American Tourist Scared of Canadians Wants Gun

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  • gracefulotus
    gracefulotus Posts: 42
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    I live in New Zealand.... the letter writer scared me! I wouldn't want to meet someone whose first inclination was to pull out his gun....
  • ryanherbert
    ryanherbert Posts: 79 Member
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    That's just nuts. I'm so glad we don't have a paranoid gun culture in my country.

    All semi-automatic and automatic weapons are banned and you cannot carry a concealed weapon of any kind.

    There might, just might, be a link between that and the fact that our gun murder rate is 10 times lower than the US.
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
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    Yikes. Talk about hair trigger. This guy is a police officer? Really? I've seen a police officer draw a gun on someone exactly once that I recall in all the many years I worked around them.

    I believe the fool who got the gun pulled on him was attempting to assault the officer with a patio furniture table and had already hurled a chair at his head before I arrived.

    And the dialogue in the situation is messed up, too, if that's really what his response was. How about backing away with a hand up and saying something along the lines of, "I'm sorry, but we don't know you, could you please keep your distance?" Yeah, you'll look jumpy, but it gets the message across, and if someone refuses to comply, well maybe then there's a reason for concern.
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
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    That's just nuts. I'm so glad we don't have a paranoid gun culture in my country.

    All semi-automatic and automatic weapons are banned and you cannot carry a concealed weapon of any kind.

    There might, just might, be a link between that and the fact that our gun murder rate is 10 times lower than the US.

    What's the hockey stick murder rate, though? Sorry, couldn't resist.

    Actually, know why I'd hate the gun laws in Canada? Bears. Big, hungry, mean *kitten* bears.
  • dougt333
    dougt333 Posts: 697
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    That's just nuts. I'm so glad we don't have a paranoid gun culture in my country.

    All semi-automatic and automatic weapons are banned and you cannot carry a concealed weapon of any kind.

    There might, just might, be a link between that and the fact that our gun murder rate is 10 times lower than the US.

    What's the hockey stick murder rate, though? Sorry, couldn't resist.

    Actually, know why I'd hate the gun laws in Canada? Bears. Big, hungry, mean *kitten* bears.

    funny thing the gun murder rate is 1/3 that of the US but the general homicide rate is the same....hockey sticks? yep
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
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    That's just nuts. I'm so glad we don't have a paranoid gun culture in my country.

    All semi-automatic and automatic weapons are banned and you cannot carry a concealed weapon of any kind.

    There might, just might, be a link between that and the fact that our gun murder rate is 10 times lower than the US.

    What's the hockey stick murder rate, though? Sorry, couldn't resist.

    Actually, know why I'd hate the gun laws in Canada? Bears. Big, hungry, mean *kitten* bears.

    funny thing the gun murder rate is 1/3 that of the US but the general homicide rate is the same....hocky sticks? yep

    Which proves my theory that humans will be humans, a predatory and untrustworthy species that it's best to be wary of no matter where you live or what the weapon laws are.

    But I'd still be more worried about the bears than the humans if I were hiking in Canada. I'd hear humans and could duck off the trail out of sight. A bear though? Maybe not.
  • CarleyLovesPets
    CarleyLovesPets Posts: 410 Member
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    I'd honestly think they were trying to be friendly.

    I highly doubt two guys would approach a couple who were just minding their business to cause trouble with them.
  • dougt333
    dougt333 Posts: 697
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    the best part all you have to do is fire off a round into the air, and the bear will run, usually. I don't know about them Canada bears.
  • monicalosesweight
    monicalosesweight Posts: 1,173 Member
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    Weird article. It has to be fake. A stampede? Really? That sounds like something out of the wild west.
  • grassette
    grassette Posts: 976 Member
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    Weird article. It has to be fake. A stampede? Really? That sounds like something out of the wild west.

    The Calgary Stampede is a huge rodeo, with a parade, an exhibition, fair grounds, chuck wagon races and activities all over the city ranging from pancake breakfasts to square dancing. People don their cowboy hats and jeans for the duration. It's been going on for a hundred years.

    It is a celebration of cowboy culture commemorating the days when there were no fences or borders from Texas to Alberta and cowboys followed their herds as they grazed across the plains. It has a big Indian component as well, as tribes participate by riding in the parade with full native regalia.

    So I guess that you could say the Calgary Stampede is something out of the Wild West, except that in Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, created to control the Montana whiskey traders after the Cyprus Hills massacre kept the gun violence from getting out of control. So we get the cowboy hats, the bucking broncos, the Indians in full regalia, with nary a revolver in sight. And during the Stampede, the locals get friendlier with the tourists, with a loud: "Howdy!" as a standard greeting.

    If anything, that the guy wrote this letter will alert all Calgarians to be more aware of how this kind of action might appear to others. This officer really strikes me as being extraordinarily trigger-happy and someone to be feared in the community he is serving.

    But, from what I'm seeing is that Canadians should be very careful and should assume that Americans are packing heat and be very careful not to provoke them in any way south of 49.
  • grassette
    grassette Posts: 976 Member
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    the best part all you have to do is fire off a round into the air, and the bear will run, usually. I don't know about them Canada bears.

    A boat horn, one of those that come on the end of an aerosol can, makes a louder, longer noise than a rifle. And if it's a grizzly, there is always bear spray.
  • LadyIvysMom
    LadyIvysMom Posts: 391 Member
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    This letter was published in the Calgary Herald. It was written by an American cop who freaked out when 2 Calgarians wanted to offer him passes to the Calgary Stampede on Nose Hill, a public park on a big hill in Calgary. This is his letter:
    +++
    "I recently visited Calgary from Michigan. As a police officer for 20 years, it feels strange not to carry my off-duty hand-gun. Many would say I have no need to carry one in Canada.

    Yet the police cannot protect everyone all the time. A man should be al-lowed to protect himself if the need arises. The need arose in a theatre in Aurora, Colo., as well as a college campus in Canada.

    Recently, while out for a walk in Nose Hill Park, in broad daylight on a paved trail, two young men approached my wife and me. The men stepped in front of us, then said in a very aggressive tone: “Been to the Stampede yet?”

    We ignored them. The two moved closer, repeating: “Hey, you been to the Stampede yet?

    I quickly moved between these two and my wife, replying, “Gentle-men, I have no need to talk with you, goodbye.” They looked bewildered, and we then walked past them.

    I speculate they did not have good intentions when they approached in such an aggressive, disrespectful and menacing manner. I thank the Lord Jesus Christ they did not pull a weapon of some sort, but rather concluded it was in their best interest to leave us alone.

    Would we not expect a uniformed officer to pull his or her weapon to intercede in a life-or-death encounter to protect self, or another? Why then should the expectation be lower for a citizen of Canada or a visitor? Wait, I know – it’s because in Canada, only the criminals and the police carry handguns.

    Walt Wawra, Kalamazoo, Mich.
    +++++

    My sister and my nieces and nephews walk on that hill all the time. It's a neighborhood park where everybody is friendly. I am SO glad that this feral man didn't have his gun on him.

    My question is, do you think that he was behaving normally? Do Americans carry firearms with them when they go hiking in public parks in case they encounter strangers who might talk to them?

    http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/08/09/walt-wawra/

    I know a lot of gun owners. I am totally pro gun rights. I believe everyone who passes a background check should be allowed a handgun for protection or a rifle for hunting or whatever.

    However some of these people, most of them, sadly, are paranoid gun crazies whose lives revolve around being afraid that the government is going to take their guns away and being afraid of every person who they come into contact with. It's pretty pathetic actually. They believe they should be allowed to carry assault rifles with them everywhere "just in case" and gun rights are literally the only issue they base their votes on. America is a scary place right now. It's an election year and a lot is on the line including women's rights, gay rights, health care etc. Yet there are people who only care about whether or not a candidate will allow them to forgo a waiting period to buy a gun. I can't wrap my mind around it.
  • bluefox9er
    bluefox9er Posts: 2,917 Member
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    This letter was published in the Calgary Herald. It was written by an American cop who freaked out when 2 Calgarians wanted to offer him passes to the Calgary Stampede on Nose Hill, a public park on a big hill in Calgary. This is his letter:
    +++
    "I recently visited Calgary from Michigan. As a police officer for 20 years, it feels strange not to carry my off-duty hand-gun. Many would say I have no need to carry one in Canada.

    Yet the police cannot protect everyone all the time. A man should be al-lowed to protect himself if the need arises. The need arose in a theatre in Aurora, Colo., as well as a college campus in Canada.

    Recently, while out for a walk in Nose Hill Park, in broad daylight on a paved trail, two young men approached my wife and me. The men stepped in front of us, then said in a very aggressive tone: “Been to the Stampede yet?”

    We ignored them. The two moved closer, repeating: “Hey, you been to the Stampede yet?

    I quickly moved between these two and my wife, replying, “Gentle-men, I have no need to talk with you, goodbye.” They looked bewildered, and we then walked past them.

    I speculate they did not have good intentions when they approached in such an aggressive, disrespectful and menacing manner. I thank the Lord Jesus Christ they did not pull a weapon of some sort, but rather concluded it was in their best interest to leave us alone.

    Would we not expect a uniformed officer to pull his or her weapon to intercede in a life-or-death encounter to protect self, or another? Why then should the expectation be lower for a citizen of Canada or a visitor? Wait, I know – it’s because in Canada, only the criminals and the police carry handguns.

    Walt Wawra, Kalamazoo, Mich.
    +++++

    My sister and my nieces and nephews walk on that hill all the time. It's a neighborhood park where everybody is friendly. I am SO glad that this feral man didn't have his gun on him.

    My question is, do you think that he was behaving normally? Do Americans carry firearms with them when they go hiking in public parks in case they encounter strangers who might talk to them?

    http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/08/09/walt-wawra/

    That cop is an idiot. if he ran through the inner city streets where I do my running, he wouldn't survive 20 yards without the need to blow off someone's head with his 38 special. I really and truly despair for America.
  • akoivisto
    akoivisto Posts: 141 Member
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    "My question is, do you think that he was behaving normally? Do Americans carry firearms with them when they go hiking in public parks in case they encounter strangers who might talk to them?"

    My question is, why does the world assume 'us Americans' are all the same? If we stereotype a country, we catch flack beyond all heck. Yet, we 'Americans' as a whole, are over weight, lazy, drink all our pop cold, all drive gas guzzling SUV's hate any country that is not ours, and shoot everything with our arsenal of 'deadly' assault weapons which we all freely lay around unlocked and loaded'..

    The OP, to me at least, and maybe I'm stepping over my bounds, seems like a Troll post; I mean seriously... generic "Urgh".
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
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    I strongly suspect the original letter was satirical and missed its mark rather widely.
  • bluefox9er
    bluefox9er Posts: 2,917 Member
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    What's the hockey stick murder rate, though? Sorry, couldn't resist.

    LOL!!!
  • smiley245
    smiley245 Posts: 420 Member
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    In all honesty this can't be a serious article can it? Certainly gave me a good laugh this morning:tongue: ,

    My father is an avid hunter and purposefully goes to areas with bears. 99% of the time when you are in the woods the bear hears you and will run away. In the intances of bear attacks (that I have read about ) They most commonly happen in the spring when you inadvertenly cross between mom and cubs or when you stumble across a bear that is eating. But then again I don't live in an area densly populated by polar or grizzly bears.

    More power to you if you feel the need to carry guns where you are, just glad its not the norm here in Canada.
  • TylerJ76
    TylerJ76 Posts: 4,375 Member
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    In before the lock!!
  • Lsufan22
    Lsufan22 Posts: 33
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    He was not acting normally. He was overly paranoid.

    To answer the other part of your question. Ive been shooting and hunting most of my life, and respect firearms. Yes, I do carry. At all times I am allowed to by law. I have my concealed carry permit. I hope to god that i never ever need to use it, but yes. I do exercise my right to carry protection.
  • samf36
    samf36 Posts: 369 Member
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    I am thinking the officer was not comfortable being approached like that. The young men meant no harm but the police in the man has seen too much in his career to be comfortable being approached like that.
    I have no issue with people carrying open or concealed.

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