I had a quick, honest and made for TV response. “Not all at. When I walk away from the parking lot, I leave most of the fear inducing life forms behind. People.”
Unfortunately, more people are venturing into wild places. For me, the scary ones are now carrying sidearms.
A few days ago, i was returning from a delightful hike to the base of the iconic Lizard Head Mountain (13,114’). I was at peace with myself and the world when I noticed an upcoming Perfect Storm of potential people problems.
In a lush field barely off the trail, I saw an adolescent Siberian/Attitude mix dog unleashed and chasing any and all things that moved. Nearby was a White Guy carrying no gear except a very prominent sidearm. (FYI. I’ve only seen multitudes of Caucasians civilians carrying. Never a person of color, unless they are Law Enforcement Officers).
Since I was moving, the cur bounded toward me. The four-legged assailant blocked my path. It was growling between barks. I stopped. I looked at the owner and politely asked. “Sir? Could you please call your dog?” (Mind you, I was the senior citizen in this encounter.)
“Ahh! Don’t worry. He won’t bother you.”
Well, that was Fake News. I detoured way off the trail with the sociopathic canine woofing and snarling at my behind. Yes. I was scared. A perfect hike, a perfect day ruined. All because a 9 mm toting White Guy had the upper handgun on me. I couldn’t raise a fuss. I couldn’t tell him the US Forest Service rules: “Domestic pets are allowed in wilderness areas. Pets should either be leashed or under direct voice control.”
I had to take the abuse because the White Guy was armed and maybe dangerous.
Which leads me to this point. When I’m feeling brave, I’ll occasionally ask a Second Amendment supporter, “Why are you armed out here? What is there to be afraid of?” They usual answer is, “I’m carrying in case I’m attacked by wildlife.”
That’s total bull-dinky. Marmots, pikas, deer, prairie dogs, wild turkeys and chipmunks aren’t biped eaters. As far as black bears go, they are rarely seen and not heard. My last Ursus Meetup was in 2015. All I saw was it’s big black furry butt trotting away from me. The chance of spying a mountain lion is even less. I got the drop on one over a decade ago. I slow blinked and it was gone.
These folks carry because they fear the unknown equation of strangers. They don’t trust me. So...why should I trust them? The answer is. I don’t.
Post script: When I returned my rattled self back to the parking lot, I noticed a manly red diesel truck displaying an AR-15 decal. Of course, there was an NRA bumper sticker too. I didn’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to guess whom the truck belonged to.
I tossed my backpack in Barley the Van and fled. BTW. Below is a photo of my most aggressive bumper sticker. I know, very intimidating.
On a final note: I predicted an increase in gun induced Mass Murders/Mayhem and Hate Crimes in two post-Election Day 2016 blogs.
“There will be no new "reasonable" gun control legislation. The few constraints on procuring firearms will be shot down. Purchasing a weapon of mini-mass death and destruction will be as easy as "Coffee, Tea or Glock?" There will be an uptick in the number of mass murder incidents.”
“There will be an increase in Hate Crimes. No need to elaborate on this. It'll happen. Candidate Demagogue unleashed the hate mongers. (Hitler never directly murdered anyone, but his rants were responsible for 11 million victims perishing in Germany's concentration camps.)”
Sadly, in America we harbor Home Grown White Guy Terrorists. A Wall won’t stop them.
Last photos: A band of ISIS.
A band of Second Amendment supporters at a rally in Olympia, WA.
Personally, I’m not seeing many differences between the two photos.
We live in strange times...
Remember that last mass shooting in Costa Rica? Right, they have never had one. Ever. Same population as CO. What they do have is common sense gun laws, and no military assault rifles. Pretty simple.
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