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Dani Tseng

@Impossible_PhD Also also? Not to put too fine a point on it, but arming one's self is a responsibility - to do so safely involves building and maintaining perishable skills. And the best time to have started that is not "now" it's "some years ago".

Weapons aren't magic talismans; they're tools with a specific purpose and like any other tool they're not that useful for someone who doesn't know what they're doing.

8 November at 2:53 | Wall-to-wall | Open on mastodon.sandwich.net
23 comments
Doc Impossible
David D. Levine

@Dani Saying "you must do this thing, but you have to have started some years ago" is never useful. It's redundant to those who already have done it and worthless to those who haven't.

8 November at 4:31 | Open on wandering.shop
Wyatt H Knott

@daviddlevine @Dani It's not at all worthless to those who haven't in this case, the point is don't start now if you don't want to get dead because you can't get to where you need to be to stay alive in the time you have left.

The most important thing is, if you bring a gun to the fight, the fight will be about the gun. Are you prepared to struggle for possession of a firearm? Doubt it.

8 November at 5:10 | Open on mastodon.social
Dani Tseng

@daviddlevine it's extremely useful; it establishes a reality check on what investment is necessary to be competent to with a tool in order to accomplish some goal.

If someone isn't capable of coming to terms with that idea, I'd prefer they not do the thing.

8 November at 5:10 | Open on mastodon.sandwich.net
David D. Levine

@Dani Okay, I see now what you were trying to say. It's a valid and very important point, but I'm afraid the words in your initial post didn't convey that message well.

8 November at 11:50 | Open on wandering.shop
Mx Verda

@daviddlevine @Dani
Reasonable criticism.
How would you best summarise it to a scared, tired person with caring responsibilities, if you feel up to it?

9 November at 22:26 | Open on lgbtqia.space
Dani Tseng replied to Mx

@MxVerda
The advice I'm giving to my family and friends who are trying to protect themselves is to learn to keep awareness of your surroundings, pepper spray (there's practice canisters with water) and if practical, cardio.

That will get one out of a lot of bad situations and there's not many where also having a pistol would be much better.

Ever bullet you fire you're responsible for. Doc pointed out the perspective of the barrier to try to kill people... which, absolutely.

@daviddlevine

@MxVerda
The advice I'm giving to my family and friends who are trying to protect themselves is to learn to keep awareness of your surroundings, pepper spray (there's practice canisters with water) and if practical, cardio.

That will get one out of a lot of bad situations and there's not many where also having a pistol would be much better.

9 November at 22:44 | Open on mastodon.sandwich.net
Dani Tseng replied to Dani

@MxVerda
But there's also the question of, in a situation where you're panicking, where will possible bullets that miss _go_? And are you confident enough in yourself that you can try to fire in time without delay and also be sure that you won't have bullets going... say, down a street. Or into a car. Into a house?

Pepper spray, at worse, someone is having an unpleasant day but will live. But avoiding things in the first place is safer still.

@daviddlevine

@MxVerda
But there's also the question of, in a situation where you're panicking, where will possible bullets that miss _go_? And are you confident enough in yourself that you can try to fire in time without delay and also be sure that you won't have bullets going... say, down a street. Or into a car. Into a house?

9 November at 22:47 | Open on mastodon.sandwich.net
David D. Levine replied to Dani
Mx Verda replied to Dani

@Dani
Isaac Newton is the deadliest son of a bitch in space.
@daviddlevine

9 November at 22:49 | Open on lgbtqia.space
Dani Tseng replied to Mx

@MxVerda
Damn right.

I had cause at one point in my professional career to do reconstruction of a scene where an off duty cop shot at someone in an alleyway. There were misses found as bullet holes in garage doors in the alley and in houses a hundred yards away.

No bystander was hurt but... this was someone who is theoretically trained, and would have legal protections if a bystander _was_ hit.

I'm paying for my own training and have no such protection.

@daviddlevine

@MxVerda
Damn right.

I had cause at one point in my professional career to do reconstruction of a scene where an off duty cop shot at someone in an alleyway. There were misses found as bullet holes in garage doors in the alley and in houses a hundred yards away.

No bystander was hurt but... this was someone who is theoretically trained, and would have legal protections if a bystander _was_ hit.

9 November at 22:56 | Open on mastodon.sandwich.net
Donald Ball

@daviddlevine @Dani I would say it advises those that haven’t how they might better use their precious time.

8 November at 11:28 | Open on triangletoot.party
P J Evans

@Dani @Impossible_PhD
If you must get a firearm, go with a shotgun. Less skill required. They're common in rural homes...near the front door, which friends don't use.

8 November at 6:01 | Open on mas.to
crazyeddie

@Dani @Impossible_PhD Meh, pretty much everyone knows how to use a hammer and it's not a whole lot more complex than that. You have to maintain and secure it because it's more dangerous than a hammer. Mistakes are a bit more costly. It's not complicated though. You can go practice aiming and such to be better, but you don't need to be Rambo to rid the world of bigots trying to rid it of you. You better be willing though, and you might lose still and lose harder so...everyone's got choices

8 November at 8:21 | Open on mastodon.social
Mx Verda

@crazyeddie

I get the frustration, the anger, pain, resignation and worry.
If you need to defend yourself or someone else, then please do.

But defense can take many forms.
To get reductionist with it, you can defend against someone with a weapon by injuring them so they can no longer use it.

Or you can disarm them.
Or you can reduce their will to fight through intimidation. (Including mockery, “defeating them with facts and logic”, reminding them of the cost of conflict, even just not backing down can be enough!)
Or you can make them see your humanity and theirs.
Start at the bottom and work your way up.

The point is to avoid worse consequences for both of you and anyone nearby.

@Dani @Impossible_PhD

@crazyeddie

I get the frustration, the anger, pain, resignation and worry.
If you need to defend yourself or someone else, then please do.

But defense can take many forms.
To get reductionist with it, you can defend against someone with a weapon by injuring them so they can no longer use it.

Or you can disarm them.
Or you can reduce their will to fight through intimidation. (Including mockery, “defeating them with facts and logic”, reminding them of the cost of conflict, even just not backing down can be enough!)

9 November at 22:29 | Open on lgbtqia.space
Wendy 🏳️‍⚧️

@Dani @Impossible_PhD

I own guns. Despite everything I believe about guns, I have thought about carrying because I just haven't felt safe.

This is exactly why I have decided I cannot allow myself to carry one.

8 November at 12:21 | Open on chaosfem.tw
Dani Tseng
Wendy 🏳️‍⚧️

@Dani
I was raised with guns. Thankfully there was never much of the crazy, racist personal protection crap that dominates gun culture now.

Guns were tools for hunting and life on the farm.

I learned early to care for and maintain the tool. Safety was drilled in constantly.

I've never been able to imagine them being banned outright. I have always thought they should be a lot harder to own than an automobile.

Gun culture in this country is astoundingly insane and dangerous. Immensely misogynist and racist.

A gun is the last thing I should have on hand if I'm already afraid.

@Impossible_PhD

@Dani
I was raised with guns. Thankfully there was never much of the crazy, racist personal protection crap that dominates gun culture now.

Guns were tools for hunting and life on the farm.

I learned early to care for and maintain the tool. Safety was drilled in constantly.

I've never been able to imagine them being banned outright. I have always thought they should be a lot harder to own than an automobile.

8 November at 12:44 | Open on chaosfem.tw
Dani Tseng

@Wendy
Exactly. There's always this thought, drilled in by action movies or god knows what else that situations to defend one's life are analogous to even just shooting paper at a range. Simple right?

But doing _anything_ under pressure is different. And under that much pressure...?

@Impossible_PhD

8 November at 12:47 | Open on mastodon.sandwich.net
Kevin Leecaster

@Dani @Impossible_PhD
Our military and other government employees who take one take an oath to the constitution.

How they react to Trumpism will go a long way towards defining what our resistance is going to be.

8 November at 16:26 | Open on mstdn.social
Dani Tseng
Mx Verda

@Dani @Impossible_PhD yep. If you aren’t very competent in using a tool and keeping hold of it in relevant contexts, then all you’re doing is giving them a free gun to use near you.

9 November at 22:31 | Open on lgbtqia.space
Dani Tseng

@MxVerda
There's a dark, half joking term for people who spend money on weaponry but not on training.

"Loot drop"

@Impossible_PhD

9 November at 22:49 | Open on mastodon.sandwich.net
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