a new gun or something for their gun they just got.

Basically, people that hate on guns will hate on guns, and people that like guns wont give a fuck what they think.

Show ponies aren't used for killing people.

This argument isn't about safety, and it isn't about responsibility and it isn't about whether or not guns are bad.

This argument is about attitude, and it's about an impression that too many gun owners give of being infatuated with their killing things. An impression of "Man, I'm such a cool, badass, righteous dude because I have a firearm."

Exodite, you said you don't see the connection with gimmicky things like this and general irresponsibility -- there may not be one. Anony seems pretty "responsible". He also, however, seems like a defensive, trigger-happy individual who, if he had carried a gun on certain occasions in his past, would have been responsible for the deaths of several other people (by his own admission). There may not be a link between gimmicky additions to pistols and irresponsibility, but I can definitely see a link between gimmicky additions to pistols and the really disturbing compensatory motives for gun ownership that sole and I have brought up in this thread.

Originally Posted by gwahir

Exodite, you said you don't see the connection with gimmicky things like this and general irresponsibility -- there may not be one. Anony seems pretty "responsible". He also, however, seems like a defensive, trigger-happy individual who, if he had carried a gun on certain occasions in his past, would have been responsible for the deaths of several other people (by his own admission). There may not be a link between gimmicky additions to pistols and irresponsibility, but I can definitely see a link between gimmicky additions to pistols and the really disturbing compensatory motives for gun ownership that sole and I have brought up in this thread.

I'd agree with this to a limited degree; a person who owns guns to compensate for perceived sexual inadequacy (or any number of other personal confidence problems or what-have-you) might also be the same sort of person who would buy a joke bayonet for their handgun. But I don't think conclusions can or should be drawn in the opposite direction--that a person who buys a joke bayo for their handgun is necessarily compensating for anything, or trying to make themselves into a badass, or something like that. All (or many) people who view guns as prosthetic dicks may be attracted to joke bayos, but not all people who buy joke bayos view their guns as prosthetic dicks.... or something. I don't see any evidence that Anonymous D views his guns as weird sexual compensatory devices, so I still don't get sole's initial comment about this sort of thing making it hard to take gun owners seriously.

Also, I really don't understand why people are so uncomfortable when a gun owner "shows off" a gun to other gun owners. Yes, of course guns are deadly serious and need to be handled responsibly, and of course they must not be treated like toys. But they are also a hobby; despite the fact that they are lethal weapons, they are also used for hunting and for various forms of recreation, and I don't see anything wrong with one hobbyist showing a piece of new equipment to his fellow hobbyists (especially if it's expensive or well-made or technically sweet or interesting in some other way). To me, that has absolutely nothing to do with treating it like a toy.

Originally Posted by gwahir

Show ponies aren't used for killing people.

This argument isn't about safety, and it isn't about responsibility and it isn't about whether or not guns are bad.

This argument is about attitude, and it's about an impression that too many gun owners give of being infatuated with their killing things. An impression of "Man, I'm such a cool, badass, righteous dude because I have a firearm."

Exodite, you said you don't see the connection with gimmicky things like this and general irresponsibility -- there may not be one. Anony seems pretty "responsible". He also, however, seems like a defensive, trigger-happy individual who, if he had carried a gun on certain occasions in his past, would have been responsible for the deaths of several other people (by his own admission). There may not be a link between gimmicky additions to pistols and irresponsibility, but I can definitely see a link between gimmicky additions to pistols and the really disturbing compensatory motives for gun ownership that sole and I have brought up in this thread.

Didn't he actually save some lives by firing into the air once?

Yeah, so let's check the score board:


Anony saves a life with a gun- 1

Anony scares an emotional australian with words - 1


Anony commits a violent crime - 0