Respect

[ErikW]

Many businesses on 24th St. in San Francisco are displaying printed U.S. flags with the text, "We Honor Our Departed."

[bonedaddy]

With politics and religion and all the social issues we Americans seem to focus on our differences much of the time.  I got as fed up with our g'vment as anyone when I had to hear about clintons escapades.  But that was then, we have more in common now.   We are all under attack.  Together.  The aggressor doesn't care if we are liberal or conservative or pro-life or anti-gun.   They just want to hurt us and kill our children.  They will use germs or poision on us, if they can. The Taliban has been raping women in Afganistan and torturing them.  That is how they have ruled that country, through fear.  

     When I was 11 years old, I was "detained" by three  local teenage thugs who caught me out fishing.  They beat the shit out of me and chased me around with horses until I could barely crawl.  I pleaded with them to stop.  They made me eat dirt and spit in my face and laughed. They stole all my gear and had their fun.  By the time I turned 19, they weren't laughing any more.  They were grown men and scared shitless of what I might do.  I never laid a hand on any of them, but I do confess to toying with then from time to time.    I'm really am greatful to those guys now.   They taught me how to "deal" with adversity.    The terrorists that have picked a fight with us have taught us a similar lesson.   It's time for us to "grow up" as a nation and quit being squeemish about learning the ways of violence.   Violence can be a very honorable choice.

[Duane Thomas]

People who've had early experience with bullies can turn into VERY serious shooters when they get old enough.

It's funny (funny peculiar, not funny ha-ha) but if you ask a lot of really good handgunners why they got into shooting, or why they carry a gun, you'll find some sort of early negative experience they don't want to repeat. A local Master class shooter, once I'd known him for awhile, told me that when he was a teenager he had a friend who was really into the martial arts who decided - stupidly - to get into a fight with a rather large Samoan. The friend gave the Samoan his very best high kick, and the Samoan picked him up in a bear hug and broke his back, killing him. And all his friend could do was watch. Thirty years later he told me, "Nothing like that is ever going to happen to me again. If anyone tries to hurt someone I love around me....ain't gonna happen. If I have to draw and empty the gun into them in a couple of seconds, fine, I'll do that. If I have to make a head shot at 50 yards to stop the guy, fine, I'll do that, too."

[spook]

I shoot because I like shooting. I also play badminton, because I like to play badminton. Or maybe I play badminton, because of that one time that gigantic shuttlecock chased me around the house . Now that I think of it, I actually shoot IPSC because of my carboard and steel phobia.Man this psychology stuff is DEEP