Lately, I'm beginning to wonder if certain gun forums have been infiltrated by Gun Control Advocates based on observation of users with strangely pro-Gun Control statements as well as a habitual presumption that their fellow forum-goers aren't responsible with firearms.
I've noticed a phenomenon in which certain users automatically presume that others are completely ignorant if not totally lacking in common sense when it comes to self-defense.
Honestly, it seems that in any given discussion, there's always a handful of users who speak to others in the most condescending way possible, treating them as if they're completely irresponsible without anything whatsoever to indicate that they don't know what they're doing.
They make all manner of statements as if the people they're speaking with aren't aware of their rights, how their firearms work, of basic firearms safety, despite the fact that obviously those who post here are Firearms Enthusiasts who otherwise wouldn't be here at all if they didn't know about these things, especially not posting from accounts which were created years ago.
For example, if someone starts a discussion on the topic of Home Defense, someone will start talking down to them about how they need to be aware of their local laws, be responsible for every shot that they take, to be mindful of the fact that walls don't stop bullets, that guns don't work the way they do in the movies, and every other presumptuous, condescending statement possible.
It would be one thing if the topic creator opened the thread by stating that they're new to self-defense and that they were seeking advice, but that isn't the sort of thread I'm referring to here. It's just users who seem to be under the impression that the majority of other users are negligent or incompetent to the point that they're a danger to themselves as well as everyone around them.
Unsurprisingly, these users also tend to make statements in favor of Gun Control and against the enactment of laws which uphold the Second Amendment such as Constitutional Carry.
So I have to wonder just who these users really are and what side they're on when they think so lowly of their peers that they treat every thread like it's an opportunity to instruct their fellow users on firearms safety, their rights, and everything else that's relevant to self-defense as if they're ignorant, irresponsible, or otherwise completely negligent of these things.
Furthermore, I cannot help but feel as if it's intentionally manipulative, as these presumptions are clearly never put to rest, nor do the users who make them ever appear to be reassured by their fellow users when they attempt to inform them that they know what they're doing, regardless of how informed they clearly are or what their service credentials would indicate to the contrary. They just keep right on responding to threads with their presumptuous, condescending rhetoric.
Regardless of intent, it's a very rude way to address others which isn't conducive towards civil discussion nor maintaining a friendly atmosphere to go full Mrs. Shields by arbitrarily responding every discussion they read on Firearms, Self-Defense, and the Second Amendment with comments which more or less equate to; "You'll shoot your eye out, Kid!"
In addition, I have witnessed the all-the-more suspicious activity which is essentially users attempting to scare other users out of using firearms for self-defense by bombarding them with horror stories of how they had better have a darn-good lawyer or they'll lose their money, their house, their job, and their freedom if they dare to shoot someone in self-defense.
Alternatively, they'll attempt to make others doubt in their ability to safely use a firearm under stress by telling horror stories of folks who forgot to switch off the safety or didn't keep a firm grip on it so it was snatched away by their attacker and used against them, or how someone unintentionally shot someone innocent because they panicked, or any number of other such cautionary tales which end in death or imprisonment.
As if that wasn't enough, there are always the horror stories of accidental death, betrayal and grisly murder by family and friends who were able to get their hands on firearms which either weren't adequately secured or otherwise left openly accessible to a third party.
I don't know about the rest of you, but that doesn't strike me as the sort of way that a Firearms Enthusiast speaks, but rather that of a Gun Control Advocate who is going out of their way to discourage people from exercising their rights by owning, carrying, and using their firearms for self-defense.
