[Whitley]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Same here. And to my knowledge, none of my neighbors had guns. Most people I went to school with didn't have guns. A few had rifles because they lived on farms and needed them for when the coyotes got too close to the chicken coop but they used it sparingly. Freaking out the chickens with gunshots meant fewer eggs laid the next morning. And a few sometimes would go to the hunt club and bag themselves wild turkey for Thanksgiving dinner once a year. We had a friend of the family who was a supernumerary policeman, who had to leave his weapon in his car if he wanted to come into our house.

In college in Boston - I knew of no one who owned a firearm other than similar farm-raised students, who left them at their farms since they didn't need a rifle in the city. For personal protection, I had a knuckle-stick - which was illegal. It was on my keychain. About as thick as my thumb, four inches long, made of hard-wood with a metal rod going through it. If anyone tried giving me a hard time I'd shove it in their eye, or drive it into their leg. It wouldn't cut them but it could break a bone or pop an eye out. I'd recite Shakespeare out loud while walking to the 7-11 late at night for snacks, and gesticulated with my free hand while holding tight to the knuckle stick with the other hand. People thought I was one of the typical crazy people and stayed far away while I walked in any neighborhood I damn well felt like walking in. No firearm needed.

If they think you're crazier than they are, they won't bother you. It just requires a bit of confidence, and a lot of creativity. For people who lack confidence and creativity, there's firearms I guess.

So you carried this "knucklestick". An illegal knucklestick. Don't you see the slightest bit of hypocrisy here? You being ok with carrying an illegal item for protection.