The USA and covid 19

[Rickshaw swami 4,123]

Similar to here.the town I actually live in has 434 people.I just looked it up out of interest.

[Meece 1,957]

It's strange how us human sheep act without much thought as to why we're doing something.  Why everyone bolted out to get shit rolls is one of life's mysteries seeing as this hits the lungs and not you arse.  Now that everyone has a ten year supply of bog rolls and the articulated lorries of goods are still queuing up to unload supplies of all sorts of supplies the novelty of panic has subsided. All supplies are back to normal.  There seems to be a lot of online food order vans out delivering direct to doors.  Traffic on the roads really is minimal . EVERYONE IS maintaining the 2 metre spacing. No one is looking directly at or directly speaking to others.  Lots of people that we have never seen before who must have driven past our house are now walking to the local paki shop which must be doing a roaring trade.  Busses are still running as per timetable but completely empty. I haven't even thought about ammunition because we can't use the excuse of sport shooting.  Only essential crop protection.  Why in America has the population gone out and bought loads of guns.. surely they already had guns to hand and ammunition For those guns. I can't imagine a situation where I would be shooting at my neighbours over a tin of beans and a loaf.  That's the public being crazy  sheep.   Stuff here that seemed to disappear of the shelves fast were paracetamol,  pasta, tinned stuff , meat and any sort of ready meals.  And I understand that sales of freezers have been high.  Last wèk the gov said that more than  £1.5 billion of extra food had been sold by the major supermarkets. And the Chinese are buying up all the discounted stocks and shares driven down in price by the market slump. Every cloud has a silver lining.

[ChrisJones 7,975]

17 hours ago, Meece said:

Now that everyone has a ten year supply of bog rolls and the articulated lorries of goods are still queuing up to unload supplies of all sorts of supplies the novelty of panic has subsided.

Are you having any shops that are refusing returns? Many of ours are telling customers that they won't be able to return any of the panic bought items for a refund. Even a few of the Costco's are doing it which is surprising as their return policy is one of the best in the world!

Basically they're telling idiots that they bought that crap and they can deal with it.

17 hours ago, Meece said:

Why in America has the population gone out and bought loads of guns.. surely they already had guns to hand and ammunition For those guns. I can't imagine a situation where I would be shooting at my neighbours over a tin of beans and a loaf.  That's the public being crazy  sheep.

Pretty much but you're looking at massive cultural differences separated by the Atlantic. They're simply looking at the chaos the media is feeding them about what's happening in Europe and other gun free paradises, using the same sheep argument, and taking incredibly paranoid steps towards a situation that hopefully will never arrive. When this blows over there will be some real bargains to be had! Play the long game!

Edited March 30, 2020 by ChrisJones
Typo

[Meece 1,957]

1 hour ago, ChrisJones said:

Are you having any shops that are refusing returns? Many of ours are telling customers that they won't be able to return any of the panic bought items for a refund. Even a few of the Costco's are doing it which is surprising as their return policy is one of the best in the world!

I wouldn't know because people including us aren't going out much.  Apart from the essentials everything has come to a standstill.  There is hardly any traffic on the road outside. There have been quite a few tractors and equipment going past as the ground is drying out rapidly and they want to get planted up as soon as pos.  The Mrs did say that there was something on Facebook about people dumping excess food that they had bought but I'm sure that there is a lot of fake news about by people who just want to big something up.  Why would anyone dump tins or dry stuff that they only bought last week.  Nonsense.

1 hour ago, ChrisJones said:

Basically they're telling idiots that they bought that crap and they can deal with it.

Pretty much but you're looking at massive cultural differences separated by the Atlantic. They're simply looking at the chaos the media is feeding them about what's happening in Europe and other gun free paradises, using the same sheep argument, and taking incredibly paranoid steps towards a situation that hopefully will never arrive. When this blows over there will be some real bargains to be had! Play the long game!

YES....  Long game.....  excellent idea..  I  wrote about this the other day in regard to fashions of shotguns.  There are some superb short.. 25 inch barreled double trigger side by side out there because.....  they kick like a mule,  got double triggers that people can't understand,  The barrels are too short and they are fixed choke and as such are not a proper shotgun and they don't hit things.  Long may it remain so.  BARGAINS. 

[ChrisJones 7,975]

5 minutes ago, Meece said:

The Mrs did say that there was something on Facebook about people dumping excess food that they had bought but I'm sure that there is a lot of fake news about by people who just want to big something up.  Why would anyone dump tins or dry stuff that they only bought last week.  Nonsense.

I was reading the Manchester Evening News this morning and I saw this article from Bury. I'd imagine the bulk of the discarded food is perishable but it does say tins of food as well. I'd like to hope this isn't a common occurrence but it is being reported. People are f*ck*ng idiots and have very short memories when the same councils were complaining about the rising rat populations in the cities. If the ratcatcher isn't essential industry yet it will be in a very short time.

9 minutes ago, Meece said:

YES....  Long game.....  excellent idea..  I  wrote about this the other day in regard to fashions of shotguns.  There are some superb short.. 25 inch barreled double trigger side by side out there because.....  they kick like a mule,  got double triggers that people can't understand,  The barrels are too short and they are fixed choke and as such are not a proper shotgun and they don't hit things.  Long may it remain so.  BARGAINS.

People will hang on to ammo for a rainy day. That's always been the case especially here as there isn't any limits in many states as to how many rounds you can hold on to. What many outside the gun community don't realize is that there are literally trillions of rounds in circulation and that if legal shooters were a problem, that politicians like to incorrectly claim they are, then every f*ck*r in the world would know about it. What I can churn through in a range session would make the average European sh*t themselves in fear! That's for another thread though.

With the glut of guns being held on to new sales will slow as demand decreases. That means lucrative deals on new gear and a depreciation of the existing stock. Hoarders will frantically sell to try and get their money back and the FTSE will be short for the Firearms & Tactical Sales Experience.

Bargains indeed!

[Meece 1,957]

3 hours ago, ChrisJones said:

 

Pretty much but you're looking at massive cultural differences separated by the Atlantic. They're simply looking at the chaos the media is feeding them about what's happening in Europe and other gun free paradises,

using the same sheep argument, and taking incredibly paranoid steps towards a situation that hopefully will never arrive.

 

So.  I still can't understand how tooling up with more guns and ammunition will help anyone.  It's like going out and scrapping in a supermarket for a jumbo pack of bog rolls.  My older Brother and sister have now tested positive for covid 19 and are both in hospital . They are in a bad way and even if they had guns there is no way that they would want to use them.  After the previous Obama gun panics you'd think that everyone would have loads of guns and ten thousand rounds of ammunition for them.  I saw a video of people panic buying guns and basically it looked like housewives were going into a gunshop and they fired a couple of shots on an indoor range.  They sort of screwed their faces up closed their eyes pulled the trigger and that was it,  they were ready to take on the bad guy whoever that is.?.  IF They were to ever decide to use the gun they would just as likely shoot themselves, a member of their family or the postman.  It was frightening. And if someone was going to try and assault the house wouldn't they be shooting also. Crazy.  Just offer them a bog roll and a nice cup of tea, lets say no more about it. As far as I know ammo is a similar price there and here so how do people afford to stock and use vast sums of ammuition when I  saw a thing about how many people were out of work and sort of selling anything they'd got for whatever they could get for it.

Edited March 30, 2020 by Meece

[ChrisJones 7,975]

2 minutes ago, Meece said:

So.  I still can't understand how tooling up with more guns and ammunition will help anyone. 

It doesn't and it won't but with respect you're coming at this from a European perspective. It's a uniquely American phenomenon tied to the second amendment. An illusion of safety and security that's passed down from generations. You're attempting to attach logic to situation that waved goodbye to logic in the last electoral cycle.

4 minutes ago, Meece said:

My older Brother and sister have now tested positive for covid 19 and are both in hospital . They are in a bad way and even if they had guns there is no way that they would want to use them.

Sorry to hear that, mate. Hope they have a speedy recovery!

Most Americans are the same way but it stems from a deep rooted belief in "We The People." In a time when record numbers of people are getting laid off. A time where billionaires with private security are telling them they don't need guns. A time when the same billionaires are hinting at lockdowns and martial law. The knee jerk reaction is stockpile the essentials. Bullets. Beans, and Band-Aids. I'm not necessarily condoning the behaviour outside my own biases on personal security. I'm not excusing it. It just is...

10 minutes ago, Meece said:

After the previous Obama gun panics you'd think that everyone would have loads of guns and ten thousand rounds of ammunition for them.

They do! But more, right?

11 minutes ago, Meece said:

I saw a video of people panic buying guns and basically it looked like housewives were going into a gunshop and they fired a couple of shots on an indoor range.  They sort of screwed their faces up closed their eyes pulled the trigger and that was it.  IF They were to ever decide to use the gun they would just as likely shoot themselves, a member of their family or the postman.  It was frightening. And if someone was going to try and assault the house wouldn't they be shooting also.

That sounds about right but herein lies part of the problem. Criminals avoid armed victims. That's a well established fact. There's enough interviews with America's bustling inmate population that says they avoid those that can fight back and avoid those that have dogs. Also gun crime in certain areas of America is huge. Throw in 24/7 internet connections. The media lens that only focuses on issues in a way that makes them appear much more prevalent than they are. A liberal sprinkling of fearmongering and the kind of chat that you can read on several threads in General Talk. Stir it into the most polarized political pot since 30's Germany, and you have a paranoia that the Crips and the Bloods are going to storm your house for your bog roll and hand sanitizer.

Any illusion of safety to calm the fears of the panicked masses is now playing out in the nations gun stores. The illusion that simply having a firearm is helping America's Facebook consumers of algorithmic based preconceived biases sleep a little better in a times of genuine distress. The fact you're not seeing it play out in Europe to that degree is based on the fact the phenomenon is uniquely American. You won't understand it!

[Meece 1,957]

I suppose that it is similar to grannies bolting down the hatches at 4.30 because they fear getting attacked or mugged. where in fact the person most likely to get into bother is the mouthy teenager who is hanging out or just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's all in the perception of threat.  Seeing the paranoia of the US public I'd be very wary of going to anyone's house.  I used to be on an American shooting site similar to this one and I have encountered the American viewpoint on guns.  One bloke even took pot shots in the direction of anyone who pulled up outside of his house.!  Irregardless of the reason that they had stopped.  whether they had broken down, got a flat tyre or had just gotten lost and wanted directions.  This could result in the person in the car  believeing that they needed to defend theirselves from unprovoked attack and returning lethal fire and then driving off to remove themself from a danger zone.  How does that pan out.?

[ChrisJones 7,975]

10 minutes ago, Meece said:

It's all in the perception of threat.  Seeing the paranoia of the US public I'd be very wary of going to anyone's house. 

That's part of it too but you're looking at the reverse side. I honestly wouldn't worry about it. I certainly don't feel for my safety when I approach my neighbours. That being said the ones that don't wish to interact have No Trespassing signs clearly posted on their property in accordance with state law.

13 minutes ago, Meece said:

I used to be on an American shooting site similar to this one and I have encountered the American viewpoint on guns.  One bloke even took pot shots in the direction of anyone who pulled up outside of his house.!  Irregardless of the reason that they had stopped.

Honestly, mate. I'd take that comment with a large grain of salt. Despite the cultural differences you're still responsible for what goes downrange and any one sending rounds out like that would be very quickly on the wrong end of the local constabulary. Castle Doctrine is a strong legally defined right here in Utah but it ends at the boundary in this context. If I fired warning shots at someone in the street simply for being there I'd be looking at a lengthy sentence.

16 minutes ago, Meece said:

This could result in the person in the car  believeing that they needed to defend theirselves from unprovoked attack and returning lethal fire and then driving off to remove themself from a danger zone.  How does that pan out.?

The right to self defence is one thing but I'd genuinely question the validity of that particular poster's circumstances towards an innocent bystander. Despite what gets reported in the media those incidents are practically non-existent and would generate world wide media attention. There was a famous one posted on here a few years ago and was filmed for YouTube. A neighbour dispute about property access. Despite the guys allegedly 'fearing for their lives' they're both serving some serious porridge as they not only shot and killed the guy they filmed it all with a phone and it was used against them by the prosecution. Even here in the mountains simply using public rights of way usually culminate in a cheery waves and if you have a few minutes a chat about the weather despite most parties being visibly armed.

On the flip side if you were stupid enough to enter someone's house in this state lethal force is authorized and the latest rounds of law strengthening forbids the perpetrator's family from suing someone in civil court for damages. It's really not as Wild West as a lot of internet pundits try and make it. Everyone is generally very friendly.

[Meece 1,957]

Sanity restored.  Bigged up reports and comments are common ont  net.  ( I'm a space man and I've got a bomb,and it's considerably larger than yowse). .  It is one thing to start threatening to shoot a bad guy but another to pull the trigger on a warm living human being. In both the bog roll scenario and the gun part the  objective  is much the same.  Cant hurt anyone with a bog roll and neither can someone who doesn't know how to take the safety off or which end is the pointy bit.  It is more a condition of being in control in the face of adversity.  Most likely both items will not be used and put away in a cupboard somewhere. 

Ps.  It's  nice to have a considered discussion about how it is regarding firearms application in the US without it degenerating into a verbal brawl about ...  I will because I  can and it's my right under amendment. Usually the discussion rapidly degenerates into you subjects and we whooped your Ass ect, ect. Yawn.  Thanks for comment.

Edited March 31, 2020 by Meece

[ChrisJones 7,975]

10 minutes ago, Meece said:

Sanity restored.  Bigged up reports and comments are common ont  net.  ( I'm a space man and I've got a bomb,and it's considerably larger than yowse). .  It is one thing to start threatening to shoot a bad guy but another to pull the trigger on a warm living human being. In both the bog roll scenario and the gun part the  objective  is much the same.  Cant hurt anyone with a bog roll and neither can someone who doesn't know how to take the safety off or which end is the pointy bit.  It is more a condition of being in control in the face of adversity.  Most likely both items will not be used and put away in a cupboard somewhere.

You pretty much nailed it there, mate. People are panicked across the world and they're grasping at anything they can to get their heads around it. Bottled water and sh*t tickets for all, and guns and ammo for some. Some will feel better that they can wipe their arses into the next decade others feel better just on the off chance that the cartels will suddenly want to jump the border and cross 6 states to stop you wiping your arse into the next decade. If you mull on it wiping your arse with 3 ply is pretty low down on the priority list when you stop looking at Karen's Facebook feed and actually see what's going on in the world.

15 minutes ago, Meece said:

Ps.  It's  nice to have a considered discussion about how it is regarding firearms application in the US without it degenerating into a verbal brawl about ...  I will because I  can and it's my right under amendment. Usually the discussion rapidly degenerates into you subjects and we whooped your Ass ect, ect. Yawn.  Thanks for comment.

Any time mate. It's not usually a popular one on THL for the reasons already mentioned. It's completely alien phenomenon to most Brits and Europeans. Even the FAC lads have a struggle because of just how easy and plentiful it is with few restrictions by British comparison. Rights are a pretty serious issue for obvious reasons and the polarizing effect the media has had on public opinion gets people's backs up on either side. I generally treat the 2A like the 1A in that there shouldn't be any restrictions whatsoever but as a British Ex-Pat that can come across as bonkers. Even some of the Yanks think it's extreme but I wouldn't take your money if I asked you bet which states they come from.

I've always said to the lads that go through our training and licensing that you have a right to bear arms but you have a duty to be trained and this is why we insist on plenty of practice and enough legal chops to keep you on the right side of Johnny Law. As guy that carries all the time for work and otherwise we're not a part of the problem the media tells you we are.

[Rickshaw swami 4,123]

I live in Dixie with some of the most laxed gun laws in the country.I have carried a gun since I was a teenager.I also sleep with my doors unlocked and keys in my truck.I have never lived any other way so wouldn't know different anyways.

[Rickshaw swami 4,123]

I'm doing nightly patrols of my barn.Im afraid somebody gonna steal my wheat straw to wipe their ass with.

[Bosun11 537]

Interesting thread gents, enjoying it

[ChrisJones 7,975]

@Meece Here's the overspill from the neighbour shooting mentioned earlier. I didn't dig too far for the video but it was posted in another thread on THL. The actual footage isn't pleasant but this is the news summary.