Things are about to get a lot more polite in Texas.
Folks out in the country always have been. It's the cities that you had to watch out for folks. Those folks just ain't right. But that's pretty much the rule for cities anywhere anyway. Had the permit ever since that started issuing them. Glad to finally see this.
I have a carry permit too. I’m in the lovely state of California. Yes, I got a permit to conceal carry, no special reason, I read the rules, put in my application and the county sheriff approved. I live in a county with a law abiding sheriff. Carrying a firearm has changed my perspective on self defense. I now realize most situations are avoidable, and walking away is always the best choice. I’ve been threatened, I have been cornered in dangerous situations. But there was always a way out, I took it. Having a gun in my pocket brings enormous responsibility, I don’t want to shoot someone because I didn’t want to back down. I don’t want to shoot some one at all. Carrying a pistol has made me a safer person, there are very few hills I’m willing to die on, just my family and my safety. That’s it. I won’t defend you or your property, but I will be willing to testify on your behalf.
Situational awareness is the key. Muggers, etc., have a script in their head of how they think the encounter is going to play out, and it usually involves either ambushing or rushing, closing the reactionary gap, and getting in close to their victim as quickly as possible. If you are aware of how criminals operate and watch for the early warning signs, you can break their narrative. That puts them on the back foot and they go away. I've only ever had to square up and put my hand on the grip here twice, as soon as it became clear they were maneuvering on me. In both cases they immediately seemed to suddenly remember important criminal business elsewhere and departed.
Something that also occurred to me while thinking about this, and about the subject of gun control in general was this:
Anybody who says that they are afraid of White men with guns has never seen the look on the face of someone who has been beaten to death with a long-handled shovel.
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