Of Crazed Co-Workers and the Way Out
Hey, all - just wanted to share a moment I had recently.
Not an epiphany really, more a moment of clarity, of deeper realization.
And a smile along with it.
A few days ago, in the factory where I work, a new-hired welder caused quite a stir.
Obviously homeless and living in his car, he seemed a little odd to begin with.
Then, just the day before, (his second day on the job), while washing his hands in the bathroom he asks the guy next to him IF HE'S EVER EATEN HUMAN FLESH?
He added that it WAS REALLY QUITE GOOD FOR YOU. That IT CURED MANY ILLNESSES and HEALED OPEN SORES!!
The industrial sized bathroom, filled with perhaps a dozen men, went dead silent.
The welder I heard it from said the new guy holds running conversations with himself and he was pretty sure he had multiple personalities.
My friend was furious - a little spooked no doubt - that management would endanger us all rather than deal quickly with the situation.
I have to admit the fear was contagious and it wasn't long before I was giving considerable thought to workplace violence - thoughts that took on a whole new character now that the threat seemed almost imminent.
My fear quickened when I pictured him, eyes ablaze and weapons firing, and I felt the foreshadow of despair, the helpless victim against a maniacal gunman.
I thought of my own gun, that perhaps I should "carry" for a while. But my company, like every other, has Zero Tolerance toward such things, and I knew I wouldn't.
What were the odds that the new guy truly would go "postal"? Very remote.
And the odds that I would be caught and fired, trying to conceal a Glock 17 while crawling in and out of boats all day? A virtual certainty.
But the funny thing was, even when I imagined having my own gun, I didn't feel safe. I was still scared.
Yeah I can shoot straight, but I've never been in a gunfight and felt no confidence that I would prevail in a one on one shoot-out.
What if we ALL "carried" for a while, I thought, if the whole damn shop just started packing until this was over.
And for the first time since I began this chain of thoughts my anxiety diminished a little.
And then it hit me, with a shock and a smile, - my moment of clarity - that I trust the Average Person completely.
Really. No joke.
How much safer would we be if everyone carried all the time? If any (sane) person (without a history of violence) could carry whenever they liked.
Young and old, men and women. What if universal carry were our cultural norm.
What would happen to our crime rate?
If every criminal had every expectation of being stopped, caught and taken down.
Like John Lennon could never have -
"IMAGINE all the people living life in PEACE!"
Yeah, I know, blasphemy! Yet still the Truth.
Can I get a big " Hell Yeah!"?
Ha!
Not an epiphany really, more a moment of clarity, of deeper realization.
And a smile along with it.
A few days ago, in the factory where I work, a new-hired welder caused quite a stir.
Obviously homeless and living in his car, he seemed a little odd to begin with.
Then, just the day before, (his second day on the job), while washing his hands in the bathroom he asks the guy next to him IF HE'S EVER EATEN HUMAN FLESH?
He added that it WAS REALLY QUITE GOOD FOR YOU. That IT CURED MANY ILLNESSES and HEALED OPEN SORES!!
The industrial sized bathroom, filled with perhaps a dozen men, went dead silent.
The welder I heard it from said the new guy holds running conversations with himself and he was pretty sure he had multiple personalities.
My friend was furious - a little spooked no doubt - that management would endanger us all rather than deal quickly with the situation.
I have to admit the fear was contagious and it wasn't long before I was giving considerable thought to workplace violence - thoughts that took on a whole new character now that the threat seemed almost imminent.
My fear quickened when I pictured him, eyes ablaze and weapons firing, and I felt the foreshadow of despair, the helpless victim against a maniacal gunman.
I thought of my own gun, that perhaps I should "carry" for a while. But my company, like every other, has Zero Tolerance toward such things, and I knew I wouldn't.
What were the odds that the new guy truly would go "postal"? Very remote.
And the odds that I would be caught and fired, trying to conceal a Glock 17 while crawling in and out of boats all day? A virtual certainty.
But the funny thing was, even when I imagined having my own gun, I didn't feel safe. I was still scared.
Yeah I can shoot straight, but I've never been in a gunfight and felt no confidence that I would prevail in a one on one shoot-out.
What if we ALL "carried" for a while, I thought, if the whole damn shop just started packing until this was over.
And for the first time since I began this chain of thoughts my anxiety diminished a little.
And then it hit me, with a shock and a smile, - my moment of clarity - that I trust the Average Person completely.
Really. No joke.
How much safer would we be if everyone carried all the time? If any (sane) person (without a history of violence) could carry whenever they liked.
Young and old, men and women. What if universal carry were our cultural norm.
What would happen to our crime rate?
If every criminal had every expectation of being stopped, caught and taken down.
Like John Lennon could never have -
"IMAGINE all the people living life in PEACE!"
Yeah, I know, blasphemy! Yet still the Truth.
Can I get a big " Hell Yeah!"?
Ha!
Hell yeah!
Hell, he's probably just scamming for unemployment.
I was just sharing my moment, my realization.
Every gun-rights opponent takes it as GIVEN that you cannot trust the average man. That we are just irrational animals.
I just realized that deep down, in my unbidden emotional core, I DO trust him/her. That we are in fact RATIONAL at heart.
99.99% of people feel compassion and revulsion when faced with human suffering - not sexual excitement.
The Average Man is us. And he/she is not average!
everyone would be armed. . great idea!!! -- j
.
I never felt safer than when armed and in the company of well trained others also armed. Many hunting parties and trips to shooting ranges have convinced me that there are no more respectful and courteous environments.
I manage to carry a full size Ruger SR9 concealed, but a Glock 17 would be like carrying a brick. Maybe you should trade it for a 19...