BREAKING: Stupid crap is said on the internet

[Thernlund]

"Tactical assholery".  Haha. 

While I certainly agree with him, this shouldn't really be news.

If someone is taking internet content to heart without personal due diligence, I think they likely have bigger problems in life than where they get their self-defense training. 


-T.

[ArizonaGunOwners.com]

[6.5 Gunner]

I just saw this too, I get where he's coming from but this is why I tangle with guys like this regularly. It's not wrong for one of my friends to ask me how to properly wear a plate carrier, I mean hell it was my job (hint: your belly button is less important than your heart). It's only a select few that are tactitard mall ninjas who play monkey see monkey do and they are unfortunately always the ones that speak for the majority. My friends know their plate carrier and AR will (probably) go unused, at least that's the plan, but it still doesn't mean they shouldn't have the opportunity to learn how to use it effectively. I would counter argue that the chances of actually having to use a handgun to defend yourself beyond a couple of shots, if any at all, is abysmally low too so what would be the point of taking a tactical pistol class? To each his own I guess.

[Thernlund]

Of course there's nothing wrong with having those items and learning how to use them correctly.  I have all kinds of crap, gun-related and not, that I'll never use like a pro uses it, but I still like to know how to use it correctly.  It's fun.

But lets be honest... when someone shows up to a basic self-defense pistol class in full battle-rattle, that's not real-world training.  It's cosplay.  I think that's his grip.  There's nothing wrong with cosplay necessarily.  But if you're trying to get some real education on a topic, it really only serves as a passive distraction at best, and an active hindrance at worst.


-T.

[Cyris]

I just saw this too, I get where he's coming from but this is why I tangle with guys like this regularly. It's not wrong for one of my friends to ask me how to properly wear a plate carrier, I mean hell it was my job (hint: your belly button is less important than your heart). It's only a select few that are tactitard mall ninjas who play monkey see monkey do and they are unfortunately always the ones that speak for the majority. My friends know their plate carrier and AR will (probably) go unused, at least that's the plan, but it still doesn't mean they shouldn't have the opportunity to learn how to use it effectively. I would counter argue that the chances of actually having to use a handgun to defend yourself beyond a couple of shots, if any at all, is abysmally low too so what would be the point of taking a tactical pistol class? To each his own I guess.

While I don't own a plate carrier or a helmet (ok, I own several helmets but not of the type he speaks of), I see nothing wrong with it specifically. I am a big fan of "mind your own damn business." I have to agree with him though, the odds of ever needing it are pretty close to none. If individuals are concerned about some end of the world shit, and want to be prepared, then more power to them.

You can only carry and use so many guns at any time, but that doesn't stop me from owning a few more than that =)

I think his point, and what I took from it, is if you want to learn some skills with a handgun, that should be your focus in the class. You can always play with toys on the weekends if you want. Hell, I imagine its a bit of a work out running around with a pile of gear on, and probably more of a workout then most of us get on a regular basis.

[ItWasntMe]

I saw that a few days ago. I agree with him in large part. There's a lot of Internet folk who won't accept anything from anyone who isn't in a really small community that they're inclined to associate with. The Internet is too big and far too useful to be repeatedly segmented into smaller and smaller adolescent high school cliques. I never really understood the insistence on a person needing "proven credentials" to be a trainer. If you're really good at something and have a desire and an ability to safely and effectively impart that knowledge to other people. Do so!

[Thernlund]

Todd Green was never in the military or in law enforcement and he was a very highly respected pistol trainer.


-T.

[ynotaz]

I agree with him 100%.  Too much reliance on tacticool as portrayed on the internet, videos and video games at the expense of skillset and mindset.

[rfriedman5]

In the gun shops where I go I see a few guys who look like they are dressed more for a costume party of warriors rather than being ready for combat. If you have come by your clothes and weapons the hard way they are yours to wear as you please, but the phony warriors remind me of an unpleasant experience along these lines. A few years ago I wrote a short story about a man with PTSD following his tour in Viet Nam. I thought it was a pretty good story. It was based on what I heard from a couple of guys I talked to.
When the story was published I got several letters and emails from readers who said that I really understood what it was like because I had clearly been there. But I hadn’t been there and I was embarrassed, even humiliated, that any one would think that I had experience that had been stolen from the valor of the brave men who had lived it.
I didn’t intend to hurt anybody, but, man, I felt low. It is still a hurtful memory. The guy I wrote about is still suffering; that’s where the honor belongs.
Some of those guys outfitted in TAC gear and a snarl on their faces are just telling stories, but it was other men who did the deeds that created those stories.
I heard a guy say that if you owned a factory with 10,000 baby strollers you could not sell, just paint them black, label them tactical range carts and you’d sell them all at the next gun show. Too cynical maybe, but with a grain of truth too.

[ItWasntMe]

[...] I heard a guy say that if you owned a factory with 10,000 baby strollers you could not sell, just paint them black, label them tactical range carts and you’d sell them all at the next gun show. Too cynical maybe, but with a grain of truth too.

Tactical range buggy? Sign me up!

[JarheadAZ]

There are a few things/people I would prefer not to be mistaken for.

I am not:

a military combatant, although I once was, maybe 50 years or so ago.

A law enforcement officer.

the community defender.

the arsenal of democracy.

on the front line of any social justice movement. Someday I might find one where I could comfortably reside in the center, but I just don't see many Conservatives like myself running around playing attention hog.

one who might be prone to voicing warnings. Never give the sucker a warning; it attracts the wrong sort of attention.

 

I am:

a comfortable survivor of maybe 50 years in the NY Metro area. I remained unarmed for pretty much all of my public activities during that time.

not likely to betray weakness as part of such activities.

not likely to display belligerence as part of such activities.

More likely to display confidence and situational awareness as part of such activities.



Yes, I've been lucky, but it is the luck of someone who understands that bad things happen to good people and that many victims telegraph their vulnerability so it can be recognized a block away. Don't be that guy.

Being a 6' 5" formerly active Combat Veteran Marine may have imparted a subtle influence or two upon my appearance which simply suggests that there may be an easier target in the field of view.

Si pacem, para bellum...

Greg

[ArizonaGunOwners.com]