It was strange to finally see it for myself on Friday night: after a full day (the details of which I& #39;ll save for another time), me and my S.O. did our grocery shopping later than usual. We usually arrive at the Mechanicsburg Wegman& #39;s a little after 5 on a typical Friday. (1/)
In any case, we found ourselves leaving the store at around 8:30. As I& #39;m getting ready to turn the key in the ignition, a guy passes by with a handgun tucked into his right hip. He doesn& #39;t see us notice this, but after a moment, he untucks his shirt to conceal the firearm. (2/)
I could ask a stupid question of the Twitter constituency, like, "is that allowed in PA?" But the answer is here: https://www.psp.pa.gov/firearms-information/Pages/Carrying-Firearms-in-Pennsylvania.aspx">https://www.psp.pa.gov/firearms-... (3/)
I still don& #39;t understand the need to bring a gun into a grocery store. It& #39;s the type of thing stupid viral videos (that our dark hearts laugh-cry at) are made of: "well, it was the last pack of strawberries, and one thing led to another..." (4/)
Before I hit my teens, I fired my brother& #39;s BB and pellet guns. I have a very vague memory of using a shotgun to blow coffee cans off a stump at my grandfather& #39;s farm. But in general, and ever since, I& #39;ve never been comfortable around guns. (5/)
My S.O. owns a handgun, but I& #39;ve only seen it out of its case once in all the years we& #39;ve been dating. My nerves and reflexes being what they are, I don& #39;t know that I& #39;d be able to trust myself to handle a firearm responsibly. (6/)
But in watching that guy on Friday, who was there by himself, I felt all the stereotypical cliches bubble up: the "feel big with a small peepee" argument...the "American entitlement" argument... (7/)
And perhaps there was something telling about the gun& #39;s sand-colored grip. As a kid, I remember how toy manufacturers tried to sell the "fun" of the Gulf War by putting cheap plastic facsimiles in toy stores across America. Was it a holdover from advertising? (8/)
As is usually the case, I didn& #39;t start this thread with an over-arching point in mind (I& #39;m not one of those "clever" Twitter users). It was just interesting to actually observe this phenomenon first-hand, which leads me to think many more have been/are already doing it. (9/9)
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