US sales of guns and ammunition soar amid coronavirus panic buying(theguardian.com)
theguardian.com
US sales of guns and ammunition soar amid coronavirus panic buying
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/16/us-sales-guns-ammunition-soar-amid-coronavirus-panic-buying
25 comments
During that time in Canada we buy toilet paper...
The USA is absurd.
Between the economy, the oil price war, the politicization of politics, and most pressingly the virus, 2019ncov is proving to be the potential trigger for wide scale geopolitical change and possibly insecurity. States are going to go into quarantine one by one with little to no coordination. Governments and law agencies will be commandeering emergency powers. We are sitting on a major pressure point and it's impossible to predict the outcome, but there is a high likelihood of political instability and/or violence, even within America.
If the economy doesn't recover soon, people are going to grow increasingly hungry and desperate without radical federal measures. It is prudent to be prepared to defend yourself now because this is shaping up to be the kind of scenario where you really cannot rely on first responders to protect you.
Edit: I meant "polarization of politics" but autocorrect may be hinting at something profound...
If the economy doesn't recover soon, people are going to grow increasingly hungry and desperate without radical federal measures. It is prudent to be prepared to defend yourself now because this is shaping up to be the kind of scenario where you really cannot rely on first responders to protect you.
Edit: I meant "polarization of politics" but autocorrect may be hinting at something profound...
politicization of politics
That's a good one, it reveals an unexpected, deep truth.
That's a good one, it reveals an unexpected, deep truth.
> If the economy doesn't recover soon, people are going to grow increasingly hungry and desperate without radical federal measures.
This might not entirely be a bad thing [1]. Things will need to get worse so they can get better.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Deal
This might not entirely be a bad thing [1]. Things will need to get worse so they can get better.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Deal
Exactly. There's no "panic" about it, it's just people being reasonable and taking prudent precautions.
A lot of media trying to push this as hillbillies/rednecks wanting to defend their hoard of toilet paper are short-sighted.
Panic & fear cause people to make unpredictable poor decisions, and you never know if that could affect you and your family. In the USA, you have a right to defend yourself and these people are just choosing to do that. Please don't demonize them for just wanting to protect themselves and their families.
Be safe and watch out for each other.
Panic & fear cause people to make unpredictable poor decisions, and you never know if that could affect you and your family. In the USA, you have a right to defend yourself and these people are just choosing to do that. Please don't demonize them for just wanting to protect themselves and their families.
Be safe and watch out for each other.
Having a gun in your home also increase the probability that one of your kids can find it and kill another of your kids by accident. It is a tradeoff.
or a knife. or an open window.
if you do everything wrong, like keep guns and ammo associated, or just keep a loaded gun in your nightstand, maybe.
then again, many of us rural folks grew up hunting and shooting from age six. somehow we never decided to blast a friend or family member in the face. chalk it up to family values and gun safety lessons I guess!
most of the increased mortality related to gun ownership, is from suicide.
if you do everything wrong, like keep guns and ammo associated, or just keep a loaded gun in your nightstand, maybe.
then again, many of us rural folks grew up hunting and shooting from age six. somehow we never decided to blast a friend or family member in the face. chalk it up to family values and gun safety lessons I guess!
most of the increased mortality related to gun ownership, is from suicide.
Respect for firearms is an extremely important skill to teach a child. Having grown up hunting, this was taught to me at a very young age. But more kids die from drowning in pools than from accidental firearm discharges, and it's also important to teach your child water safety and swimming skills.
I agree. Swimming pools are more dangerous than the people realize. Never left the children unattended nearby a swimming pool.
Personally I've been wanting to do a bulk ammo buy for a while, and realized there was going to be a run so I dumped 1000 bucks into some ammo for all the calibers I own.
I'm also in the process of building an AR-10, and have slowly been accumulating parts. Decided to pull the trigger on some of the more expensive parts this week because I caught some good deals.
It's not all panic buying.
I'm also in the process of building an AR-10, and have slowly been accumulating parts. Decided to pull the trigger on some of the more expensive parts this week because I caught some good deals.
It's not all panic buying.
I was going to put an order in cause I've got a couple shoots coming up. Everything was in stock Friday. I went to buy today and everything but some of the more obscure cartridges are sold out. It is pretty crazy.
As a non-American, I’m imagining this scene playing out with armed people.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2020/03/07/coronavi...
Far from making fun of Americans, I am scared for them. This crisis has already proven how irrational people can be, and rapidly we revert to basic tribalism, giving in to base instincts. Adding (even more) guns to this mix is a bad sign. But in an environment where trust in authority has been systematically destroyed, it is, a sadly understandable response.
Stay safe, and remember that most of the people you might be defending yourselves from are probably just as desperate (if not more so) than you.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2020/03/07/coronavi...
Far from making fun of Americans, I am scared for them. This crisis has already proven how irrational people can be, and rapidly we revert to basic tribalism, giving in to base instincts. Adding (even more) guns to this mix is a bad sign. But in an environment where trust in authority has been systematically destroyed, it is, a sadly understandable response.
Stay safe, and remember that most of the people you might be defending yourselves from are probably just as desperate (if not more so) than you.
[deleted]
you're afraid people will murder each other in times of strife?
if you really think this will devolve into violence, then you aught to understand what the firearms are being bought for. it's not to go mad max on somebody.
if you really think this will devolve into violence, then you aught to understand what the firearms are being bought for. it's not to go mad max on somebody.
> people you might be defending yourselves from are probably just as desperate
Somehow I am having a hard time empathizing with people I am put in the position of having to defend myself from.
Somehow I am having a hard time empathizing with people I am put in the position of having to defend myself from.
Trust in the system is at an all-time low. At Amherst College, the administration decided shortly before Spring Break that students should not return after the break in order not to bring back coronavirus to campus and spread it there. There would be accommodations when necessary.
There was a sit-in to protest against the very sensible decision. One would think that at the second-best college in the nation the administration would be aware that some students may have difficulties coming up with emergency funds for travel, that there may be travel bans or that some students might not wish to return to unstable living conditions at home. But the students did not trust the system to work for them.
Some stage sit-ins, others buy firearms.
There was a sit-in to protest against the very sensible decision. One would think that at the second-best college in the nation the administration would be aware that some students may have difficulties coming up with emergency funds for travel, that there may be travel bans or that some students might not wish to return to unstable living conditions at home. But the students did not trust the system to work for them.
Some stage sit-ins, others buy firearms.
In a stressed society with low friction access to fierams, buying an assault rifle is just working your way towards Nash equilibrium.
Terrifying.
Terrifying.
Do you mean an actual assault rifle, or just a "scary black gun" that is functionally equivalent to any other modern semi-automatic hunting rifle (and shoots lower powered rounds than many common hunting rifles)?
If it's the former, there's nothing low-friction about it. You have to fill out more forms, pay more money, get more background checks, etc. etc., yadda yadda, and you can't buy any such weapon manufactured after 1986.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/its-still-legal-to-own-a-...
If it's the former, there's nothing low-friction about it. You have to fill out more forms, pay more money, get more background checks, etc. etc., yadda yadda, and you can't buy any such weapon manufactured after 1986.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/its-still-legal-to-own-a-...
I meant an actual Nash equilibrium.
My experience of firearms is limited to three years in the (not US) military so I'll deffer to you on comparative merits of semi automatic vs hunting rifles available to civilians on the US market.
My experience of firearms is limited to three years in the (not US) military so I'll deffer to you on comparative merits of semi automatic vs hunting rifles available to civilians on the US market.
Primary : MK18 BLOCK 3 URGI (https://i.redd.it/tgnpp2xi82q11.png) Secondary: Roland Special