Those of you who know me know that I am a pacificist. I have gotten into several arguments over the years regarding my belief that war fundamentally creates more problems than it solves, and that however inevitable violence may be, life as we know it would be better if no one ever picked up a gun. I think last week's shooting is evidence for that argument, but I also think there is a subtle but gigantic difference between shooting guns to hunt for your food and shooting guns to hurt people.
The former is something I have always wanted to try but have never had the chance to do, even while living in Texas. But on Martin Luther King Day I visited my friends Dan and Ariel and got to use Dan's varmit control .22 for the first time in my life. This would be ironic, except that I still want to emphasize, brothers and sisters, that shooting guns for hunting purposes is not inconsistent with my love of peace, compromise, negotiations, and diplomacy. Anyway (can you tell the guilt is eating at me?), Dan showed me the shockingly non-intricate anatomy of the gun, how to look through the telescope (very convenient!) and told me that I should try and hold it steady before firing (excellent advice). I followed his instructions and we moved quickly from a paper target to the much more difficult (and rewarding) goal of shooting beer cans. Not our
beer cans, mind you! This was at about 10 am in the morning and we were very safety conscious (in fact, I routinely forgot to take the safety off, I was so safety conscious). I am certain we were really really far away from the beer cans though, so I was extremely happy with myself when I got one... Dang varmit.
Now, I feel ready to more fully embrace a) trailer life and b) a subsistence, locavore diet. Okay, maybe hunting for my own food on the streets of Portland is not going to work. But I am ready to play the game Ladd told us about for her going away party-- BeerHunter. Safety first, of course.
The former is something I have always wanted to try but have never had the chance to do, even while living in Texas. But on Martin Luther King Day I visited my friends Dan and Ariel and got to use Dan's varmit control .22 for the first time in my life. This would be ironic, except that I still want to emphasize, brothers and sisters, that shooting guns for hunting purposes is not inconsistent with my love of peace, compromise, negotiations, and diplomacy. Anyway (can you tell the guilt is eating at me?), Dan showed me the shockingly non-intricate anatomy of the gun, how to look through the telescope (very convenient!) and told me that I should try and hold it steady before firing (excellent advice). I followed his instructions and we moved quickly from a paper target to the much more difficult (and rewarding) goal of shooting beer cans. Not our 
beer cans, mind you! This was at about 10 am in the morning and we were very safety conscious (in fact, I routinely forgot to take the safety off, I was so safety conscious). I am certain we were really really far away from the beer cans though, so I was extremely happy with myself when I got one... Dang varmit. 
Now, I feel ready to more fully embrace a) trailer life and b) a subsistence, locavore diet. Okay, maybe hunting for my own food on the streets of Portland is not going to work. But I am ready to play the game Ladd told us about for her going away party-- BeerHunter. Safety first, of course.
You're officially an honorary Oregonian once you start shooting beer cans in your spare time. Excellent choice of beer cans to shoot I might add, particularly apropos.
ReplyDeleteSarah, if we'd known it was on the table, we could have all gone to a gun range. Jay sez, The parallel of your story, if it had happened in Texas, would have been that the beer cans would have been yours, and the safety might not have worked on the gun. I can attest to the beer drinkin' and shooting as I've seen it, maybe even have participated in a limited way, allegedly.
ReplyDeleteThe photo of you wielding a rifle with a tallboy in your sight is disturbingly sexy.
ReplyDelete