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An opportunity?

earthquake

Area Man
Full Member
Minuteman
  • Jul 30, 2009
    2,960
    2,351
    USA
    So yesterday I was outside doing some field work again and took a lower level coworker with me. He's a good kid, and is very reliable, a hard worker, punctual and takes initiative etc. I'm always happy to use him when I can even though he doesn't work in my group. I'd trade him in a second for the dipshit I'm normally stuck with. Anyway, his only flaw is he's a fucking Bernie-Boy. Whatever....we normally don't talk politics but I saw the button on his jacket and so I know.

    Low and behold, we're out in the boonies working and he out of nowhere asks me where's a good place to go shooting. I was sort of in shock, actually, not ever thinking I'd hear those words from him. I guess I have a reputation as the "gun-guy". I work with almost nothing but millenial/liberals. Anyway, he proceeds to tell me that his mother and her boyfriend helped him buy it and he goes shooting with her occasionally now. He also said it's weird, because growing up his mom was against guns and wouldn't even let him have a BB-gun. Now she owns many handguns, shoots all the time and recently even bought an AR15. (Now I know where all the ammo it going!)

    So I of course started talking to him and giving him the scoop as to all the local places he can shoot, public and private ranges. I even offered to take him and teach him how to shoot. He bought a Canick(?) 9mm handgun. I never heard of them. He said it's Turkish. I see this as an opportunity to teach him not only how to shoot, but how to protect those rights. I'm even considering letting him shoot some of my ammo since he says he only has 100 rounds and can't of course find ammo anywhere.

    My question to the community is this: How do I go about this without sounding too preachy? Yeah, he's a Bernie-boy but if you saw him or his work ethic, you'd never have known. I don't think I'm wasting my time, and if we're going to win this thing, I feel it's my duty to at least try. I just love hearing stories like this, about his mom becoming a 2A proponent etc. I know it's been talked a lot here about Libs buying guns, but if we can guide them in the right direction, it's a win for 2A IMHO. The whole situation kind of lifted my spirits a bit, thinking the Republic may not be lost after all.

    Anyone else have experience with this sort of thing?
     
    Odds are good that he doesnt realize that he isnt a bernie guy. My whole family voted democrat before we all came to realize that we were actually conservatives.

    I learned a long time ago the even though you want to be respectful and not sound preachy/overbearing, some things just need to be said.

    Newbies normally dont shoot a lot of ammo in one sitting, so invest in him if you see the potential.

    Explain why he cant find ammo and the rest of the situation in casual conversation.

    It takes time for people to wake up...invest...but be smart about how much you divulge.

    Shred
     
    It feels good to help and teach someone new about all things firearms and training, but the street tax of getting free ammo and training is a lesson on WHY they are so important. My opinion, focus a lot on safety and fundamentals. Then while jamming mags and taking breaks lay out the realities of how clown shoes stupid certain politicians are. This may include a history lesson on Russia and Germany's past opinions on civilian gun ownership.
    Oh, and ask if you can have his PS5 or Swtich, you just got into gaming and have trouble finding that stuff.
    2020 is not the year to be shy. If you are bold, honest and respectable speak your mind and help others.
     
    • Like
    Reactions: Forgetful Coyote
    Well, if you spend time around someone one of three things will happen.
    -They will become more like you.
    -You will become more like them.
    -You will end up going separate ways.

    I don't think you are in danger of becoming more like him. From the dynamics of the relationship, even if (and perhaps especially if) you don't get preachy, the odds are good he will start picking things up from you.

    For me, I always learned more from the men who did not act like they where trying to teach me about life. The funny thing is that with hind sight and knowing more about them, the men who always tried to push ideas are not men I have much respect for now (based on their own merits, not the fact that they where preachy). The most of the men who lead by example, let that example speak for itself, and engaged in conversations with me rather than talking at me, are men who I still respect on their merits.
     
    Let him shoot a can of Tannerite.

    Watch his eyes get big as sauce pans.

    Battle won.



     
    Last edited:
    • Like
    Reactions: louu and MCHOG
    The only way I would approach this - if you are convinced enough that he can be saved and the calculated risk to the security of yourself and your family is in your favor - is to ask probing questions that reveal his positive values, then put forth scenarios that force him to confront the irreconcilable contradictions between those values and his politics.

    Trying to lead him like a horse to water is not likely to be effective. Trying to be a guide has only a slightly better chance. This has to be his own epiphany.

    When I was in my twenties, I thought I knew a lot. By the time I was in my forties, only then was I able to appreciate how much I thought I knew in my twenties just wasn't so.

    Be careful. Until he crosses that bridge of his own volition, as nice and personable as he may seem, he is still one of them.

    ETA, is his Mom hot?
     
    One thing is when you read your gun magazines note articles of possible interest then pass them along.

    Eventually he may notice that the editorial position makes more sense than his friends do.
     
    • Like
    Reactions: supercorndogs
    Teach him how to shoot, don’t bring politics into it. The rest will take care of itself.

    This! Plant the seed and watch it grow. I live in one of the most anti 2A states when it comes to acquiring firearms (the fishing and carmel colored women keep me here, lol!), it’s a great feeling when you take someone out for their first shooting experience then watch them get hooked. The politics will trickle in after, just get his foot in the door.
     
    Teach him how to shoot, don’t bring politics into it. The rest will take care of itself.

    Exactly. People rarely change their positions when others are trying to change it for them. It sounds like he's opened the door to be on the right path. I'd just clear the leaves off the path and let him walk down it himself.
     
    • Like
    Reactions: Marbles
    Teach him how to shoot, don’t bring politics into it. The rest will take care of itself.


    This.

    Didn't MLK say: Don't judge a man by the political button he wears, but by the content of his character.

    OK, maybe I just made that shit up, but it likely sortta applies here. ;)

    I reckon most here were young and stupid at one point. Most course corrected.
     
    Never pass up the opportunity to show young people how to think for themselves of share perspective.just remember to trickle it in , people will struggle to hold onto their world view.
     
    Do you handload? When he's ready, show him how to do that. Well, if you can find primers.

    Explain how, after an initial investment, it's cheaper than buying factory ammunition (even 9mm these days). Explain how he has fine control over every aspect of his handloads. Then explain how it can all go horribly wrong in less than a millisecond, and nobody will be there to protect his equipment, hands, or eyes, except for him.

    He seems like he's otherwise squared away, but what might be missing is the understanding that each person is the final guarantor of their own safety, and bears the ultimate responsibility for the consequences of their own actions. Showing is better than telling, and controlling explosions near your face demonstrates these principles unambiguously.
     
    It's not unusual for peoples political ideologies /positions to change as they get older...

    As for helping, meh...trust your instincts.
     
    I'm definitely in the other camp with this plan. I'd press him on politics. Sorry....Even Communists have guns. Not that HE will dime out you, but you never know who he is talking to on the other side.
     
    • Like
    Reactions: diverdon
    With 4 kids in college during different times, they had many friends who were very Liberal, but were talked into going to an indoor range. Naturally, my kids offered up me and my firearms to teach them how to shoot responsibly. I probably taught more than 50 kids how to shoot revolvers, pistols, AR15s and a few different 22LR rifles.

    That being many moons ago, I would not do it today. We have a very liberal Red Flag law and I could see one of the parents dropping a dime on how dangerous I was in teaching their children how to shoot.

    First Red Flag intervention in Maryland resulted in the guy being shot by the police who were there to conduct a Red Flag confiscation of his firearms.

    I have no doubt the kid you're talking to is a good kid, but please be careful. You already have a reputation at work. I'm not saying it's anything, but the kid could be workiing against you in the long run.

    Good Luck!
     
    • Like
    Reactions: diverdon
    My wife and I host/lead a small group of concealed carry folks who all share training and we share guns and mentor each other. 60% of the group are left of center.

    No problems with any of them, ever. The only ones we have ever had to cull or discipline have been right of center. People who are 2A aficionados generally find a way to support each other if politics are not allowed to intervene.

    That said, I was raised to nurture and support, mentor and teach. Big ones take care of little ones, smart ones enlighten the ignorant, we all move forward together. Many willing hands make every task easier and more fruitful. Mentor your young coworker.

    VooDoo
     
    Awesome thread. If you hook him on guns and competitive shooting he will change on his own.