DreQ, you aren't his DI. Try taking some of your own advice and advise him of his errors in an adult like manner.
Lol thanks for that
. I guess I am being a little harsh.
Brent, it's not your intentions nor your actions that I was necessarily questioning. More than anything it was the way you described them in this forum. Using words like "provoke", referring to the officer as "ugly", and stating that you hoped you'd be stopped are all negative. Negative actions more often than not result in negative responses. More specifically, this type of attitude could be used as an example of how open carriers are aggressive, sarcastic, insulting, and out looking for trouble. Again, this may not be how you are, or how you meant to portray yourself, but it is definitely one way that your words could be interpreted.
Figuratively standing your ground by continuing to exercise your rights in the same place that they were previously violated is commendable. For all of us to continue to normalize the act of being equipped to protect ourselves, however, we must do so with a smile on our face. After all, the goal is to be perceived by the general public as harmless. For the haters, anti's, and those that wish to violate our rights, we must strive to "kill them with kindness", as it were, and avoid expressing our more negative emotions, however warranted they may be.
I open carried for a long time in the state of NC, where a permit to do so is not required. On a regular basis I read about other open carriers in the same state being stopped, questioned, detained, and sometimes even arrested by law enforcement. They described harassment and rights violations. They also expressed their anger and distaste for the people involved in those negative encounters.
In years of carrying, I only had one negative incident with law enforcement, and even I will admit that I was probably over-stepping my bounds a bit. Regardless, we argued, we glared at each other, we exchanged legal banter, and then we parted ways. I stood nose to nose with 3 police officers and told them what I was doing and why it was legal. I refused to give them my ID so they could not detain me. I was never arrested, assaulted, or charged. I later spoke with the Chief of the department and we all learned some lessons.
I did all of it with a smile on my face. Not a sarcastic one, mind you...a confident, calm, harmless one. That same smile has allowed me to educate countless Americans about their rights. Open carry for me has truly been an open invitation for people to ask me what I'm doing, why I'm doing it, and how they can do it, too. It's been a great experience to say the least.
I'll get off my soap box, now. As soon as I get my permit to carry here, I'll be more than happy to get together with any fellow open carriers in the area. In the mean time I'll be running around with a goofy smile on my face and no gun to back it up, lol.