Uncle.
Apparently some of my readers think this young man deserves the benefit of the doubt. 
Surely he checked the chamber first before taking this photo. Since he surely checked the chamber, he should never be called an idiot with a gun. Let's not offend someone's little sensibilities!
Surely every young person who sees this photo and decides to take a similar photo for their My Space webpage will check the chamber of their gun too.
Yes, this young man is a fine example of safe gun owners everywhere, and what we should all aspire to be.
Reading through my comments, I believe Idiots With Guns has failed.
I will sleep on this one. Perhaps for a very long time.
Surely he checked the chamber first before taking this photo. Since he surely checked the chamber, he should never be called an idiot with a gun. Let's not offend someone's little sensibilities!Surely every young person who sees this photo and decides to take a similar photo for their My Space webpage will check the chamber of their gun too.
Yes, this young man is a fine example of safe gun owners everywhere, and what we should all aspire to be.
Reading through my comments, I believe Idiots With Guns has failed.
I will sleep on this one. Perhaps for a very long time.
posted by Xavier at 8:57 PM
38 Comments:
Keep Blogging. The world is full of idiots. With and without guns.
redneck@groveratredneck.com
keep blogging. you are my favorite blog, period.
btw- i think i'm the one that 1st stirred this up. i never meant to attack or flame you...
i just think that some of these silly pics might not be real firearms at all. and i don't think it is a big deal to point a gun at a camera (an inanimate object that can be replaced), assuming the peroson is willing ot take the chance that it might be destroyed.
some of these are obvious stupid people, some are not.
i joined a gun club Sunday... been there for decades. i looked at the pics of the champion target shooters over the years that hang on hte wall- quite a few had fingers on the triggers for their poses!
please keep the blob going, but maybe be less judgemenatl of strangers in posses you don't necessarily know all the facts on... or keep judging them- your blog, your choice!
Well.
I'd like for you to continue to blog.
You are very entertaining to read, and I like hearing about your finds, and your range reports, and reading about your customizations, and etc.
Plus, you're a shipmate, and I like hearing from you.
As for the Idiots With Guns (IWG) thing...
The anonymous guy above that says 'don't be judgemental' is incorrect, in my opinion.
The pictures that have IWG pointing the firearms at the camera can be posed, with the camera on a timer, and the gun may be unloaded (some we can see that they ARE loaded), but that's not the way that a cop in place of the camera would bet. And the cop would get a paid vacation then go back to work, after killing the IWG.
If it looks like a gun, and I can't fondle it to make sure it's NOT a gun, then it is a gun according to the state laws where I live, and I'm justified in stopping you from causing me great bodily injury with my own firearm.
Pointing an object that looks like a gun, or an unloaded gun, at someone in the state where I live is a class C misdemenor and can get you in jail for up to six months.
The pictures with IWGs pointing the firearm at the IWGs body parts, like the one in this post, are showing evolution in action, even though they will leave grieving family behind.
All guns are always loaded. Period, end of story.
Never point a gun at anything you don't wish to destroy. Period, end of story.
Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot. Period, end of story. Corollary: don't put your finger in the trigger guard until you are getting ready to shoot.
Know what your target is AND what's around and behind it. Period, end of story. Corollary: Make sure there isn't anything between you and the target that you don't want to destroy.
People that argue these points are just trying to kill someone, and are likely to use the "excuse" of "I didn't know it was loaded!" See rule numbers 1, 2 and 3.
I agree. Just ignore the IWC's (Idiots With Computers).
Have you been deleting comments, or did someone just step on your kitten this morning?
Because I don't see any indication that it's failed at all.
Keep blogging if you enjoy it. I enjoy reading it. It's certainly not worth considering if it becomes one more thing you're obligated to do.
YOU should blog for YOU. If you're tired of it, quit, but don't be like so many others and whine before taking their toys and going home...
You must have had a long day. Happens. Idiots with Guns is wonderful. I think it highlights something very important about young people and guns that needs to be said. I read the gun news every day as you know, and I read far too many stories that start out with, "I didn't know it was loaded..." There are some things upon which it is completely appropriate to be judgmental, and mishandling firearms is one.
Oh, woe is me! The GunBloggers will hate me now!
"You bastard, Blob! You hurt Xavier's feelings and deprived us of his great blog! You heel!"
You sleep on it, X. When you wake up, shake my hand and don't be a whiny asshole like moi.
Xavier,
Please keep blogging. I read your blog every day. IWG is as educational a part of your blog as any of it. It sucks to be them if part of your readership is not able to heed these lessons. If they don't like it, they can leave.
Go read today's Lawdog files for the story of a self-inflicted one-shot stop from a .25.
Oh, Puhlease....
Xavier, by all means, be 'judgemenatl'.
'Don't be judgemental' is the call of the habitually underachieving. It is a demand for lower standards, disguised as a guilt trip. When you point out their error, they feel uncomfortable, and of COURSE they'll attempt personal attacks - "you're judging me, you're judging me, who do you think you are?". It has worked for them so well in so many venues.
Whatever happened to 'aim high'? These people shoot for mediocrity and consistently fail to reach it.
/Rant Off
Xavier, you'd be missed. Do what you need to do...
For every fool who would yell "Maybe there's no firing pin!" "Maybe it's loaded with blanks" "Maybe it was on a timer" There's at least 10 people who agree with your assessment of idiots with guns.
Continue blogging, please.
It doesn't matter if he checked the chamber, his finger is on the trigger, and I assume the muzzle is pointed at something he does not wish to destroy. Don't listen to the morons.
Hit send a little too soon; keep blogging.
Keep blogging keep blogging keep blogging.
It's important to many people.
Benefit of the doubt my ass, if you ask me. First rule is the first rule: they are always loaded, period. There's a reason why it's not "treat them like they're loaded," as you've gone to great length to explain before. I think "idiots with guns" is the perfect title for this every time I look at one of those pictures with some asshat wanting to show how badass he/she is by pointing a gun at him/herself/someone else. As far as I'm concerned, "idiots with guns" is a service to those who read your blog, and should it or your blog come to an end, my blog-reading would be shorter every day. And I consider that a bad thing.
wow...
that is quite a dose to take after
my shitty day of work.
I really wonder where I'll go to
get educated about old S&W crap;
there aren't many of us "young
guys" that are into wheel guns
anymore...
My wife is shocked to think that
she might not see anymore of JoeDog
too.
I'm curious to see your decision
and respect you either way.
Les
"So let us be judgmental, for Heaven's sake! That equipment up between your ears, which was provided you by God, is there to make judgments. There are such things as good and evil. Think about them. There are such things as right and wrong. Think about them. If you do not make judgments about such matters, you are a moral blob, fit only for jobs which are better handled by robots." -- Jeff Cooper
The old boy was right. Don't listen to the idiots, or the defenders of idiots.
"X"
This is the best gun BLOG I've ever come across...
...now is not the time to quit something you do so well...
...you are educating others, even with controversy...
...and no matter what, IWG is still an entertaining segment.
This blog is also my favorite. I like the IWG posts, as well as your constant hunt for the next pawn shop/gun show bargain. I hope you find the time and motivation to carry on.
Your blog is my favorite. I learn a lot from the many things you post, including your archived stuff. I bought a great Star 9MM because of you for $199.00, which fired POA before I ever gave it any kind of tune up. Please ignore all the idiots out there who think is it o.k. for responsible, law-abiding gun owners to act the fool with lethal weapons. Guns are survival tools, not Hollywood props. You need to keep reinforcing that thought.
Thank you for your excellent blog.
Signed,
Aim_Small_Miss_Small
Hope you won't close your blog. For me this is the only english-language blog that I'm reading regularly.
I don't know if anyone who ever has their picture taken with their finger on the trigger is an "idiot," because gun magazines have been doing that for years.
However, anyone who thinks it's cool to show the simulated portrayal of a prelude to suicide is an idiot. The realness of the gun/toy is irrelevant. The idea that somehow suicide is cool makes them stupid.
Your blog -- good.
Idiots with guns -- bad.
Well, I mean the idiots with guns are bad. Highlighting their dimwitted attempts at "cool" is something that I find amusing, personally, as do various coworkers who consistently marvel at the IWG feature when you post a new winner.
It's possible, I suppose, that IWG may simply be catching airsoft gun enthusiasts, some with some *incredibly* detailed weapons . . . but they're still idiots, and if their example can be a teaching point for what not to do with firearms, at least there is some positive in their stupidity.
WOW!
It really never occurred to me that people, especially GUNNIES, would object to the "idiots with guns" pictures.
The rules serve a purpose, to make it neigh impossible for someone to be shot by "accident". But they only work if you follow them.
Xavier, moral relativism is the order of the day, don't give in to it and don't believe it. Just because Col Cooper or anyone else violates a rule doesn't make their actions right.
The quote from Cooper was apt.
Illegitimis non carborundum est.
Apparently some of my readers think this young man deserves the benefit of the doubt.
Some of your readers are wrong, X. Even if that chamber was checked, they should know that breaking any one of those four rules emcourages and reinforces bad habits and should not be encouraged under any circumstances. If you stop with the Idiots with Guns series, or worse, stop blogging, the gun blog community will be much poorer. The Four Rules were created for a reason. I would bet my next check that for every nasty comment and e-mail you got, there are hundreds of people who think the IWG series showcases what not to do with a gun, ever, under any circumstances. Don't give up the fight. We gunnies need all the help we can get, especially in these perilous times.
To the comment about airsoft guns...
Xavier had an IWG a while back that had a kid that literally shot his eye out with a paintball gun.
The picture showed the kid, missing an eye, with his finger on the trigger of the paintball gun...
Like I said, evolution in action.
This is a fine blog.
Anyway, should you keep blogging?
I don't know...
Shame on the -cowards- and the idiots . They should accept criticics that are right and use that to improve (well, most won't).
Here in Spain we've never had the right to carry any weapon (a knife, a sport gun ... illegal).
I guess only the criminals do.
I own an precision air rifle I bought when I was a child.
As crimes rises people buy dogs...
Antonio (Spain)
You need to do right by yourself and your family. It would be a loss if you quit blogging. You are a daily read, your posts are informative and interesting.
I wish you well whatever you decide. Thank you for the information and entertainment you have provided.
Mike
Xavier,
Regardless of what you decide, I know you know the Interweb is populated with crass and craven individuals who will insist on screaming insults and threats from mommy's basement. Forums, blogs, journals, sites...all receive their share of hate mail, mine included, and it's just up to you to decide what to do with it. If you're cowed by one of the keyboard commandos that got caught in a IWG pic, then maybe its for the best to hit the "delete" button, put the clowns on ignore and move ahead. As for the anonymous voices in the dark - you have far more chance of finding them via IP signatures and such than they have of finding you. That's my $.02, but as always YMMV.
Blog-on brother, Rule #1 is like Hanger-1 , it's so big it has its own weather and can hold a gigantic airship...
Please continue. These points cannot be stressed enough. Just ask Jon-Erik Hexum (the actor who killed himself accidentally while fooling around with a gun loaded with blanks. The blank round was enough to do him in.)
Xavier keep blogging. Add the movie "The Hills Have Eyes" to your IWG for the scene where the kid points a gun at his brother-in-law and says "Don't worry the safety is on" while the father looks on and laughs.
Xavier, I just recently started reading your blog and thoroughly enjoy it. I can't imagine you dropping it or changing it to suit some twerps who don't like what you write. If they don't like it, they don't have to read it!
Perhaps it would have more impact if other bloggers also picked up or mirrored your IWG. Besides, you're not the one violating the four rules. If you put a gun to your head and take pictures of it, what the hell do you expect? They wanted attention, they're getting it.
It's like those anti-war idiots posting their contact information on their website for all their liberal friends, but when Michelle Malkin posts it along with their own published activities, they get upset because they're getting more mail than they asked for - and they STILL leave their contact info published. Go figure.
How many actors have been killed with unloaded guns, or those loaded only with blanks? Unloaded guns kill more people than people realize. But don't blame it on the guns, that's like blaming bad spelling on your pencil.
Besides, if guns kill so many people, where are mine hiding all the bodies?
Keep it up. I LOVE seeing IWGs! I guess the truth hurts. If you're going to do something stupid or illegal, you probably shouldn't document it with photos or video.
DON'T QUIT BLOGGING - I'll go through withdrawls
Heh, by the way, Xavier, you should see my email today. The guys over at KABA didn't like my site ...
Grandma always warned me that not everyone would love me. I guess the hate mail goes with the territory, eh?
Tell the whiney, snot-nosed rebel without a clue to stop e-mailing you. Stop trying to act like a mall ninja and making alligator threats that his tadpole posterior isn't going to be able to back up.
And tell him to stop dating my daughter!
Xavier, like others here have stated, I read your blog daily. I really appreciate the IWG posts you make, and have used them as teaching tools for my children.
It would be a sad thing if you stopped blogging. I find it very disappointing that people see fit to voice their disagreements in a hate-filled manner, as you apparently have been subject to.
You are at or if not the actual top, very near to the top of quality blogs.
if some character with too many baboons screeching from his family tree flames you, don't let it get you.
a cop that had been banned from the club i was in the 80's set off to prove his poor gun manners were ok by pointing the gun at his head and squeezing.
It was at an informal shoot at a new indoor range the day before the official inaugriation of a new club. (washington, County Durham)
Yeah, he cast a long shadow and some nasty stains over that.
I've really enjoyed your idiots with guns, even if you stop doing them, your free to do whatyou want
please keep the blog going and the safety message
Please keep blogging. Your website and the Four Rules of Firearm safety have been instrumental as I'm about to make my first firearm purchase. I recite those rules as my mantra everytime I go to the range. I do not want to have that one time where I don't check to occur and result in an injury to myself or to someone else.
You're series does good work and it'd be a shame for the comments of some MySpace emos or other to stop that work from continuing.
This fellow is definitely an idiot and prime example of some of the things that are very wrong in this world. Another great example of misdirected priorities and lack of personal discipline.
Please keep up the Thoughts, Xavier. I look forward to reading it each night.
From one CWP holder and avid gunner to another, it is nice to have my thoughts that seem to ring so true to me be bolstered by a "stranger" such as yourself and some of your readers.
Keep the Thoughts rolling...
Lost in Jacksonville
Xavier keep up the fine work...in fact this page may get bigger and betterr I have another submission....i dare not say its from myspace but....ok it is....egawds
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/Cableguy_photo/ILLAKILLA_mySpace_643182906_l.jpg
Joe In Cincinnati
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