The "Suited Shootist" Got Made at Work

[RevolverRob]

I do not carry at work, and if I did I wouldn’t tell you. I don’t welcome discussions of a personal nature in the workplace, and definitely don’t discuss self defense topics.

My early career training included the concepts that no one at work can be purely a friend, that every interaction with a coworker has professional consequences. Might sound cynical, but I think it’s actually better to see it that way.

Before I went to my first professional conference my mentor sat me down and said, "From here on out - every single interaction you have, particularly with new people - until you get tenure if you get tenure - is a job interview."

It was and remains absolutely great advice to keep in mind that all interactions can have an impact on your career until you arrive at a protected place. And if you want to get that protection and keep that protection you'll act in a professional manner.

Which is why one of my pet peeves in the workplace is when ostensible established professionals try to play "gotcha games" with other people and find ways to "teach the youngins a lesson". Everyone has it hard enough trying to do their job and conform to ever changing standards for people to also be assholes and try to catch them acting in unprofessional ways. Which is why I try very hard to always be professional and I hold others to those standards.

Only twice in my career has someone called me unprofessional and in both cases they were steadfastly wrong and realized it quickly. Although only once did I get an apology, the other person is still carrying a grudge about it.

He said he was in TX. You said yourself that he was protected by state law.

It's important to know the law protecting people in this way was not passed until 2011.

[JRB]

About 4 years ago I got a panicked call from a friend of mine. He's a medical professional that was carrying a G42 in the most NPE of NPE's and he'd been 'made' and was about to face the music with some sort of HR/Supervisory stuffed suit types. They told him to report to room XYZ and talk to some people ASAP. Totality of circumstance he knew it had to do with carrying a gun.

So I told him to just leave. At first he was really freaked out about pissing off his supervisor, being charged leave, etc. I told him 'would you rather be charged leave and have an annoyed boss, or would you rather get fired?'.

So he told his supervisor that something came up - he rolled with the punches well, and said his wife ran out of gas on the interstate and they didn't have roadside assistance. So he just up and left. His supervisor said to go to that meeting first, he said his wife was stranded on the highway and it could wait. So he took the black eye on his record for having left in the middle of a shift, and was charged leave for doing so. But they never 'made him'.

Two weeks later, the suits drop by his floor while he's on shift and pull him away. They searched his shit and the hospital security (who he was friends with) gave a genuinely thorough pat-down. He'd quit carrying after the scare, so he wasn't made.
He was grilled about leaving in the middle of a shift, he gave up some leave, but he wasn't looking for a new job for having been fired for carrying a gun.

I personally wouldn't ever carry in an NPE. Because honestly if that's the place's policy, my policy is fuck them and fuck everyone else I'm just leaving the second I hear shots fired, and if they get shot for their managers rendering them defenseless for feel good stupid bullshit, that's on their management and the blood is on their hands as much as the murderers - and I'll happily tell a news crew exactly that.
But if you carry in an NPE, be willing to piss off your boss by just up and leaving or having a similar exit strategy to avoid getting made.

[Mark D]

I thought the Suited Shootist's video was good. He's honest about fucking up, and owns it. He made some stupid decisions and freely admits that. For those that haven't watched the video, his incident occurred a while ago and his career seems to have recovered, albeit after a very rough patch.

I have friends who talk about how easy it would be to carry in a NPE office job, despite not working in that environment themselves. The video is a splash of cold reality for those folks, and therein lies its value.

[olstyn]

My early career training included the concepts that no one at work can be purely a friend, that every interaction with a coworker has professional consequences. Might sound cynical, but I think it’s actually better to see it that way.

It is cynical, and it sucks, but you are also not wrong.

[mmc45414]

"Wow, that is slippery..."

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

[mmc45414]

Someone mentioned a particular thread on TPI. There were actually multiple ones where guys like Claude Werner, Chris Fry, and myself - with all of us who were used to living in the real world under restrictive conditions- trying to tell the gun professionals that these things could happen. ... and told it was no big deal and it was easy to carry a duty size gun in any area always.

I recollect an interesting podcast with CW where he (in support of his advocacy of small revolvers as a primary) challenged people to take a seasonal side job at some prohibited place like Home Depot (where it wouldn't end a career to get fired ETA:and includes more physical activity than taking a selfie in front of a mirror) to prove they could go a a few months without being busted with their full size gun in an NPE.

[Wheeler]

A few years ago there was a rather spirited debate about carrying full sized guns in NPEs. The two camps were those that argued that it could be done on a daily basis and those who chose smaller guns as an alternative in order to not be made. I can’t recall if it was on this forum or on social media and it really doesn’t matter at this point. I’m glad to see that folks are starting to understand that carrying a small gun is a viable alternative for folks that don’t have a lot of choices or tolerance in their work environment.

[Wheeler]

I recollect an interesting podcast with CW where he (in support of his advocacy of small revolvers as a primary) challenged people to take a seasonal side job at some prohibited place like Home Depot (where it wouldn't end a career to get fired ETA:and includes more physical activity than taking a selfie in front of a mirror) to prove they could go a a few months without being busted with their full size gun in an NPE.

I’m an electrician by trade and spend a lot of time in office and retail spaces. I’ve tried most every form of on body carry available and have concluded that pocket carry of a small gat is the most effective method for me. AIWB might be an alternative except I wear a tool belt and end up in a lot of odd positions, like laying on the ground, seated on the ground, bent over backwards to access under cabinets, etc.

Claude and I have discussed it at length as I was looking for better options. My final decision was based on the premise that I had no intentions of trying to quick draw against someone and would have to adjust accordingly.

I gave up on trying to convince folks that my method suited me fine and didn’t want or need their advice which was formed by an unrealistic view of how things work outside of their own narrow perceptions.

[mmc45414]

I wear a tool belt and end up in a lot of odd positions, like laying on the ground, seated on the ground, bent over backwards to access under cabinets, etc.

Sometimes I would say to people something like "Sure, you can stand still in front of the mirror for a photo, but could you go out and wash your car in your driveway without the neighbors seeing it?"

[Le Français]

This story is a good reminder—good for him for (albeit very long-windedly) trying to warn people about miscalculating the odds and stakes.

Most of us have probably heard a lot of chest-thumping silliness (I’ve read it here) about carrying guns into Mexico, carrying despite “no gun” signs with the force of law, keeping ARs after a “turn them in” ban (which is a very similar situation), etc. It’s not lost on me that most of these optimists have never been to prison.