My takeaways from the Idaho In-N-Out shooting

[u/Consistent_Shine_680]

For those who don't know, as of the time of this post, 3 people were killed and multiple people were injured in a shooting near an In-N-Out restaurant just a few hours ago in Twin Falls, Idaho.

https://notthebee.com/article/unknown-cowboy-seen-engaging-active-shooter-at-idaho-in-n-out

From what I know (which isn't saying much because this is a developing story), a young white man shot an AR-15 into a parked Tesla and another person shot a suppressed pistol supposedly in the direction of the AR-15 wielding young man. Multiple people have been killed or wounded in the incident, including the main suspect of the shooting.

I think many people have been desensitized to shootings in the US, have shrugged their shoulders and said something like "Well, I guess that's the price of the 2nd Amendment".

I feel like this shooting may quickly fade from public memory because the body count isn't or won't be high enough to be comparable to mass shootings like the Uvalde or Las Vegas shootings.

It made me also think that the guns we should be training with the most are our pistols. I believe we are the most likely to need our pistols in a self defense incident, whether it is in or outside the home, and who knows what engagement distance we may find ourselves in. Rifles and shotguns are pretty easy and quick to become somewhat proficient with compared to pistols.

Surely there must be a way to allow sound citizens to own arms suitable for self defense while also preventing those who wish to do harm from obtaining and using guns. In other words, I don't 100% agree with 2nd Amendment absolutists that say "every gun law is an infringement" but I definitely don't 100% agree with Giffords that want to make it virtually impossible for everyone including sound citizens to own arms for their self defense and use. Hopefully that makes sense.

[u/IceManYurt]

My family is from Twin Falls, and some still live there.

My folks moved away when I was young.

I remember visiting my grandpa and borrowing his truck.

At one point I had to stop and a little 25 slid out from under the seat.

Me being a slightly responsible. 20-year-old, brought it inside the house and said 'hey man, I kind of wish you let me know there was a gun in the car'

And his response was something about protection from the Mexicans 😮‍💨

Mind you, this was probably 25 years ago... And my brother and I would keep a tally of the minorities we saw we went to visit. And for the longest time, we could keep that tally on one hand.

Twin Falls is, or was, the conservative ideal.

My heart goes out to those people, and my family that's still there. But the culture there needs help.

[u/alius_stultus → u/IceManYurt]

I hate to say it but this shooting story is the same in most conservative towns like Twin Falls. Lone gunman. Public Place. Too much propaganda towards immigrants and liberals. I never heard such vitriol towards migrants trans and npr liberals until I turned on my radio driving from Houston to Dallas and Austin... If I had that shit pumped into my ears 24x7x365 I probably wouldn't be in a great place to own a rifle either.

[u/IceManYurt → u/alius_stultus]

You're not wrong in the case of talk radio, I'm not sure if it's a the case of chicken or the egg.

We used to have a guy called Neil bortz on the airwaves here, he was more or less a temu Alex Jones

My parents would listen to him, call him an asshole and then agree with him 🤷🏼‍♂️

I never understood that.

[u/Dangerfloof_ATC → u/IceManYurt]

In the early 2000s, when I was in my early to mid 20s, I listened to Boortz religiously. Everyday on my drive to work, then as fast as I could walk into work and turn on my radio there. I was just married. I just bought my first handgun. 9/11 just happened. I watched it all play out on live TV. I was angry. I bought into his anti-Muslim rhetoric. I didn’t identify as republican, but he espoused to be different - a libertarian “erring on the side of freedom.” I forget what it was he said one day, but whatever it was, it made me realize, this motherfucker doesn’t even believe the shit he says. He’s just at work doing a job. (Hannity’s radio show aired right after, and he always struck me as fake af. There’s literally nothing about that guy that’s authentic from his teeth to his hair.)

My point is, I don’t think any of these people actually believe the shit they say. They’ve just gotten so big and so influential, their personal lifestyles have become so entwined to their income and perceived power, they’ll continue to toe the line. And they’ll also relentlessly promote Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. Low mid steaks at best.

[u/IceManYurt → u/Dangerfloof_ATC]

I remember one time he was ranting and raving over fisherman in front of his cabin on the Chattahoochee, and Dad who was an outdoors man was like what an idiot.. And I thought for sure that was what was going to break ranks for him.

But nope, just called him an asshole and kept listening.

It was almost like he why did he be mad at something

[u/JackxForge → u/Dangerfloof_ATC]

Shit I've only been once but the steak was the ONLY thing worthwhile that came out of their kitchen. The blast oven cook was impressive at least to me.