It’s one of the easiest, most fundamental ways a person can become better prepared, so the more people utilize EDC, the more prepped we are as a society.
I completely agree with your judgment that not everyone should carry a firearm. Once I understood the extremely limited set of circumstances where the use of deadly force is justified, I concluded that there are a lot more ways for the gun in my pants to get me into trouble than to get me out of it.
I have a friend who is an undercover cop in a big city. He was on public transportation one day during the Summer of Floyd when he was assaulted by a group of apparently unarmed youths. He left his gun concealed while he took a beating, knowing that whatever they dealt out was going to be less painful than the professional and legal trouble that would come from shots fired.
I think the obsession over guns is unhealthy for both sides of the debate. Even under more favorable circumstances, you should be trying to avoid a confrontation, anyway. There are a lot of people out there who deserve to be killed, but facing off with such people incurs risk to you as well. There's a reason why we have armed specialists to do that kind of work on our behalf, or at least that's what we intend for them to do.
What happened to your friend is terrible. It's amazing he was able to get away without having to use his gun or at least avoid having it taken from him.
My friend managed to keep the gun under his control and concealed. Thank God, uniformed transit cops showed up before he was too badly hurt.
I don't have to ride that transit system so I don't. Even on a good day its full of homeless even if no one is being particularly aggressive. Someone needs to show enough resolve and use enough force to clean up that mess, but that's not my job.
As I studied self-defense tactics and law, I learned that even the most obviously justified shooting can result in many months of legal uncertainty and expense and could expose me to dangerous publicity from a biased media and unjust prosecution from a biased DA. The gun isn't useful for anything unless I'm seconds from death and my decision-making under fire has to be perfect and my skills have to be sharp and even that might not be good enough. For the last 52 years, situational awareness has worked perfectly well to keep me out of mortal peril.
I'm grateful for the 2nd Amendment and the right to carry if I decide to. Should circumstances change, I might start. Other people have concluded that EDC of firearms in public is the best decision for their personal security and I have no argument with them.
Also, I live in one of the most gun-friendly jurisdictions in America. When open carry became legal a few years ago, there was a lot of worry, even among very pro-gun people, that it would become a kind of wild west. But I've only seen one or two people openly carrying in the last five years. While I know lots of my friends and neighbors carry concealed, I almost never see a tell-tale bulge. I have to conclude that lots of folks around here think like we do on this issue.
It’s interesting to think that a lot of what you suggest in your EDC is what men used to just carry. I’ve always carried a pocket knife and lighter on me just because that’s what my dad always carried and that’s what his dad carried. I can’t tell you how many times I use those two items alone. Dislodging something, cutting a loose thread, burning a loose thread, burning a document with sensitive information, needing to scrape something, etc. Pens and cash are also musts. I’ll add a small notepad as well and a timepiece of some sort. For personal use, I always have a bottle opener on me too lol.
One more thing, a man should always wear a belt. I’ve always worn a braided belt well because I’m a trad but also because it can be disassembled with a knife into its constituent strands if you’re in need of skinnier strips of leather. Pro tip: if you ever have a bunch of books that are difficult to carry with your hands, take your belt off and wrap it around the stack of books, loop it as you would around your waist but don’t insert the pin into the belt. You can then easily carry your stack of books by the loose end of the belt since the tension from the belt keeps the stack together.
One more thing, and I mean no offense Mr. Remington, we must keep in mind that our contemporary blazers and sport coats are based off WWII and prior military jackets. They have pockets galore, and I must say are much more stylish than fanny packs or that European abomination you put in the first picture. Moreover, your personal items are literally kept close to the vest, and most interior pockets have buttons that won’t allow pickpockets to reach in even in the most cramped urban environments. Cut or tear out the thread from the front pockets to store less valuable items or items you use more often-- the knife or lighter or pen for example. If people think these jackets are cost prohibitive, most thrift stores have a variety of them for no more than $30. I picked up a fine Harris Tweed coat which retails for $600 for $20 from the thrift store. If you can afford a nice waxed hunting jacket, like a Barbour, then that can expand your stylish utilitarian wardrobe even more. Yes, these jackets are expensive but are meant to last a lifetime if taken care of properly.
One last word on coats. Apart from being an excellent way to store your personal items, they obviously also give you warmth. Even in the summer, night can develop a chill or it rains. Your coat can serve as a makeshift umbrella for you or a lady. If there is a summer night chill, which ladies are typically more susceptible to, you can lend her your coat.
The coat is social in many ways. It tells others you’re thinking about them by not assaulting them with your nearly bare figure, but it can also tell others you were thinking about them if you ever lend it to them in the course of a social interaction. I know that seems like an imperceptibly small thing, but I think in the world of billions of interactions in a day, it’s you doing your own part in reinstating civility in those mundane everyday interactions. Dress and act like you’re of a higher order and people will naturally be inclined to follow, even if they don’t know it. Don’t be flashy, be modest, but I think carrying some degree of gravitas does a lot better in the long run for social cohesion than merely avoiding risks for the sake of avoiding risks. A man’s fashion is to be primarily functional followed by form. If you don’t need it, don’t wear it. But Mr. Remington, I can’t abide the fanny pack when my Harris Tweed or poplin coat does just as well and if I may say so, looks quite a bit better. I hope you take the last comment in jest.
This is a great argument to bring back the sportcoat. Between that and the trousers, a man can comfortably stow a huge amount of gear. Sartorially, I hate the backpacks that make us all look like a bunch of unisex fourth-graders. But I can't deny the utility, convenience and capacity of the backpack so I use one regularly, though I don't like it.
Wow, looks like I could turn this blog into a fashion and lifestyle blog!
Great insights. I especially liked what you said here:
"Dress and act like you’re of a higher order and people will naturally be inclined to follow, even if they don’t know it. Don’t be flashy, be modest, but I think carrying some degree of gravitas does a lot better in the long run for social cohesion than merely avoiding risks for the sake of avoiding risks."
That said, I still enjoy feeling like a Frenchman wearing my fanny pack!
I completely agree with your judgment that not everyone should carry a firearm. Once I understood the extremely limited set of circumstances where the use of deadly force is justified, I concluded that there are a lot more ways for the gun in my pants to get me into trouble than to get me out of it.
I have a friend who is an undercover cop in a big city. He was on public transportation one day during the Summer of Floyd when he was assaulted by a group of apparently unarmed youths. He left his gun concealed while he took a beating, knowing that whatever they dealt out was going to be less painful than the professional and legal trouble that would come from shots fired.
I think the obsession over guns is unhealthy for both sides of the debate. Even under more favorable circumstances, you should be trying to avoid a confrontation, anyway. There are a lot of people out there who deserve to be killed, but facing off with such people incurs risk to you as well. There's a reason why we have armed specialists to do that kind of work on our behalf, or at least that's what we intend for them to do.
What happened to your friend is terrible. It's amazing he was able to get away without having to use his gun or at least avoid having it taken from him.
My friend managed to keep the gun under his control and concealed. Thank God, uniformed transit cops showed up before he was too badly hurt.
I don't have to ride that transit system so I don't. Even on a good day its full of homeless even if no one is being particularly aggressive. Someone needs to show enough resolve and use enough force to clean up that mess, but that's not my job.
As I studied self-defense tactics and law, I learned that even the most obviously justified shooting can result in many months of legal uncertainty and expense and could expose me to dangerous publicity from a biased media and unjust prosecution from a biased DA. The gun isn't useful for anything unless I'm seconds from death and my decision-making under fire has to be perfect and my skills have to be sharp and even that might not be good enough. For the last 52 years, situational awareness has worked perfectly well to keep me out of mortal peril.
I'm grateful for the 2nd Amendment and the right to carry if I decide to. Should circumstances change, I might start. Other people have concluded that EDC of firearms in public is the best decision for their personal security and I have no argument with them.
Also, I live in one of the most gun-friendly jurisdictions in America. When open carry became legal a few years ago, there was a lot of worry, even among very pro-gun people, that it would become a kind of wild west. But I've only seen one or two people openly carrying in the last five years. While I know lots of my friends and neighbors carry concealed, I almost never see a tell-tale bulge. I have to conclude that lots of folks around here think like we do on this issue.
That only proves it's not the guns. It's never the guns.
It's the people. But the Left only judges people when they're White.
It’s interesting to think that a lot of what you suggest in your EDC is what men used to just carry. I’ve always carried a pocket knife and lighter on me just because that’s what my dad always carried and that’s what his dad carried. I can’t tell you how many times I use those two items alone. Dislodging something, cutting a loose thread, burning a loose thread, burning a document with sensitive information, needing to scrape something, etc. Pens and cash are also musts. I’ll add a small notepad as well and a timepiece of some sort. For personal use, I always have a bottle opener on me too lol.
One more thing, a man should always wear a belt. I’ve always worn a braided belt well because I’m a trad but also because it can be disassembled with a knife into its constituent strands if you’re in need of skinnier strips of leather. Pro tip: if you ever have a bunch of books that are difficult to carry with your hands, take your belt off and wrap it around the stack of books, loop it as you would around your waist but don’t insert the pin into the belt. You can then easily carry your stack of books by the loose end of the belt since the tension from the belt keeps the stack together.
One more thing, and I mean no offense Mr. Remington, we must keep in mind that our contemporary blazers and sport coats are based off WWII and prior military jackets. They have pockets galore, and I must say are much more stylish than fanny packs or that European abomination you put in the first picture. Moreover, your personal items are literally kept close to the vest, and most interior pockets have buttons that won’t allow pickpockets to reach in even in the most cramped urban environments. Cut or tear out the thread from the front pockets to store less valuable items or items you use more often-- the knife or lighter or pen for example. If people think these jackets are cost prohibitive, most thrift stores have a variety of them for no more than $30. I picked up a fine Harris Tweed coat which retails for $600 for $20 from the thrift store. If you can afford a nice waxed hunting jacket, like a Barbour, then that can expand your stylish utilitarian wardrobe even more. Yes, these jackets are expensive but are meant to last a lifetime if taken care of properly.
One last word on coats. Apart from being an excellent way to store your personal items, they obviously also give you warmth. Even in the summer, night can develop a chill or it rains. Your coat can serve as a makeshift umbrella for you or a lady. If there is a summer night chill, which ladies are typically more susceptible to, you can lend her your coat.
The coat is social in many ways. It tells others you’re thinking about them by not assaulting them with your nearly bare figure, but it can also tell others you were thinking about them if you ever lend it to them in the course of a social interaction. I know that seems like an imperceptibly small thing, but I think in the world of billions of interactions in a day, it’s you doing your own part in reinstating civility in those mundane everyday interactions. Dress and act like you’re of a higher order and people will naturally be inclined to follow, even if they don’t know it. Don’t be flashy, be modest, but I think carrying some degree of gravitas does a lot better in the long run for social cohesion than merely avoiding risks for the sake of avoiding risks. A man’s fashion is to be primarily functional followed by form. If you don’t need it, don’t wear it. But Mr. Remington, I can’t abide the fanny pack when my Harris Tweed or poplin coat does just as well and if I may say so, looks quite a bit better. I hope you take the last comment in jest.
This is a great argument to bring back the sportcoat. Between that and the trousers, a man can comfortably stow a huge amount of gear. Sartorially, I hate the backpacks that make us all look like a bunch of unisex fourth-graders. But I can't deny the utility, convenience and capacity of the backpack so I use one regularly, though I don't like it.
Wow, looks like I could turn this blog into a fashion and lifestyle blog!
Great insights. I especially liked what you said here:
"Dress and act like you’re of a higher order and people will naturally be inclined to follow, even if they don’t know it. Don’t be flashy, be modest, but I think carrying some degree of gravitas does a lot better in the long run for social cohesion than merely avoiding risks for the sake of avoiding risks."
That said, I still enjoy feeling like a Frenchman wearing my fanny pack!
Better to carry a pistol and never need it than wish you had one when your life is threatened. Be safe out there people!