this post was submitted on 20 May 2024
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I'm not sure I follow, you are after all in your right to dress how you see fit even if someone else finds it uncomfortable. Pardon the obvious, but quite a few people are uncomfortable around queer people, and you know damn well the queer should never apologize for that!
I believe open carrying is linked strongly to the identity of these people (but, you know, stupider), the same way people wear anarchist symbols or define themselves as Marxist/Leninists/whatever. They live the "don't step on me" life. And as long as it stays as a political statement itself, it's their right.
Open carrying of course has a lot more problems with it than a pride flag on your shirt, but that doesn't seem to be what the comic is about.
The uncomfortable people feel around firearms is much different than around queer people. Hand guns are designed to kill people. That's the only reason these exist. It's fear of life for some people, which is pretty reasonable. I'm sure that's part of the point though. People are less likely to confront them when they do something bad because they fear retaliation.
It's also not a part of who they are. Queer people are queer. People who open carry aren't different when they don't open carry. It doesn't change who they are internally if they don't open carry.
We take people's comfort into account in society. I can't walk around exposing myself, for example, because it makes people uncomfortable. You can walk around exposing your weapon though, which is likely just as bad or worse for some people.
It goes further than that too. Personally, I wouldn't wear a piece of clothing designed to offend someone. (Note: not the same as someone being offended by something else, like a pride flag, that isn't designed to offend.) I'm pretty confident most people do this because it's the right thing to do. Hopefully people who own firearms have empathy and consider how it makes others feel, and also don't want to make people uncomfortable.
I hope you don't need me to point out the uncomfortable parallelism here: You can be a lib. owning jackass at home, but don't be it in public, please conform to societal norms.
Again, it's not open carrying to make anyone uncomfortable to them, it's expressing who they are politically. Just that the way they chose to express it is inherently problematic, but nonetheless, personal expression trumps making others uncomfortable.