I got a couple bayonets if you need to borrow one.

Anyway, that’s not gonna happen and again, your comment returns us to the issue of paranoia…

My dude, I grew up in VT. I have plenty of experience with guns, unfortunately.

Listen, I know my experience is anecdotal, but I lost two friends to accidental discharges before I was old enough to drive (no, I was not present for either). Both families were very responsible gun owners. Hunting families. Again, this was in VT. I promise nothing will sway my opinion of guns.

And yes, I grew up in a house with a gun. One. A shotgun supposedly for defense or to scare of a bear or something. The only time it ever got used was for skeet shooting. Then eventually my dad sold it. Never told me why and I didn’t ask. It only came up because I had kids of my own and didn’t want them snooping through grandpa’s closet and finding it.

Now, I do have a pretty gnarly sword collection though that was passed down to me from MY grandfather. He never touched a gun after WWII, but somehow collected about 20 swords in his travels during the war and kept collecting after.

Also my dude, the thing you like is adrenaline, not guns. Try some sword training if you want a good time in that department. Shooting a gun is too easy. You got to mix that adrenaline with some action and a pinch of pain for the best high.

Have fun living in constant fear of the boogie man because the man on tv said angry words.

No one is asking you to surrender anything. Again, paranoia. This is where you guys always go with this stuff. Take some deep breaths and acknowledge life has a lot of nuance. A discussion about how we might make things safer does not equate to anyone taking your precious little guns from you. Sheesh.

Imagine being so deranged you’d compare folks who want people to have access to health care with psychopaths that blow up hybrid vehicles in tv ads when they’re not plotting to overthrow our government. But yeah, it’s them lefties who try to encourage you to be less afraid of the boogie man that are the issue.

You live in a very safe community. I’m sorry you live in constant fear.

Your original comment displays a lot paranoia. If you genuinely feel you need to have a gun everywhere you go, you need actual help. Therapy. Sorry if saying that is mean, but my gods man, you don’t need a gun to go grocery shopping. That’s deranged. You are literally creating a less safe environment for your own community with that mentality.

If you are who you say you are then the suggested policies above should be no issue. You’re already doing all of those things if you’re a responsible gun owner. I am very specifically addressing the idiots that make it a part of their identity and/or actually feel afraid to leave the house without a gun. That’s deranged in modern society no matter where you live in this country. This basically boils down to “don’t be an idiot and try to avoid killing people if you can.”

Hey, remember that hero in Colorado who killed a mass shooter and then the cops showed up and killed the hero? Hey, remember the unarmed hero who disarmed the guy in CA last weekend and lived to tell the news about it and become a national hero?

The point is, the hero fantasy you guys have doesn’t always play out the way you expect. You literally just sent a long explanation showing you are paranoid and again, paranoid people should not be out and about with guns 🤷‍♂️

Not to mention the statistics that show that you and your family are far more likely to be accidentally injured or killed by your own guns than you are likely to ever use them for self-defense.

Guns don’t make us safer. They don’t make your family safer. Sorry if that hurts your fee fees.

Joseph… I’m from here. I’m very aware there are far too many of you out there overcompensating for things in life and/or living in a constant state of fear making you feel like you need a gun at all times. You don’t have to be so scared all the time big fella.

I know it’s so upsetting that they want to encourage folks to not kill other folks if it can be avoided. I hope you will get through this difficult time.

Amen.

We live in a very very safe society despite what the angry man on tv tells you. If you think you can’t leave your home without a gun in VT, you are exactly the wrong kind of person to be out and about while armed. I’d recommend addressing paranoia with a therapist.

I know... the people telling the racist scum to not be be racist scum are definitely the issue and not the racist scum.

Thanks for modeling how racism is alive and well in Vermont though.

This PBS doc called “I’m From Here” might offer some insight. VT is full of a lot of very welcoming people, but also a lot of folks a little further to the extreme right unfortunately. VT gets away with its reputation simply because of the severe lack of diversity in the state. Meaning, the racists don’t have a whole lot of folks to be racist to. Many don’t hide their ignorance, but they are certainly the minority. Just avoid the north east part of the state. Killington area is great, but there is one psycho along route 4 there with a confederate flag flying outside what was once upon a time a very beautiful home.

https://www.pbs.org/video/i-am-from-here-zfk9gb/

Whelp, you might want to get an idea because there's lots of folks assuming you're a white supremacist with those numbers in your handle.

Cute “88” in your handle. Golly, whatever could that mean? Surely your not a white supremacist, right? What a joke.

Jesus Christ I’d totally forgotten the Mounties nickname. Good call. It’s uh… been a while.

When I played school sports in VT we always just used the town name or school name anyway. I went to MSJ and Rutland was our "cross-town rival." I don't recall anyone ever calling them the Raiders. It was just Rutland.

Also, the "green wave" is a dumb name. We all hated it then. We were just MSJ. Reflecting on my experience and all of this hoopla, it seems clear to me that parents are the only ones that actually care about any of this. Any kid claiming they care is just parroting their ignorant parents.

And here we have the source of most of society's issues. If these ignorant schmucks would get out of their own way we could have nice things. Meanwhile everyone and everything else is the bad guy because the guy on TV said so.

Amen. Appreciate you.

I know it. That’s the thing about truck bros like this though, they’re only tough in their truck. I’m a pretty big dude and I’m covered in tattoos. Their demeanor shifts when I step out of my little Prius 🤟

Here’s the thing, people are going to be unpredictable. People are going to turn without using their blinker. People are going to go slower than you want to go when you are late for work. People are going to full on not even realize you are there. If you are driving and fully expecting everyone else to be predictable, you’re the issue. Someone won’t be. That’s a guarantee.

There’s also a lot more nuance to my response that you are ignoring. But ok, let’s focus on your words.

I don’t disagree with you. Let’s look pedestrians again. If we are talking about a group of humans sprinting down a track, yes someone doing something unpredictable can be an issue there. Just like how when we are flying down the highway someone doing something unpredictable can be bad. However, a group of human beings all at a full stop and one says “after you,” we’re all good. No issues. So let’s take this situation OP presents, four vehicles at a full stop. One person waves someone through. There is no issue here. A mild annoyance, sure, but this is not something that is causing danger on our roads.

But again, my point was bigger than this specific scenario. We do have an issue on our roads but it’s mostly from over aggressive drivers and folks who DON’T stop at stop signs. We also have decades of studies that show us very clearly that speed kills. More speed literally equates to more human deaths. Yet I’m not seeing any passion here for speeding. I’m not seeing any posts addressing the tailgating or unsafe passing that we see everywhere. So yeah, when I start seeing folks get worked up about that stuff I’ll believe they actually care about someone waving someone through a four way stop out of turn.

Those things you describe are not 4-way stops which is what this discussion is about. Traffic circles have very different rules and very different consequences for not following the rules. I’m in full agreement there are lots of situations where idiots cause dangerous situations. Everyone stopped at a 4-way stop isn’t one of them. Someone NOT stopping at a 4-way would be one though.

And yeah dude, we’re also talking about VT here. Have you driven in other places? VT roads are mostly very chill and relaxed compared to many places. We barely have any actual traffic. It’s just not really a thing here. The main issue in VT roads is speed, distracted driving, and drunk driving.

Of course I have. Always by someone who didn’t stop. Not once have I seen one stem from a situation where everyone came to a complete stop and someone waved someone else through out of turn. Please, prove me wrong with actual evidence. You can’t and won’t because it’s not a thing. The accidents that occur at 4-way stops are almost entirely caused by people not coming to a complete stop or trying to rush themselves through out of turn. You’re being laughably absurd here.

Please go ahead and look up the leading causes of accidents. None of them are “someone got waved through a four way stop out of turn.” They almost are all caused by speeding, rushing, or distracted driving. None of those things apply to someone at a complete stop waving for someone else who is also at a complete stop to go first. Get real.

And until I see you arguing on here against anyone going even one mph over the limit (something 99% of us do every single day) I’m going to call BS on you caring about meemaw not knowing the four way stop rules. Speeding is scientifically proven to cost lives. Extensive studies have been done that show how more speed equates to more human deaths. So where is all your energy about speeding? Not just you, but everyone else in this thread too. Instead everyone is just annoyed with a well intentioned person causing no one any harm but maybe a few seconds of delay. Get a grip.

I love that sub. Big fan. Yet I have never once seen an accident there that started from people at a four way stop when all were stopped and one person waved to let another go. Not once. It’s just not an actual thing my dude. You know what I do see a lot there? Over aggressive assholes that need to take a giant chill pill.

And yes, straw man arguments most certainly can be anecdotes that do not apply to the conversation at hand no matter how hard you try to make them apply. In this case, going from a discussion about being waved through a 4 way stop out of turn to not saying anything to meemaw about her lacking trigger disciple is completely insane. Ridiculously absurd. Like hilariously dumb. So yeah, straw man.