Flying your Freak Flag (it's safe for work, unless you are in California, or Massachussets, or New York, or New Jersey, or...)

First, I must apologize to my blogfather, blog brothers and blog sister, and to all you loyal readers. I, Beans, committed a blog sin (well, sin to me) in that elsewhere in the blogoverse, I used my rightly appointed blogname in a post that became, well, rather heated. Not too bad, but I promised to myself that I wouldn’t use my bloghandle elsewhere in any way that might bring negative feelings towards this blog. Forgive me, for I have sinned.

And that’s what this post is about. Like the joke I tell: How can you tell the difference between a Democrat’s and a Republican’s car? The Dem’s car is held together by bumperstickers, the Rep’s car has resale value. Get it? There’s a long-standing rule amongst the Bean household, instituted by Mrs. Andrew (for she is far wiser and smarter than me) that we would never put anything on our cars that might unhinge (further) the (already unhinged) leftists and idiots (sometimes, but not always, the same thing) and cause them to damage, due to their unhinginess, our modes of transportation.

That means… no clever phrased stickers (oh, like ‘One Big Arsed Mistake, America) especially about certain trigger points (Gun Control means Hitting Your Target) or stickers showing our political affiliation (what party or party’s candidate we support, just in case, yeah, right, up here, there is more than one candidate) or showing our membership in various civil rights organizations (hah, I won’t leave any clues, because if you can’t guess, you haven’t been reading my latest post) or any hobbies we have (I mean, if you can’t tell from the fact that there’s rattan polearms and shields strapped to the top of the van that I’m involved in weird stuff…)

We openly violated the rule when my lovely wife, Mrs. Andrew (for those at home not keeping score,) graduated from FSU (why FSU? Because the university in our home town was too snobbish to do on-line degrees, that’s why, so suck it Gator Nation) and we got a ‘FSU Alumni’ front vanity plate (because we in Florida only need one license plate, on the rear, it leaves the front spot open for all sorts of things.)

But, well, I’m reevaluating that position. Elsewhere, there has been much discussion on Open Carry LARPers (larper is a Live Action Role Playing person, basically, like, Star Trek re-enactors who play a scenario, or Ampgard who use foam swords and socks (spell balls) and other people like that.) who carry long guns openly in areas where they are allowed to. Specifically those Florida Carry people who showed up to the 2nd Open Carry Fishing Event (Okay, Florida has a ‘if you are fishing you may open carry’ law) over-carrying in order to prove a point. The point being that it’s legal to open carry while fishing (as I already said.) Why did they do this? Because the 1st Open Carry Fishing Event ended up with a bunch of LEOs who didn’t know the law freaking out because the open carriers were openly carrying pistols, rather than carrying them concealed. Who was freaked out? The Po-Po. Maybe a few ‘citizens’ who came from up north, but the very people who are entrusted to enforce the law! So Florida Carry said, basically, it’s the law, and went overboard at their second event in order to prove it.   In your Face!  Because it's the LAW!  And here's the law (hands pamphlet with correct FL statute outlined.)  Done all peacefully and with no malice, but done to 11 on a 10 scale because the first time they did it, the Dur-hur stupids freaked out (that being the police and local prosecutors.)(And much shame egg-yolk on their collective faces when faced with the actual law...)

And then there’s a picture at another blog, of 3 guys at a fast food joint, standing in line, clean, well dressed, two have pistols and one has a slung AR-ish type rifle over his shoulder and a pstol.

Does this scare you? Why? Essays due at end of class. You have 60 minutes and one bluebook each.
Prove with valid examples or you will fail. 

And extra-credit, does that AR make that guy's ass look fat?
from mcthag.blogspot.com/2019/09/which-is-scarier.html

What this resulted in was a bunch of pro-gun rights bloggers freaking out and calling the people who open carry basically anything from ‘stupid’ to ‘Enemy, REEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeee!’ (picture Donald Southerland from remake of ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers.’) 

 

Yeah, like that.  Who's more scary, the person being pointed at or the person pointing?
from a still of the movie "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" from some stupid website that didn't cite the original source, and my head hurts so if you want a valid citation, I'll get to it after my stupid head stops hurting.
Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee....

 
Why? Because they (the pro-gun rights bloggers) feel that people asserting their rights is bad for allowing us our rights, or something like that.

And, me, Beans, couldn’t keep my fat trap shut. Because, well, it’s me.  And my head hurts.  And the restraining bolt that OldAFSarge installed was removed by some yokel at a moisture harvesting farm...

Okay, here it goes.

There’s a saying, in reference to one’s right to have a speedy trial, that ‘Justice delayed is justice denied.’ That denying an accused person a speedy trial is denying them justice. See? Simple, huh? People have been set free because the prosecution can’t get their stuff together and get a trial set. Because, justice delayed is justice denied. Simple, right?

Basically it follows the concept of ‘Use it or lose it.’ A rather simple statement, right? Well… therein lies the problem.

In the gun world, there is a huge feeling of ‘don’t rock the boat, don’t do anything that will get us noticed, else we’ll lose our gun rights.’

What ‘gun rights’? You mean, actually, the few parts of the whole ‘Gun Rights’ issue that we still have? They aren’t gun rights anymore. If someone can say what you can and can’t do, it’s an allowance. Like the money mommy and daddy give the kiddy to put into his or her piggy bank. By law, that money belongs to mommy and daddy. Why, because mommy and daddy are allowing the kiddy to hold it for them (kinda, it's weird, but you get the point, right?)

We don’t have gun rights anymore. We have gun allowances. And every year, more and more of that allowance is being taken back by mommy and daddy (government, of all varieties, from local, to state, to federal, to international (yeah, some of the arms treaties we are involved in actually restrict our gun rights here, no, seriously)) from us kiddies. Sure, we’re getting bigger allowances in some places, but we’re losing the allowance quickly in others. (Just this week, the NY attorney general sent out letters to 80% lower manufacturers and sellers saying they are in violation of NY’s stupid ‘assault rifle’ rules. An 80% lower is basically the semi-machined blank, basically a somewhat refined chunk of material, that has no screw holes, or pin holes or, magazine hole or anything that would allow it to function as a valid gun part. It’s just a modern sculpture until a lot of work is done.  Accurately finishing the unfinished part actually is more difficult than it sounds, needing special tooling and tools for the average person to correctly finish as a useable lower.)

So the Government acts like our gun rights, as stated in the 2nd Amendment, that whole ‘Shall not be infringed’ thingy, is actually an allowance by the government to us stupid peasants.

Thus, well, open carrying might upset someone and we’ll lose our allowance to open carry (the gun people call it a right, it isn’t any more. It’s an allowance.) because it might upset someone.

Ooooooooo. Booga-Booba. The way they are acting,  an Open Carrier walking down the street is scarier than the group of wildings playing the knockout game.  Or scarier than the open use of drugs and needles everywhere and people overdosing in public.  Or scarier than people pooping and peeing in the street. Or illegal immigrants forcing their way in to our country and demanding we take care of them. Or illegals suing us in our own courts in order to stay in this country, and force us to pay them lots and lots of money. Or politicians and bureaucrats and government employees openly violating the laws of this country and their oaths of office. Or a whole country blackmailing an industry (kinda like, oh, Communist China forcing Hollyweird to be even more anti-American than they used to be.)

So. Does open carrying of a rifle or pistol, where it is legal to open carry, bother you? If so, why?

Because, well, to me, to deny a person the chance to open carry because it scares or bothers you, where it is legal to open carry, is to deny that person or persons their rights. Thus you have turned a right into an allowance. And you are mommy or daddy punishing the poor kid for doing something he is nominally allowed to do.

Follow that? No? Okay, if you’re butt-hurt because some Open Carry LARPer is open carrying because the law says it is legal to open carry but you don’t agree with the law and you see the open carrier as the problem, well, you’re wrong. You are the problem. Whether you are a leftist, treehugging, gender variable, radical vegan, or a supposed gun-rights author, you, if you deny a right, are the problem. Not the right. The right isn’t the problem. The problem is… You.

If you say you are for a right, yet you deny any aspect of that right, you really aren’t for that right. You are for an allowance.

The first step in getting a right acknowledged as a right, and not as an allowance, is to exercise that right, where it’s allowed.

Like not wearing a helmet or safety gear while riding a motorcycle.

Or wearing bondage gear openly.

Or wearing a Che! Shirt.

Or calling for impeachment just because your butt hurts.

Or supporting the Florida Gators.

Or… Open Carrying.

Just because it bothers you or it's terribly stupid (like supporting the Florida Gators) doesn’t mean it’s not legal.



Do I think open carry is good?  Well, yeah, done correctly.  I mean, there are just some places that a nice 3lb field howitzer won't be appropriate, like at a restaurant or a movie theater, just like that Martini-Henry isn't appropriate.  But a nice M1 Carbine?  Or an AR-M4gery?  Or a pistol?  Carried while not raising hell, while acting appropriately?  And as the law of the area allows?  Whatevs.  It donna fach me.  6" belt knife?  Tomahawk? A full set of Samurai swords including all the daggers and a No Dachi?  Whatever.  Just keep it to yourself, dude, and there isn't going to be an issue.

Seriously.  I have been around armed (with live, real weapons) people of all stripes for a good portion of my life.  And I have never seen someone use the live, real weapons for anything inappropriate.  Why?  Because the other people armed with weapons would enforce said unstated statute of acting appropriately, by force if need be.  So, to me, seeing someone dressed nice, wearing arms, doesn't bother me at all.  

Some mope with his pants around his knees and a gun shoved in his crotch screaming at me for being in the wrong section of town?  Yes, that bothers me.  And really makes me wish I could open carry, legally.  While I get out of that section of town.



So.  Back to the 'flying freak flag' thing, well, dang it.  I've been fudding as much as some of the gun-rights fuds have.  Why?  Because I haven't put the stickers on my car.  I don't wear pro-2A tshirts or hats.  I don't fly my freak flag in other people's faces.  And sometimes, dangit, the freak flag must fly.   Well, as long as Mrs. Andrew allows it.


Boy, this was a convoluted post, wasn't it?  Imagine what it's like inside my head 24/7/365/6!