Thursday, January 6, 2011

Hoplophobe Paw

I've made complaints in the past that my father is a hoplophobe.  That's not fair to him.  He is not scared, per se.  He is one of those that didn't necessarily ever want a gun in the house.  Even one that was his.  And he had more than one.  Well hidden in a closet. 

We lived in the suburbs.  My grandfather lived in the country.  My dad didn't think twice about shooting a bb gun there in the middle of the Ek-Veldt.  Or shooting a 20 gauge for fun.  Or had problems with the notion of shooting that same 20 gauge at rabbits in the garden.  So he is more nuanced than a 'mere hoplophobe.'

He still regrets not buying that Colt Woodsman or holding onto that model 39A type in New Mexico, 1959.  Both .22s that he liked.  He used the lever action 39A to hunt jack rabbits.  Pests near his Air Force base that the father/property-owner of a buddy wanted rid of.

So he is not a true hoplophobe.  He'd shoot a pest animal if the situation called for it.  Probably a threatening human if the threat was dire and he was armed and there was no alternative.  But isn't that just like the rest of us?  We gunnies would only shoot a human if the threat was dire and we were armed and there was no alternative.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

He does not sound like what I would consider a damn hippie hoplophobe.

Hoplophobe hippies react to ANY firearm like a crucifix to a vampire.

Damn Hippies.

New Jovian Thunderbolt said...

Dad is certainly no hippie

New Jovian Thunderbolt said...

Beatnik, maybe...

Bubblehead Les. said...

Got a similar problem with my parents. Dad grew up in Hungary during WW2, fought in the Revolution, and appreciates the need to be armed. Mom grew up on a farm, hunted and fished with the rest of the kids. Now they live 15 miles away from her family farm in the Boonies up on a ridge that takes the Sheriff 30-40 minutes to respond to a 911 call in GOOD weather, yet Mom keeps saying "we don't need any guns here, the Police can handle anything". Dad just smiles, looks at the Moisen-Nagant in the corner, and touches the Colt Agent in his pocket. Funny how they can see their situation completely differently at the exact same time.

JB Miller said...

Sounds like my Pa. He had a 20ga double barrel, .22lr tube fed and a .22 revolver and a .22 short semi auto. Shooting rabbit and other pests was the tools use.

New Jovian Thunderbolt said...

He's a good egg. I need to take him shooting. I bet he shoots better than me right now, having not shot a pistol in decades.