Hoplophobia

It’s all around. And it’s quite dispiriting.

I carry a pocketknife. It’s small. One blade, less than 3 inches. Much less. Closer to 2. I don’t like to take it out of my pocket at work because of what happened the other day.

Someone had ordered lunch for a few people and it came in a plastic grocery bag, tied off in a knot. After watching her struggle to untie it, I handed the pocket knife over to her. Another co-worker FREAKED. She escalated her wig-out to just shy of shouting, “OHMYGOD he will kill us all!” and “SOMEONE GET SECURITY!”

All over a tiny knife, suitable to cut the string off of packages, and to scrape under your fingernails.

This is not the first time this has happened. The last time it was over a smaller knife with a blade half an inch long. I’d be more of a physical threat wielding my SHOE as a weapon, if that is what you are worried about.

We work around computers. El Freako-Out hysterical woman has built computers from components. The room is filled with people with Swiss Army knives in their desks, and you can see 2 guys from her desk wearing a belt with a Leatherman style multi-tool on it. You NEED something to work on a computer, is why. A small screwdriver, as offered by those tools, works just fine for occasional use. And BOTH tools have a longer blade than my pocketknife. No one looks twice at them.

How do you fight against that sort of histrionics? Do I reassure her and people like her by saying, “Don’t worry, when I go on a workplace killing spree I’m going to use something like a flower pot as a blunt object weapon, or a shoe lace as a garrote. I sorta feel I owe to the gun enthusiasts I know NOT to use a knife or a gun and draw more calls for gun-control.” It’s not like I’d hurt a fly at work. And I’ve never seen a co-worker assault a co-worker in anyway, so it is pretty rare already. If EVERYONE at work carried sheathed 30 inch cavalry sabers sharp enough to shave with she’d be as safe. Even in a shouting match argument.

These people are EVERYWHERE. People with this irrational fear of weapons. What is she going to do if CCW passes in Maryland and there are half a dozen unknown-to-her people in the room with a pistol on their hip? If I didn’t have a pocketknife, how could she trust me not to hurt her with just my hands?

How do you combat such ignorance? I’ve thought of making fun of them for being chicken. I’ve thought of reasoning. Both seem like a waste of time. Constant exposure to the objects of their fear to desensitize a hoplophobe seems like the only way. In other words, Open Carry. And the wisdom of Open Carry is a bone of contention, even with gun-enthusiasts. The appropriateness, the etiquette. The desire not to go too far, too fast, trying to gain acceptance by constant exposure. No one is concerned when a Cop open-carries, they shouldn't be concerned when a known friend and neighbor does. Especially at a public youth sporting event, that some sicko might want to make the news by harming a pack of unarmed and defenseless children and parents to gain infamy and satisfy his sick desires.

Personally, I'm all for more people appropriately, calmly, politely, Open Carrying, in a low key manner. A slip up can set back all our progress on this. And it wouldn't have to be from one of "us." Some ignoramus could push the whole country back to the 1970s in NATIONAL gun attitude with one mistake that the anti-civil-rights people, like the Bradys, would jump on with both feet, wringing every angle out of to within an inch of Lady Liberty's life. I'm betting the lady at the Soccer Field that got all the bad press that everyone that is against her are going off of details published my the Mainstream Media. In other words, erroneously cast in the worst light. Chances are, she WAS being responsible. I don't know how to pre-empt such an event, but we should all think on it. Carefully. And Open Carry, appropriately, calmly... etc.

But Open Carry is no solution, in my case. The State won’t allow that. We're working on that. Some council moving to a more gun friendly place, but wouldn't it be better to expand the freedom rather than bunker into enclaves?

If Maryland went Open Carry and Conceal Carry tomorrow, as if by magic, the reason I'd prefer Conceal is to not attract attention and be more tactically effective that way... but that doesn't help tamp down hoplophobic attitudes.

See? I'm torn. Not sure which way to turn if given the chance. It'd depend on the location.