Thinking to Hard

LJWorld has an article up about allowing concealed carry on campus. I made the mistake of reading the comment thread (actually, I want to get better about reading comment thread. I am to uncomfortable reading differing viewpoints. I should not let myself get blinkered. Still makes me feel weird. But that's the point).

I don't like guns. I don't like the mystical aura they have. Maybe it is because I was raised liberal. Maybe it is because Dad's were kept hidden after I was shot in the head (ob disclaimer, accident, didn't break skull, and with a freaking .22. But I remember it, and how scared my parents were). But I'm not scared of guns, because I survived once already. And I made Dad sit down with me, and show me how to see if they were loaded or unloaded, and how they worked. I didn't ask to shoot them.

Navy did that. I've shot a 9mm four different times, all for qualification. I've a M14 once, and that didn't work well. I've shot bigger mounted guns. And I was in charge of force protection. Most of the mindset didn't stick, but some bits do (One of the reasons I don't try to do security at Naka is I'm afraid I think of defense, not security. Not convinced I would deescalate a situation).

I believe that if you need a gun on campus for self defense, you're blind. The shooter may have a gun, but you have a voice to talk to the shooter (if he's talking to you, he's not shooting. If he's shooting you, he's not shooting the students. Or, you can be like my high school bio teacher, who talked down a shooter so nobody was hurt). You have a phone to call for help. You have classmates get your back. You have plenty of shit to throw at him, and mess up his aim.

What you need to use all of these is courage. And a gun doesn't magically give you that. Thinking through the situations before they happen does (and insanity). Now, you can't run drills in class they way you could in the Navy (and shouldn't), but you can train yourself. And realize it isn't going to be how you expected.

Oh, and you're still more likely to be hit by a car than shot on campus.

Where the Green Grass Grows

Is apparently in the beds along the fence, but not in the yard. Today was the third in a row where I got dirt under my fingernails. Sunday I cleared out the area between the front patio pad and the southern fence, and planted the tomatoes and peppers Zach gave me. Yesterday I planted the chocolate mint, lemon balm and catnip that lisichance gave me in the area I cleared out Sunday. Today I cleared out the continuation of the mint bed (between the fence and a row of limestone rocks) and planted spearmint, candy mint and lavender there.

The fence bed isn't ideal, as the fence blocks some of the sun. But I'm sick of letting it grow up weedy (and grassy, and treey). I left in the flowers that were already there (including lots of violets). The saplings got cut down as far as I could find roots. I planted two redbud saplings that I had pulled out with the roots into a pot for Mom. Wasn't terribly careful about them living. The grass that kept a root ball when pulled was dumped root side down into the front yard, so maybe it will grow.

(I actually did thesis work this morning, and the weather is so nice, I couldn't refuse).