Paranoid tourists

Perhaps as a sequel to my prior posts on firearms... a story about my occasional walks up Nob Hill for exercise.

Call me unfashionable, but I abhor the notion of "dressing up" for exercise. I'm wearing a t-shirt, sweatpants, and in this case, a pair of leather Teva sandals. As I'm walking at the top of Nob Hill, a well-dressed man 50 feet ahead nervously turns around. Since I'm walking for exercise, and faster than he, I am gradually getting closer. He looks around nervously a few more times, and takes off running ! Do I really look that menacing ? Well, o.k., I hadn't shaved that morning, but I don't grow much stubble, and it probably wasn't visible from that distance.

Reality check: people at the top of the hill only exercise in gyms? ...and when they do, they wear the latest fashion togs, because you need to demonstrate a little status in every situation.

The question remains... do you need a firearm to defend yourself against those who are not dressed fashionably ?

handguns and shotguns and...

That last post should be corrected - handguns ! Firearms are not illegal, so now, according to interviewees in the Chron, SF folks will be buying shotguns.

From my prior post, you learn that I think it's ludicrous to ban firearm ownership. But I'm not a zealot. If you listen to the pro-handgun folks in the Chron interview, they're all afraid every bandit in the country is going to visit their house, now that they know they're defenseless. Izzat so? Do these people have basements full of gold bullion ? Sounds to me like they're a bit paranoid ! If there's one thing worse than a fool with a gun, it's a paranoid fool with a gun.

More handguns & firearms ?!

Well, now that San Franciscans have voted to outlaw handgun ownership by residents...

I certainly hope that handguns and firearms don't become as common as everything else that's "illegal" in this city ! For those who think this symbolic vote lets the world know that San Francisco doesn't believe in violence, let me tell you of one of the most horrible things I have seen...

In the Philippines, where firearms are illegal for the average citizen and there are security guards on every corner with sawed-off shotguns or machine guns (at least when I was there, which I must confess was 25 years ago)... I worked in a hospital where there was a patient in intensive care for a long time. Her home was broken into, and the thief was afraid she would identify him, so he pounded her head with a hammer. Now I ask you, would you rather have a thief shoot you, or fracture your skull like an eggshell with a hammer ?