Wow that’s horrific and I’m so glad it exists.
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Not to mention where you stopped…
...killers who scheme to destroy our country with massive storms of violence against our power grids or vicious waves of chemicals or disease that could collapse as a society that sustains us all.Supervillains are terrifying, but I wonder exactly how more people carrying guns is supposed to help against all *that*.
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Thanks! Nice one, I read it top to bottom.
A good reminder that everything that stores energy can bite you when you get too complacent around it. And it is not just guns; explosives, fire and combustibles, corrosive chemicals, mains electricity, charged capacitors, even staircases, everything is out there, waiting for your mistake like a coiled snake ready to strike.
As a kid I had a book about electricity mishaps. Had nice individual stories, first half of the subchapter was the story, second half its analysis. I loved it. I should find where it is and get it back.
And a local police museum has one pretty exhibit: a jar of alcohol or formaldehyde, with a severed hand with bad electricity burns (charred to the bone), still grasping a chisel. (Todo: find the photo I took, upload to Wikimedia.)
Despite that, even when paying attention you still are liable to make a mistake here and there. (Especially insidious are flash capacitors in digital cameras. They keep charge for over a day even with batteries out.) So far I was lucky with mains power, even despite a number of rather close encounters - what a buzz it gives! I still have to earn my first laser burn, though.
With guns, I had only one minor mishap; only at a range and only hitting the floor towards the target at about 45 degree angle, but a gun going off without being explicitly told is a potent reminder of good manners. (Always keep finger off the trigger until the thing points in the desired direction, and don’t point it in the undesired direction if at all possible. Like with lasers of higher than insignificant power and anything else capable of projecting energy to a distance.)
Also, a nice stored-energy hazards reminder, also with a few pics. A fingertip lost to a pair of sweet, enviably big NdFeB magnets.
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You could also use a cherry bomb
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Reminds me of
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I think you are my favourite mad scientist Shaddack 
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Again, I’ll note for the BB readership (since this is probably a somewhat uncommon thing for BB readers). I like guns. I’m an avid target shooter. I own several that live in a very secure safe. I am not, and never have been a NRA member.
Frankly, they’re batshit insane. You’re absolutely correct in that they perpetuate a crazy fantasy view of the world. Why? It’s necessary for your supporters to think that they’re under siege, that Obammer’s comin’ to take their guns, that people are just waiting to kick in their door and assault their families. How else do you get blind acceptance of an organization that has a zero tolerance approach to any sort of legislation regarding limits or restrictions on civilian gun ownership? Mental health evaluations before being able to buy a gun? Why that’s a violation of my 2nd amendment rights! You get the point.
And, as any gun owner/shooter knows, their influence is absolutely pervasive. Most if not all gun shops have promotional material for them pasted all over the place. When you check out, you’re often asked if you want to “round up for the NRA” (which means do you want to round the total bill up to the nearest dollar with the “change” going to the NRA). The social pressure to say “yes” (which I don’t) when you buy any supplies or ammo is pretty palpable. Events, programs, and some entire ranges are sponsored by the NRA.
There are a lot of less insane advocacy groups out there, many being fairly small state limited groups. I’d suggest that any gun owners support them in lieu of the NRA because an absolutely inflexible dogmatic approach to a social issue never works. It inevitably leads to one of a few situations 1) failure through irrelevance as you’re left behind changing social mores 2) failure through replacement as your inflexible worldview is replaced by other groups with more reasonable views, and who possess a willingness to compromise and adjust to the times. or 3) the ever elusive total social dominance where your “black or white” worldview is somehow the one adopted by society (not likely to happen NRA).
The situation is much like what is happening with the Republican party. I’m not one myself, but I know a number of previously dedicated Republicans (generally the well educated ones) that may have been ardent repubs in decades past due to fiscal conservatism etc… that have found themselves drifting further and further from the Republican party as their message gets more and more batshit. Several that I know have changed party alliance, some even becoming (can you imagine it… Democrats! EEK!).
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The issue is not that she was untrained. You are required to undergo training, including tests of proficiency with a particular firearm, to qualify for a CCW. The problem is that the “training” is ridiculously insufficient.
And I agree, unless you have the most ridiculously unsafe/cheap gun, they don’t accidentally discharge, and then it’s usually only when being reholstered or manipulated in some form. I agree, she was screwing around or otherwise manipulating her gun (which there’s no reason for her to be doing in a goddamn elementary school).
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Just real quick-like, I googled that and found one doc to serve as a random sample. A 2011 NYC report on police officer gun discharges. In the section “Unintentional Discharges” (a whole section in each annual report for what you claim could not have happened), we find:
UNINTENTIONAL DISCHARGES: AN OVERVIEW
In 2011, there were 15 reported incidents of unintentional firearms discharge, involving 15 officers. (There were 21 such incidents in 2010.)
and,
REASON FOR DISCHARGES
Officers unintentionally discharging their firearms did so in two distinct circumstances—either purely unintentionally (13 incidents), or unintentionally during adversarial conflict (two incidents). Purely unintentional discharges usually occur while the officer is loading, unloading,or otherwise handling the firearm.
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It doesn’t just happen to police - it’s a recognized point of concern:
Here’s one thread discussing a cop who had an ND at a school he was guarding shortly after the Newtown shooting. From what I’ve read, experience and training aren’t the real issue. The issue is complacency, which tends to be more of a problem with people who feel very comfortable around guns - enough so that they have no personal fear of the gun in their hand. It’s like kids who have been riding skateboards for long enough to know a few tricks and then believe they should try something really dangerous - almost always gets you hurt. Unfortunately, with a gun, you’re just as likely to hurt (or kill) someone else.
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Don’t forget - most likely, the person who sold that teacher her gun would have included a spiel on all the safety features and told her just how “safe and easy it is to use for a woman”. She would have been told not to worry about her weapon by the dealer.
(Ad from 1904)
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