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Why I gave up my guns (NY bred metrosexual loses his nerve, throws in the towel on gun ownership)
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS ^ | Friday, January 11, 2013 | Patrick Blanchfield

Posted on 01/12/2013 2:06:42 PM PST by DogByte6RER

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To: freeandfreezing
Just to clarify the timeline:

Until 2005, Blanchfield was at Harvard, probably living in Cambridge MA.

It looks like Blanchfield spent some part of 2005, probably the summer, overseas in Europe.

From September 2005 until May 2006 his resume says he was " Director of Communications for the International Debate Education Association (IDEA) at Willamette University, Salem, Oregon." So that's presumably when he was "out West."

By Fall 2008 Blanchfield was apparently living in Georgia, which is when and where he had his supposed epiphany.

So objectively, the period of time from when he went "out West" to his epiphany was about 3 years. He describes in his article as:

"But when I moved first out West, and then to the South, I got into guns big-time. I’ve owned a dozen guns over the years, including a Bushmaster AR-15, and have fired scores more. I’ve put in countless hours at the range, in the woods, and at gun shows."

Just the kind of spinning of the facts that probably makes one highly valuable in the world of for hire resume and essay "editing".

181 posted on 01/12/2013 7:38:41 PM PST by freeandfreezing
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To: Zhang Fei

My house has no doorbell but once my wife bought a battery powered one that mounted with adhesive and put it next to the front door. It was a very loud buzzer, not a ringer. One night it rained hard and moisture got into the doorbell. I was awakened from a pleasant dream at around three AM and grabbed a revolver from the nightstand and went straight to the door yelling that I was going to shoot the SOB who was holding my doorbell down in the middle of the night. My wife was yelling at me to stop, she had already figured out that it was moisture in the switch causing the bell to go off. Her yelling woke me up enough to realize I didn’t need to kill anybody. I don’t do very well sometimes when I am awakened from a dream!

Needless to say I got rid of the damned doorbell.


182 posted on 01/12/2013 8:40:08 PM PST by RipSawyer (I was born on Earth, what planet is this?)
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To: jimbobfoster

I concur. I’ve been in tougher situations with less training than he claims he has had and kept my head just fine, and I’m no hero.

The lefties often claim that those of us who own guns do so to feel manly. I think that may be the exact reason this guy purchased the gun, because he felt he was an unmanly little schlub.

And lastly, he clearly didn’t rehearse what he would do in a home invasion, left the gun unloaded (why in the world would you leave a home defense weapon unloaded in a home with no kids?) and didn’t include fast reloading in his range training. in other words, he didn’t know the first thing about using the weapon in the situation he found himself in, but now claims that the weapon is useless.


183 posted on 01/12/2013 9:01:58 PM PST by Mr. Silverback (Don't worry about the cliff. We're going to all land on some rich guy's wallet.)
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To: DogByte6RER
Not in fantasy, but in real life, the chance to flex my finger with three pounds of pressure and shoot another human being dead in my driveway because he wanted to steal my TV.

Moron. You think the kind of guy who (as another burglar did earlier in the story) shows up at your door with a shotgun would have just said, "Sorry ma'am, we're just here for the TV if they had come across your girlfriend while they were in the house? How about that home invasion the other day where the perp chased the mom and kids all the way to the attic crawlspace and she had to put five rounds in him? You think he thought her TV was in the attic crawlspace?

184 posted on 01/12/2013 9:07:38 PM PST by Mr. Silverback (Don't worry about the cliff. We're going to all land on some rich guy's wallet.)
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To: DogByte6RER
Sorry, one more comment.

Blithely wielding the power to kill does not make you heroic, and it will not make you safe. We are not free if we choose to continue living in fantasy, and we are not brave if we choose to continue living in fear.

First, he's an arrogant twit for assuming that because he was "living in fear" the rest of us are. And good grief, your girlfriend calls the police during an armed break-in, then calls you and you beat the police to your apartment and you still think that depending on the police is not only the smart play, but the only play? Future Darwin Award winner, right there.

185 posted on 01/12/2013 9:13:45 PM PST by Mr. Silverback (Don't worry about the cliff. We're going to all land on some rich guy's wallet.)
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To: RipSawyer
My house has no doorbell but once my wife bought a battery powered one that mounted with adhesive and put it next to the front door. It was a very loud buzzer, not a ringer. One night it rained hard and moisture got into the doorbell. I was awakened from a pleasant dream at around three AM and grabbed a revolver from the nightstand and went straight to the door yelling that I was going to shoot the SOB who was holding my doorbell down in the middle of the night. My wife was yelling at me to stop, she had already figured out that it was moisture in the switch causing the bell to go off. Her yelling woke me up enough to realize I didn’t need to kill anybody. I don’t do very well sometimes when I am awakened from a dream! Needless to say I got rid of the damned doorbell.

Great story. Glad you never did end up doing any damage to your front door. In my case, I heard what sounded like splintering wood so it wasn't a false alarm. My landlord replaced the door - which appeared to have been worked over with a crowbar - with a more sturdy one and (obviously) put in a new lock.

186 posted on 01/12/2013 9:14:23 PM PST by Zhang Fei (Let us pray that peace be now restored to the world and that God will preserve it always.)
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To: The Cajun
Though I'm not going to say this guy is telling the truth, don't be so quick to write off the part about the shells. A lot of people who only shoot on the range or shoot skeet load their shells in a very unhurried situation, in full light with no stress at all. This guy may have seen himself (as he says we do) as a hero in his own personal action movie and just figured he'd know what to do when the time came. then he "trained" for a situation where there was no threat and no hurry.

The way you train makes a vast difference in how you act in an emergency. For years, police and other shooters have heard that these CHP officers died because they were policing up their brass during the firefight, just as they had done on the range. It turns out that may not be true, but the fact that people with hundreds of hours of range time and maybe even a firefight or two under their belt saw how that could have happened and changed their training methods tells us something about range vs. real life. That something is apparently beyond the now-defenseless PhD candidate who thinks he's heroically brave because he is leaving the woman who depends on him defenseless and announcing it to the world.

187 posted on 01/12/2013 9:29:14 PM PST by Mr. Silverback (Don't worry about the cliff. We're going to all land on some rich guy's wallet.)
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To: Tijeras_Slim

Yeah, I hadn’t caught the release thing, and never believed the racking story because the suspect was already out of the place and disposed to leave.


188 posted on 01/12/2013 9:31:39 PM PST by Mr. Silverback (Don't worry about the cliff. We're going to all land on some rich guy's wallet.)
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To: Valpal1

I think he is lying, but...

Consider the difference between loading the shells at the range, on a sunny day, having a good time with your buddies, no stress, no time limit, no enemy vs. having to do it in the dark, under stress, adrenaline flowing and a guy who might want to kill you lurking nearby.

That’s why people who get a weapon for home defense need to train for home defense, not just go to the range.


189 posted on 01/12/2013 9:36:36 PM PST by Mr. Silverback (Don't worry about the cliff. We're going to all land on some rich guy's wallet.)
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To: DogByte6RER

Sooooo, because this guy soiled his panties when it came time to be a protector, he doesn’t think anyone should be trusted with guns?


190 posted on 01/12/2013 9:37:34 PM PST by Washi (Socialism is Slavery)
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To: Mr. Silverback

Dude, read that crap just a little closer.


191 posted on 01/12/2013 9:38:33 PM PST by eyedigress ((zOld storm chaser from the west)/?)
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To: freeandfreezing

Hell, shooting at a “gun show” is completely off limits. Pull a dry fire at a retail shop on watch your ass being escorted out the door.

This story is 100% bullshit lib left from the get go.


192 posted on 01/12/2013 9:43:36 PM PST by eyedigress ((zOld storm chaser from the west)/?)
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To: DogByte6RER

I got my opportunity to play hero. Not in fantasy, but in real life, the chance to flex my finger with three pounds of pressure and shoot another human being dead in my driveway because he wanted to steal my TV.”

I would never kill anyone over property...life is to be valued more than property. I would NEVER shoot someone in my “driveway” and I don’t think most responsible persons would. However, if I (especially with wife and children present) am inside the home while someone is attempting to enter my home...I must assume they pose a credible treat to my lives of my family. That being the case, I would shoot without hesistation if necessary. IF the person violating my families safety is wounded or killed I would not take any joy in that, would probably be sick, but I would NOT regret it.

Several years ago I made the conscience decision that I would no longer carry a concealed weapon in public unless it was a very high risk situation. I personnally did not want the responsibility that being armed in public carried (it had nothing to do with being liberal and a wuss). However, that was my choice, and NOT one I would EVER want to impose on another....plus the times could cause me to change my mind.

BTW - After reading this weenie’s account, I realized he was blowing bull about having gotten into the gun culture. I have had handgun training by law enforcement professionals back in the late 90s when I needed an armed P.I. license. The reflex actions of loading, etc. are automatic...that is what training and practice does. Recently I got to participate in a “cold” (no prior practice or warning) session on a military M9 simulation pistol range. I hadn’t fired such a firearm is 7 years but the relexes were still there....which I was surprized by. I did better than an actively serving full time police officer from a major city. Training doesn’t ever completly go away. I put down 29 of 30 pop-up targets while having to drop empty clips, insert a new one...release the slide and continue firing....it was shockingly smooth after such a long lapse.

So, he sounds like a plain fool to me...and probably shouldn’t have been handling firearms because he was not properly trained or mentally conditioned to use them.


193 posted on 01/12/2013 9:45:46 PM PST by Sola Veritas (Trying to speak truth - not always with the best grammar or spelling)
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To: Mr. Silverback
Technically he sounds like someone who watched a pump being loaded, but never loaded one himself.
Just my opinion.
He also sounds like an anti-gun dweeb who is trying to convince people, who don't own guns, not to buy any.
This crap article is not meant for people who do own guns.
Just my opinion again.
194 posted on 01/12/2013 9:51:29 PM PST by The Cajun (Sarah Palin, Mark Levin......Nuff said.)
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To: Sola Veritas

It’s a made up story. People don’t get a single shell loaded and then start dispersing numerous shells intact on the floor.


195 posted on 01/12/2013 9:52:43 PM PST by eyedigress ((zOld storm chaser from the west)/?)
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To: FredZarguna

Bravo!

You’re more creative than I ever imagined.


196 posted on 01/12/2013 10:23:18 PM PST by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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To: DogByte6RER

This wuss should give up guns. He is one of many that will always need protected by real men and real women as he is obviously incapable of doing it for himself or his loved ones...


197 posted on 01/12/2013 11:20:28 PM PST by SECURE AMERICA (Where can I sign up for the American Revolution 2013 and the Crusades 2013?)
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To: JRandomFreeper
You are so clueless that if we stripped you naked, soaked you in clue musk, and dropped you into a field full of horny clues, You still would not have a clue

I'm stealing this, it's epic.

198 posted on 01/12/2013 11:32:15 PM PST by Valpal1
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To: JRandomFreeper
You are so clueless that if we stripped you naked, soaked you in clue musk, and dropped you into a field full of horny clues, You still would not have a clue

I'm stealing this, it's epic.

199 posted on 01/12/2013 11:32:33 PM PST by Valpal1
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To: DogByte6RER
Author is responding to comments on the site, under an alias: Atlanta_Neuroscientist. He doesn't have the guts to admit it, of course, and may even deny it, but his defenses are very similar to the writing tone of the original article, and several times he leaps to the authors defense.

You can see clearly behind his little Guy Fawkes mask.

200 posted on 01/12/2013 11:37:42 PM PST by Lazamataz (LAZ'S LAW: As an argument with liberals goes on, the probability of being called racist approaches 1)
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