Are gun-owners "paranoid"... or is the opposition mad in a slightly different manner?

my own personal "paranoia" | 10 Feb 04 | King Prout

[King Prout]

Considering the leftist media propaganda wave I expect to see as the AWB sunset date draws near, I have prepared a bit of counterirritant. Do with it what you will.

[King Prout]

submitted for your enjoyment.

[demlosers]

They are paranoid about AWB not sunsetting.

[SunStar]

In any gun discussion, sooner or later, someone will feel obliged to suggest that desiring to be free to choose to be armed implies paranoia.

Without the 2nd Amendment, there is no freedom. Period.

Being labeled "paraniod" is hardly an insult.

[King Prout]

they (fineswine et alia) should be, but that does not address the mental affliction endemic among the rank-and-file antigunners.

[King Prout]

to allow them to portray us as unhinged works against us in the short and long runs - this is a conflict of generations, and we MUST prevent them from poisoning the next generations against our constitutional position.

[Cindy]

The burglars staring in the face of my gun seemed paranoid.
Imagine that.
A mom holding her baby in one arm and the burglars downstairs trying to get in the sliding glass door.
Mom sneeks up on burglars, points her gun at one of the guy's crotch and says something meaningful to them in Engish and espanol.

Well, that's an old story, but for your survey, the burglars were paranoid.

[Cindy]

Correction: English

[archy]

Now, though I don't know what to call it

Grandiosity, the belief that one is so superior or omniscent that calamity cannot or will not come their way.

[SunStar]

If your perception of reality, like mine, is in full agreement with the guides above, do as I do - own and carry, and resist any nanny-state attempt to render you weak and helpless prey.

An armed intruder being able to commit a crime and leave before police arrive is absolutly plausible, and in fact, happens all the time. 1/2 of all murders in San Francisco, for example, remain unsolved.

I would like to be one of the few who don't need to rely on the police to protect the lives of myself and my family.

I am more concerned with this scenario than the government marching into my home with a gun confiscation order. And, even if they did, I know a place to buy a gun for $200.00 without the waiting period. :) Free men do not ask permission to bear arms.

[SunStar]

to allow them to portray us as unhinged works against us in the short and long runs - this is a conflict of generations, and we MUST prevent them from poisoning the next generations against our constitutional position.

Agreed. I vote only for pro-gun rights and support groups who lobby for the same.

[Rocky Mountain High]

I buy mine from people advertising in the newspaper. I pay cash and go on my merry way.

Carry always - tell no one.

[King Prout]

and keep a small, rusted-solid capgun with you, in a plastic bag, too...

[Rocky Mountain High]

Now that's a good idea!

Or even an old crappy revolver...

[Atlas Sneezed]

Good article. The analogy I like for "gun paranoia" is that of fire extinguishers. They are rarely used, no one expects or wants to use them, and no one is considered paranoid even if they take the unusual precaution of having them in most rooms of the home, and in each vehicle.

The article covers crime well, but we need to be reminded that the protection against tyranny (from without or within) is the prime reason for the 2nd amendment. A similar article could be written about the history of governments, and the tyranny that seemingly inevitably befalls unarmed populaces.

[coloradan]

You raise an interesting lexical question, which is, what is the antonym of paranoia? A quick check on the web doesn't come up with anything.

Let's coin a new word!

The word has to have elements of denial and of obliviousness in it. Someone who really is paranoid sees things that aren't there - schemes, people following him, watching him. So the opposite would have to be someone who doesn't see things that really are there. The mindset of the 1940 Jews, who thought everything would be OK if they just complied. The Branch Davidians who thought they shouldn't shoot back, they can work it out with the ATF. The Warren Commission believers and TWA 800 NTSB report swallowers, the Vince Foster suicide subscribers, who deny the possibility of any government malfeasance whatsoever, and don't even bother them with evidence. (The magic bullet, the eyewitnesses, the lack of blood around the body.) Gullibility is also a component - one would accept at face value what people in authority say, no matter how facially wrong or mistaken those statements are.

Paranoia comes from para- "beyond," and noos or nous, "mind."

From: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000:

Pablum: Trite, insipid, or simplistic writing, speech, or conceptualization.

Credulous: 1. Disposed to believe too readily; gullible. 2. Arising from or characterized by credulity.

credulity: A disposition to believe too readily.

naiveté: 1. The state or quality of being inexperienced or unsophisticated, especially in being artless, credulous, or uncritical. 2. An artless, credulous, or uncritical statement or act.


Combining these roots into a new word, we get: SHEEPLE.

[Reaganwuzthebest]

Without the 2nd Amendment, there is no freedom. Period.

Which is exactly the agenda of the gun grabbers. An unarmed population after all is a whole lot easier to control.

[AlaskaErik]

Reality check: I work in LE and I deal with bad people on a daily basis. I know what's out there, so when I carry, that's the reason. I also know that the police are not going to be there to prevent any kind of personal attack on me or my loved ones. Assaulting, mugging, killing, etc, are usually crimes of opportunity when the intended victim is a stranger. Criminals are going to commit them when there are no police around. Imagine that! So when I walk out the door with that pistol, I'm not being paranoid, I'm being prudent. The pants-soiling liberals can call me what they want, but they benefit from those who carry, because criminals don't know who is armed and who isn't. Unless you live in NYC, NJ or one of those other 2nd Amendment-hostile places. Just remember...it's better to be armed and not need your weapon than it is to be unarmed and suddenly find you do need a weapon.

[supercat]

You raise an interesting lexical question, which is, what is the antonym of paranoia?

Uh, liberalism?

[Nebr FAL owner]

An excellent bit of writing & FACTUALLY CORRECT!! That is what really bugs the left,factual accuracy.