At any point or phase in your argument with a GunLoon, you will be subject to what the GunLoon considers the Holy Grail: the anecdote.
The anecdote represents — to the GunLoon–the highest form of evidence possible. Because someone’s brother-in-law’s friend who had a coworker that knew this fellow who had heard about some gunowner who defended his home against a hundred illegal aliens bent on stealing his collection of Monster Truck videos, using a gun….well, that just the end of the argument.
Of course, the converse doesn’t apply if it involves a firearm accident or incident where a gun was used to harrass or intimidate someone. You see, that just an anecdote.
Plenty of GunLoon anecdotes are just products of feverish imaginations. Some anecdotes may be exaggerated. And, a couple of anecdotes may well be true. But, in the end, anecdotes are just that–anecdotes. They aren’t evidence or proof of some greater truth. And, in fact, anecdotes quite often impart a lesson quite the opposite of what the GunLoon may intend.
Example: Commenter Jay:
I have had a gun pointed at me. When I was in middle school, I was approached after school by a kid who had a problem with me, and had targeted me often for his bullying. I was sitting against a wall, and he walked up to me and placed a revolver to my temple. Realizing that the outcome of this event was either my death, or him walking away laughing as my terror, I told him to get it over with already, to shoot me if that’s what he wanted to do. He had me dead to rights, so there wasn’t much I could have done anyway. I chose to accept the possiblity that those were my last words. He pulled the trigger. Luckily, the round failed to fire. So yes, Jade - I’ve had a gun pointed at me, and I’ve been fired at. I can also say that had I been in possession of a weapon - a knife, a rock, a gun, anything I could have brought it to bear before he pulled the trigger. I may not have killed him, or even been able to score a direct hit - but it would have been better than sitting there wondering if I’d feel it when the bullet shattered my head.
This is a creative and well-written anecdote. Is it true?
Personally, I doubt it for reasons I’ll explain later. So, let’s assume the anecdote is true. What is the lesson Jay hopes to impart? That kids who are 11, 12, or 13 should be packing heat?
