The thing is, the people with that attitude will still have that attitude when they come out of a class no matter how many hours and no matter how good the instructor is.
That attitude isn't learned, it's who they are and part of their psyche.
In fact, most of the people with that attitude will double down when shown the errors in their thinking.
It's a phenomenon that anyone who's instructed has seen a million times.
You can't fix stupid.
Last edited by JodyH; 07-14-2018 at 11:50 AM.
"For a moment he felt good about this. A moment or two later he felt bad about feeling good about it. Then he felt good about feeling bad about feeling good about it and, satisfied, drove on into the night."
-- Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy --
This.
Too many uninformed folks, namely anti-gunners wanting mandatory training requirements, believe a basic course is more comprehensive than it is. They firmly believe the course can take Dipwad Donnie and turn him into a SWAT-like gunpacker.
They liken it to the licensing/testing requirements of getting a driver’s license. Yet they seem to conveniently forget that despite the road-testing and licensing, vehicle operators do some stupid and irresponsible stuff: Driving while intoxicated, driving distracted, generally driving like a moron, etc.
Some folks take the responsibility seriously, most just view it as a formality (read inconvenience)
“Conspiracy theories are just spoiler alerts these days.”
My experience is that most thugs are punks. Hit a defenseless woman? Hell, yeah. Try it on a woman with a pistol and the determination to use it? Hell, no!I think this woman, who has probably not benefited from any formal training, seemed as willing to shoot as the thug seemed willing to hit her colleague (sure doesn't look like somebody who never hit a women before...).
Two observations from living the last few decades in Washington state.
1)Washington passed shall issue CCW in 1962 or so, so there is 55ish years of experience by now. There is no training requirement at all. If you aren't a prohibited person and have $50 (or whatever the fee is) and fingerprints you get the permit. And I'm aware of almost no[1] problems from permit holders. I would expect, especially in the last few years, that the media would widely report any malfeasance.
2)On one hand, I like constitutional carry - especially if a natural disaster happens or something and you suddenly need but can't get a permit. OTOH, I have heard people over the years, when contemplating something ill advised (like violating the rule 'if you think you need a gun to go there, try not to go there') say something like 'well, I wouldn't want to lose my permit'. But of course, in WA, 'losing your permit' is kind of irrelevant; anything that causes you to lose the permit also makes you a prohibited person. But the possibility does seem to perhaps help some people make good choices.
[1]One exception that I do recall - college frat president gets permit the day he turns 21, engages in drunken driveby of rival frat a couple of days later. I'm not sure a class would have helped there.
"Gunfighting is a thinking man's game. So we might want to bring thinking back into it."-MDFA
Beware of my temper, and the dog that I've found...
I've come to believe that passing of a "special skills test" must not be required before one may exercise his right to own (and carry) firearms.
OTOH, I've always thought that it would be a good thing if additional firearms training or certification were somehow incentivized or rewarded.
Not that I know what form such incentives might take...or that any such thing would ever actually happen.
(After all, who would administer such a program?)
"Therefore, since the world has still... Much good, but much less good than ill,
And while the sun and moon endure, Luck's a chance, but trouble's sure,
I'd face it as a wise man would, And train for ill and not for good." -- A.E. Housman