Shooter

No, not the Mark Wahlberg movie. I was walking from the subway to work this morning when I passed a security guard following a Brinks guy going into a store with some money. Totally normal, but what drew me up, and actually made me rather uncomfortable, was that the security guard had an unholstered gun in his right hand, just crossing the street with it.

I mean, seeing a cop with his gun holstered is fine, and makes me happy that they're protecting us and all that. But seeing a gun out, and ready to use? Off-putting. Much like the first time I went to Paris in 1995, and noticed the French gendarmes patrolling the Metro with machine guns. Or Derry in Northern Ireland, where the cops patroled the streets at night in armored tanks. Hell, even now, seeing soldiers with machine guns in Grand Central leaves me feeling all ooky, like I'm standing at the edge of a really high cliff, and I'm not worried about falling, but I know it would be a really long way down.

I know lots of people in lots of parts of the country have very different attitudes about guns, and keep them -- if not casually, then carefully, and with due respect. It's just hard for me to shake that sense, seeing a gun, that it's one wrong move away from a big accident.

Anyway, that's the latest from me. I was able to get an answer on the question that was concerning me the other day, though I'm still looking for more info. At least I have somewhere to start now.