05 February 2009

Postscript to Safety...and Other Stuff...
Yeah, one more day of this COLD weather (here in Indiana, anyway), and my shoulder is yelling at me: "Enough all ready".
Arthritis is a real bitch, no doubt about that.
Still (like this city) it "could" always be WORSE...just not by all that much.
And it would seem that there are TWO people that SHOULD have read yesterday's post here about safely handling one's FIREARM.
That's right...we had TWO MORE self-inflicted "accidental" shootings, neither of which (luckily) resulted in serious injury or death.
On 3 February, around 0900 hrs., a man living at 6932 Westlawn Drive was "racking his weapon", a 9mm semi auto pistol, when it fired, striking him in the hand.
Later that night, around midnight, police were called to Parkview Hospital where they found a man suffering a gunshot wound to the hand from his 9mm pistol.
The man told police he was showing a friend "how clean he had gotten his gun", when he shot himself in the hand.
The other shooting happened WAY back on 29 Jan 2009 (why it took THIS long to make the news, I have NO idea), when officers were called to 7011 Bradbury Ave., where they found a man who said he accidentally shot himself while cleaning his .22 caliber revolver.
The man was not bleeding, calm, and appeared to be in fair condition, according to police reports.
Okay, so you KNOW what I have to say about THIS, right?
Regarding the guy that shot his hand with the 9mm:
Next time, try showing a friend the pistol AFTER you EMPTY the damn thing, you moron!
And "if" a pistol discharges "while racking it", then you have an issue with the trigger, like MAYBE your FINGER WAS ON IT?
That's a damn good way to get a round out of the chamber, but certainly NOT the safest way by far.
((You can "repeat-fire" a pump shotgun, by holding the trigger and then racking the pump back and forth. I do believe that safety features have been incorporated to prevent civilian use of this "nuance", but I don't go around testing every single pump-action piece on the market.
I know my 870 "clone" won't let me continuously "dry-fire" it in this manner, so I can only conclude that live loads would perform similarly.))

As to the idiot that had his REVOLVER go off...sorry, buddy.
No excuse for YOU.
You just acted outright STUPID.
How frigging long does it take to drop the wheel, and extract the shells, anyway? About TWO frigging SECONDS...that's how long!
Long enough to KEEP from shooting oneself.
(pardon my "French", but...Jesus H. Tap-dancing Christ.)
When WILL people learn to show a little bit of PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY again?
Maybe it's just God's way of saying "Pay the hell attention, jackass!"
That's sound advice not only for firearms, but also for life in general.
'Ya think?
On the good side to all this, as long as the THUGS keep offing each other, eventually most all of them will be gone in some fashion, be it taking that "long dirt nap", or incarceration (the longer, the better).
To me, it makes no nevermind.
Just kill each other...and quickly, because my patience with ALL of you jerkoffs is wearing REAL thin.
I tend to be a "quick-study" when it comes to matters like this.
I learn fast.
I'm also one of those people that still believes that LIFE is the ultimate "learning experience".
And in the 12 years I've lived HERE (Fort Wayne), I've learned more than I was initially willing to learn, just by being observant.
I've learned that when it comes to seeing others do dumb things, there IS no substitute for good old STUPIDITY.
I've learned that traditional values mean absolutely NOTHING when living in a newly blighted area of the city.
I've learned what REAL racism is like, from those that ALWAYS like to play the race card.
I've learned that no matter HOW MANY TIMES you tell people that they're doing something wrong, they will KEEP doing it, because they've been "oppressed" for so long.
I've learned that being a minority really DOES suck (because I AM one now in MY neighborhood).
I've learned that people will simply NOT leave you alone, no matter how much you demonstrate that to them.
I've learned that ignorance, apathy, disrespect, and slovenly behavior all help to perpetuate the "poverty" myth.
(you can be "financially-challenged" and NOT display any of those traits...I know from experience)
And there are tons of other things that I have learned living here...and I learn a little more every day, so at least there is SOME saving grace to all this crap.
Lastly, I hear that our police chief, Rusty York wants to sideline (and sell off?) the fleet of motorcycles (yeah, all FIVE Of them), citing budget cuts.
Sure, the bikes can only be properly used in better weather conditions (spring through fall), and sure, they ONLY get about 40 MPG, and sure, they can maneuver through traffic a LOT better than a cruiser...sell 'em all off anyway, right?
Well, it IS going to cost $10K to maintain them (less than HALF the price of a police cruiser), and yes, motorcycles do NOT have laptop computers in them OR on them (anyone hear of portable readers/scanners that can later upload info to a base site?), but is that reason alone to get RID OF THEM?
I think not, but then again, I'm "old school" when it comes to law-enforcement.
Actually, with the technology available, a cycle officer could use his bloody CELL PHONE to send along pictures of an accident scene, or even upload forms, so what's the damn beef here? And then there is the Blackberry, and a mess of other stuff out there that even I am not aware of (yeah, we've got THAT much).
There will ALWAYS be situations where a motorcycle is the ONLY recourse, and should be utilized.
I would mention that DOWNTOWN is the PERFECT place to use them. The Interstate around the city is another.
How's a bout a GRANT for the bikes, Rus...?
Anybody checking into THAT?
Idiots with guns...cops without motorcycles...what the hell is NEXT?
We could just take the police CARS from the officers. Think of ALL the money THAT would save.
People can "text" their problems into the FWPD, and a "negotiator" could reason it all out.
And by all means, let's take ALL those nasty BULLETS away from the officers.
Ammo costs MONEY, people.
Give them all WHISTLES, TASERS, MACE, and bring back the Billy Club.
"Halt, or I'll TOOT".
Yeah, that'll work.
Sure those scenarios are ridiculous, but not a helluva lot more removed than doing away with the police cycles.
I know that during the SUMMER months, I don't even get to see any FWPD officers on BICYCLES in my neighborhood, and with all the places perps have to duck in and out of, getting a cruiser in there would be quite impossible to say the least.
But I suppose we "could" get all those National Guard troops Obama plans to bring home, and deploy THEM on our street corners.
Wouldn't really NEED police motorcycles THEN, would we?
And with all the filth, trash, drugs, guns, gangs, and other assorted human flotsam we already "enjoy" down here, hell, it'd be JUST LIKE a damn trip to MEXICO. And who couldn't use a nice "vacation" anyway, right?

Besides, the way people follow anything blindly, we've ALREADY got us a ready-made batch of Acapulco CLIFF-DIVERS...LOL!
Today the FWPD chief considers ditching the motorcycles...tomorrow, perhaps reason itself?
VACATION TO MEXICO?
Anyone?
(probably a lot LESS crowded down there anyway..ask those living in Arizona...or Texas)
Do stay safe & warm out there today.

No comments: