12.20.12
WhiteManistan explains
Not his best shot.
“It’s very stress relieving,??? said Chad Knox, a paramedic who shoots targets and hunts small pests with [an AR-15] on his 40 acres in Marietta, Ohio. “Some people crochet, some people shop, some people shoot guns.???
Patrick Mason of Las Vegas uses his rifle for target practice with fruit in the desert. “I don’t want to shoot holes in pieces of paper, I want to watch a watermelon be destroyed,??? he said … “I don’t want to make it sound weird, but it’s almost like holding a live animal.”
[You sound weird, full stop. An AR-15 is not like a beloved pet cat.]
Its ability to shoot rapidly, [one AR-15 owner] said, makes it easier to thin a pack of predators.[America has predators. This was mentioned in the context of controlling coyotes. Coyotes live in Pasadena. They kill pets sometimes. I lost a cat and I’ve seen coyotes up close here. I’m not even slightly with the need to shoot them efficiently with assault rifles and neither is anyone else, here. In fact, it is illegal.]
Other gun owners shared his view. “They’ll use something else, a bomb next time or who knows what,??? Mr. Andrews said. He has a permit to carry a concealed handgun and has taken courses in how to respond to a gunman.
“Honestly, if you were in a bad situation, you’d want me to be there,??? he said.
A bomb. Bombs are not marketed at ChinaMart and Dick’s Sporting Goods.
I’m especially interested in the usage “small pests.” Why not say rats or rodents? What are “small pests” to be shot with an AR-15 on 40 acres in Georgia? Song birds? Ducks out of season? Cats that have strayed onto the property? Anything that moves that’s furry and less than 12 pounds?
All the “arguments” — and I use the term loosely, in the Times article used to defend the unusual arms fetish, now under — ahem, fire, are pretty bad. They’re from people who think their lame assertions sound legitimate. And, as typical from the Cult of AR-15 this week, they’re impossible to dress up. They look and sound like what they are: Not prone to self-examination rednecks who feel entitled to a hobby that has had very bad results for too many and greatly coarsened American civilization.
What else do the people chosen to defend the hobby in the New York Times going for them? Discuss, I want to know.
WhiteManistan — in pictures.