The Individual

The Indivivdual has been gathering fountain pens, Moleskine notebooks and ink like a man possessed.. I have made many entries into my personal journal. Writting in my journal has become a daily passion. I have found that when I review my blatherings that I wrote days before I tend to try to not repeat the same mistakes. The very act of handwritting has surprized me as a meditation. I have transferred to cursive for the shear beauty of it.

I joined the libertarian party today. I am somewhat conservative politically but, I can no longer stomach the hypochrisy of the right wing. We flee from the gun grabbing neo-socialists on the left only to be nanny-ized by the corporate-owed right. Right/Left are simply opposite cheeks of the same ass stuffed in our faces. The individual can only accept liberty. CONTROL is a poisonous addiction that governments cannot resist. Upon closer inspection right and left begin to look very much the same. Smoke, drink, eat and own what you wish as long as it does not harm anyone else. Defend yourself as needed to survive. Speak, write and read what you wish. Does this sound like a radical document called the Constitution?? Can wee begin to elect leaders that have at least some respect for liberty…yah think?

I love little notebooks.
The classic is the moleskine. It is a little pocket journal that Van Gogh, Hemmingway and many others carried. Any writer should have one of these.
http://store.yahoo.com/moleskine/pocketdiary.html

Clarity and accuracy

I had to scrape for what little gun knowledge that I have. With
my work schedule and budget I could not jet off to Arizona for a week to
train with an elite class of instructors. Unfortunately I obtained varying
quality of instruction. My sources of information sometimes contradicted
themselves and some were deceptive and useless. I have taken handgun
classes where the information was clearly wrong and potentially dangerous.
One of my instructors was a fair teacher but, his hyperbole, foul-mouth,
boasting and macho bravado were distracting. Luckily, I have had one
instructor who was my “Mr. Miyagi”[1] and a true master of pistol
bushido[2].

I have read thousands of articles in gun magazines and on the internet. I
have found wonderful insights and knowledge among them but, many of them
were not worth the effort to read them. It is important that gun writers
and instructors strive to be clear and accurate in the information they
impart and to consider the diversity among American gun owners.

One thing I find disturbing among gun teachers, writers, etc. is
that some of their information is priceless, but has to be translated from
their slang. I do not know why these people feel they need to abandon
English and speak or write in some “gun guy” slang. If you are conveying
knowledge to a group of people whom you do not know personally then you
should not assume they understand your jargon. Of course there are
exceptions. If you are speaking or writing to a group of military personnel
you can assume that they understand the acronyms and slang that are part of
basic military training. An open, civilian venue poses it own challenges.
On one hand you don’t want to be so rudimentary that your higher skilled
audience members become bored and insulted. On the other hand you don’t
want to completely alienate your novices by yammering on using terms they
don’t understand. What may seem like elementary terms to you may sound like
a foreign language to beginners. “I had a FTE on my CZ so I did a TRR and
double tapped the BG paper, hopped into my deuce and a half and rolled. Good
thing the CZ shot to POA and I had my G2 to lumen up the night” This may be
an exaggerated example but, it shows the uselessness of such speech. This
may be acceptable to the range buddies or on an internet gun forum but, has
no value for an audience trying to gain important knowledge. The hip-hop
culture and the internet have made it fashionable to use acronyms and slang
“fershizzle” but, instructors and writers should avoid them like the plague.
Here is a somewhat clearer example, “I experienced a failure to eject (FTE)
with my CZ brand pistol. I cleared the jam by using the “tap, rack, ready”
method and then I double shot the silhouette target. After that I drove off
in my two and one half ton truck. I am glad that my pistol shot to the
point of aim (POA) and I had my Surefire G2 flashlight.” Yes, it is more
“wordy” and loses some of its “coolness,” but most of the questions are
gone. Some of the issues are style. Is the part about the truck or its
size important to the main point? Useless information is like static on the
radio. It is not neutral. It distracts the reader or listener. Humor is
good but, it should not be forced, strained or obscure. “I went to the
range to try out my new .45 1911 auto pistol. My cousin accompanied me. He
is a crazy guy even when we were kids. I called him Spanky because he got
spanked so much and now he was going to get spanked again on the range.”
This is great information for your family reunion but, the rest of the world
could not care less. The competition between you and your cousin could be
used to make a point and add humor but, there should be some transition and
some real substance to it. The comment that your cousin is a “crazy guy”
and “is going to get spanked on the range,” may not be clearly understood.
I could interpret it is this fashion: Your cousin was abused as a child and
therefore you have given him a nickname. He is now mentally ill so you have
decided to beat him up at the range or possibly shoot him. This is an
extreme interpretation but, the goal is to clearly convey your main point.
Why lose your audience over trivial comments?

Do not assume that your audience is a member of a certain social
class, gender or culture unless you are communicating to that specific
group. I have attended concealed carry classes where the instructor assumed
that his students hunted, were raised in a rural area, were male, and
enjoyed football. He explained concepts using examples from deer hunting,
made analogies from football and made statements like “remember when you
were in Sunday school…” This was probably helpful to someone with the
proper qualifications but, I was lost. I have never hunted in my life, I
did not grow up in a rural environment, I dislike spectator sports and I am
of Jewish decent (yes, a conservative, Jewish gun owner). Gender was the
only requirement that I fulfilled. Are we trying to appeal to a greater
audience or just our gun buddies? For concealed carry issue to become more
main stream we need to use language that will bring in more people who may
not fit the traditional mold. Concealed Carry magazine has made great
efforts to appeal to women and senior citizens. This is a worthy cause
because women and seniors are often prime targets for crime.

If your intent is to communicate to only a small, politically
homogenous group then your priority is not to communicate the virtue of
concealed carry to the masses.

As mentioned earlier my “Mr. Miyagi” was a tutor that I hired to teach me
the rudiments of pistol shooting, with emphasis on the model 1911A1 .45
caliber auto loading pistol. My tutor was an elderly man that had earned
his pistol instructor license before I was born. His methodical teaching
style and reinforcement were invaluable. He had served his country
honorably in Korea as a US soldier and had taught pistol skills to soldiers
from all over the country. He had developed the skill to be able
communicate with people of different backgrounds and cultures. He never
used “army talk” with me and was sensitive to my ignorance of gunsmith
terms. He introduced technical terms in context and explained them well.
He was my Bushido “master” that I spoke of earlier. I have tried to use
him as my model when I write.

Some gun instructors and writers cannot seem to make the
transition from military and police methods to civilian methods. Many
writers and instructors from these two professions have taken their skills
and adapted them to provide the citizen gun carrier with excellent advice
and training. Unfortunately others have not. There are instructors with
impressive résumé’s that have not figured out that citizens can not use
“seek and destroy” methods on the street. I have heard of one ex-special
commando, whatever, instructor who was teaching his students to “finish off”
their attackers. That would not make a good case for you in court, “Yes
your honor, then I finished him off.” A person should vigorously defend
their life and the life of their loved one’s but, should understand that
they may not execute their attackers. They may (in most venues) repel an
attack to prevent serious bodily harm or death. If that causes their
attacker to be seriously injured or die then that is considered a by-product
of the event and not the intent. This does not preclude the possibility of
civil litigation or other issues that are best discussed with a lawyer.
Students should be encouraged to investigate their local laws regarding the
use of deadly force. Another instructor spent a large amount class time
teaching his students to apprehend their attackers. This is impractical,
probably illegal and definitely dangerous. Citizen gun carriers are not the
police. They are simply exercising their right to defend themselves.
Someone who has had the misfortune of needing to defend their life adds
complexity and serious problems to their situation by engaging in any action
beyond stopping an attack. Handcuffing an attacker may be prudent under
certain circumstances but, getting away safely should be the priority.

The gun carrying community in America has grown and has gained
strength and respect. I believe their sheer existence has a positive effect
on reducing crime. One of the keys to maintaining our right to defend
ourselves is the proper communication to a broad spectrum of our society.
We should use technical terminology when it is appropriate and do not assume
that your audience is the product of a cookie cutter. This is by no means a
suggestion that we should embrace the vernacular of cowards (also called
politically correct speech.) This is a plea to the communicators and
educators among us to strive for clarity and accuracy.

[1] Mr. Miyagi was a character in the movie The Karate Kid. He was the
Bushido master that said the famous line “Wax on, wax off.”

[2] Bushido (Japanese, “the way of the warrior”), code of ethics observed by
the warrior noblemen, or samurai, of feudal Japan. Like the rules of
chivalry. (Encarta Encyclopedia)