The Mises article is written for those who already agree with your views. It's not written to change the minds of those on the opposite side. This is obvious in the first paragraph when it uses the 'statists' pejorative to describe the opposition. That is not persuasive--just the opposite. It's inflammatory.
I don't know what you think handing out printed copies of the article to anti-gun nuts was going to accomplish other than to make them even more entrenched in their position and lash out at you like they did. I suppose if you were looking for a confrontation that's one way to go about it. Were you carrying concealed hoping they would "make your day"?
I just remembered. Before I would give a flier to someone I asked a qualifier. "Do you consider yourself to have an open mind?"
Every single time.
Because I was actually trying to do something good. Not create litter.
For people who are willing to engage, socratic dialog can be effective.
For example, they want to ban guns but what is it they are really after? Banning guns is just a means to an end. They'll say they want to stop gun violence. What about violence not caused by guns? Do they want to minimize that as well? Is all violence bad? What about justified violence, such as in self defense? Do people have a right to self-defense? Isn't taking away the means of self defense the same as taking away the right to self defense? Is banning guns the best way to reduce unjustified violence? Are there alternatives?
This helps them better understand their position and exposes the internal contradictions.
I don't think you'll find people willing to engage in dialog at a pro-gun rally though. They'll just scream in your face about dead kids.
I did actually engage in a bunch of conversations such as that. Overall I came away from the entire situation with a very positive feeling.
Would recommend. It's different than just holding a sign. Be prepared to talk. Have your thoughts prepared before hand.
My purpose in doing it was to inject some thoughts into heads that otherwise would have no chance of coming across them by their own volition. Not necessarily change minds but planting seeds. Or would you rather I take no action?
And no I wasn't looking for a fight but was prepared. I had a knife and the girly had pepper spray. I wasn't packing because I'm in Commiefornia. Not gonna bring heat while passing out that flier. That's just asking for a felony. I gave some fliers to cops as well.
(post is archived)