Posted on 03/20/2014 8:18:52 AM PDT by kiryandil
FReeper Betty Jane (FR class of '98) writes:
A young man has been summoned to meet with the President of his college, Chattanooga State community for wearing an empty holster. A teacher complained. He has to meet at 2:00 pm. eastern today.
He plans on recording the conversation. He can’t afford a lawyer, and neither can I. He is 22 or 23. He doesn’t belong to any gun rights groups.
yep, this is important. The objective is to defuse the situation, and avoid any conflict that can be avoided. Be calm and reasonable at all times, do not allow yourself to get excited or strident.
I wish I had more time before seeing this. I am not licensed in Tennesse. That said I recommend
1. Reread any codes of conduct. Don't violate it.
2. Don't sign anything before running it by an attorney.
3. Be respectful. Running the mouth causes bad consequences.
4. Do not consent to any search.
I'm guessing that the Youth of America who has the 2pm meeting just spilled the beans this morning to Betty Jane.
Sarcastic answer: Tell them it’s performance art and you want $1 Million in funding for it, else you’ll sue them for oppressing your first amendment rights.
He doesn’t belong to any gun rights groups.
looks like he is now.
He has to meet at 2:00 pm. eastern today.
Looks like it's past, or ongoing.
I would try to have someone along with a smartphone, to record video. I would if possible try to have someone on hand from whatever the Tenn. statewide gun rights group is.
Standing at parade rest is a good idea.
Please let us know what the end result is.
On Wednesday, March 19, I got a phone call from a member of the Judicial Services department regarding a concern filed by an instructor over a leather holster. I was quick to correct him and let him know that I make holsters out of a thermoplastic called Kydex. He said, "Well ... Can I see it?" I said sure and set the meeting for 2:00 p.m. Eastern, after my second class of the day. Today, I talked with two of my instructors and a third who happened to be a friend, letting them know what was going on and asking whether they would supply character references, just in case the meeting went sideways. One of them happened to be the person who filed the concern. She explained to me her report began, ended, and stressed that I was a great student and didn't seem to be a real threat. However, she couldn't let our last conversation go without reporting. After the last class before spring break, I approached the teacher and asked if there was a plan in place in the case of a bad man coming through the door with a loud black stick. I expressed a desire to help with the plan, and she mentioned locking the door. This immediately set off a "Ding" in my head because the Newtown shooter shot through the lock on the exterior doors. I then went and wrote an article for the school newspaper about exactly such a topic, complete with options that do not rely on locks (such as multiple door stops kicked under the door). This is the context for her filing the concern. I talked with BettyJane quite a bit too late, but still got some excellent feedback from the members here. I started my video recorder on my phone and the audio recorder in my pocket, letting them both run from just before the meeting began until I was well away from him. I went into the room and set my backpack on the chair in front of me and my phone (still recording) in front of that. I set my spiral notebook on the small desk to my left and stood at parade rest as suggested in this thread. The man (named Boyd) immediately confused my cell phone holder for the holster, which led to the story of how I got into making such things for myself. We talked about phones and cases and contrasted his to mine, then he asked whether I brought the holster with me. I said that I did and waited for him to ask for it. He did, I produced it from my backpack and handed it to him. He examined it and immediately said he didn't have a problem with my wearing of it but had to check out the policy on the matter. He handed it back to me and I placed it on the desk while he pulled out a small book and started looking for it. I took out a page with the campus weapons policy from the pocket in my spiral notebook and handed it to him. He said that was right, but it there was another policy on the matter. He then called a female associate who came by and expressed a complete lack of understanding for my entire goal. I had to explain to her that I want people to see me and have one of two reactions: 1) Hey, that guy isn't crazy. Maybe my opinion of gun owners is wrong. 2) Hey, I wonder why he's doing that. I should ask. This would (hopefully) spark conversation about gun rights in general, especially campus carry. She didn't get it. She said that she was worried that I may become a target of security, should something bad happen on campus. I responded that I'm a target all the time. I wear a ring, drive a car, and am religious. She said she would research to see if it was against policy and would get back to me next week. Her next words were, and I quote, "Could you just not wear it today?" Irony struck, as I was wearing the belt attachment for a drop-thigh holster today. I spoke up about the severe lack of questions as to how long I'd been wearing an empty holster on campus. The woman said she had budgets to do and left. I asked Boyd whether he wondered at all, then let him know I'd been using the empty holster protest since fall semester of 2013, well over half a year. He said I appeared to be of pretty good character, as he had never heard of me before. The meeting took up a whole 21 minutes and ended with me explaining the context of the phone call and presenting a printed version of the article for him to glance over. I brought attention to the point about locks, and he seemed satisfied that I wasn't the dangerous kind of crazy. Shook my hand, said he hoped to bump into me around campus, and that was it. Thanks for everybody for sticking along for the ride, and special thanks go to the people who gave awesome (or funny; see "Global Warming Grows Guns") advice.
Today, I talked with two of my instructors and a third who happened to be a friend, letting them know what was going on and asking whether they would supply character references, just in case the meeting went sideways. One of them happened to be the person who filed the concern. She explained to me her report began, ended, and stressed that I was a great student and didn't seem to be a real threat. However, she couldn't let our last conversation go without reporting.
After the last class before spring break, I approached the teacher and asked if there was a plan in place in the case of a bad man coming through the door with a loud black stick. I expressed a desire to help with the plan, and she mentioned locking the door. This immediately set off a "Ding" in my head because the Newtown shooter shot through the lock on the exterior doors. I then went and wrote an article for the school newspaper about exactly such a topic, complete with options that do not rely on locks (such as multiple door stops kicked under the door). This is the context for her filing the concern.
I talked with BettyJane quite a bit too late, but still got some excellent feedback from the members here. I started my video recorder on my phone and the audio recorder in my pocket, letting them both run from just before the meeting began until I was well away from him.
I went into the room and set my backpack on the chair in front of me and my phone (still recording) in front of that. I set my spiral notebook on the small desk to my left and stood at parade rest as suggested in this thread.
The man (named Boyd) immediately confused my cell phone holder for the holster, which led to the story of how I got into making such things for myself. We talked about phones and cases and contrasted his to mine, then he asked whether I brought the holster with me. I said that I did and waited for him to ask for it. He did, I produced it from my backpack and handed it to him. He examined it and immediately said he didn't have a problem with my wearing of it but had to check out the policy on the matter.
He handed it back to me and I placed it on the desk while he pulled out a small book and started looking for it. I took out a page with the campus weapons policy from the pocket in my spiral notebook and handed it to him. He said that was right, but it there was another policy on the matter. He then called a female associate who came by and expressed a complete lack of understanding for my entire goal.
I had to explain to her that I want people to see me and have one of two reactions:
1) Hey, that guy isn't crazy. Maybe my opinion of gunowners is wrong.
2) Hey, I wonder why he's doing that. I should ask.
This would (hopefully) spark conversation about gun rights in general, especially campus carry.
She didn't get it.
She said that she was worried that I may become a target of security, should something bad happen on campus. I responded that I'm a target all the time. I wear a ring, drive a car, and am religious. She said she would research to see if it was against policy and would get back to me next week. Her next words were, and I quote, "Could you just not wear it today?" Irony struck, as I was wearing the belt attachment for a drop-thigh holster today.
I spoke up about the severe lack of questions as to how long I'd been wearing an empty holster on campus. The woman said she had budgets to do and left. I asked Boyd whether he wondered at all, then let him know I'd been using the empty holster protest since fall semester of 2013, well over half a year. He said I appeared to be of pretty good character, as he had never heard of me before.
The meeting took up a whole 21 minutes and ended with me explaining the context of the phone call and presenting a printed version of the article for him to glance over. I brought attention to the point about locks, and he seemed satisfied that I wasn't the dangerous kind of crazy. Shook my hand, said he hoped to bump into me around campus, and that was it.
Thanks for everybody for sticking along for the ride, and special thanks go to the people who gave awesome (or funny; see "Global Warming Grows Guns") advice.
And there’s your update @ post #48.
Thank You
Appears to have been handled well.
It’s hard to be simple.
Especially with so many things so inexpensive...
I like the idea of simplicity, but an awful lot of energy can go into attaining it.
And *that* is the essence of “Shibumi.”
Thanks for the update!!
Thanks for the update.
Rather than "simplicity", it seems like Shibumi embraces "elegance" in the sense that software designers, engineers, and mathematicians strive for: to achieve such a deep understanding of something and its purpose, that you are able to create something which performs the purpose using the minimum possible form.
Very close.
But in the ultimate sense, “shibumi” is an ineffable quality, which is sullied by the attempt to explain it.
Suffice it to say that if it comes easily, without reflection or purposeful effort, then it’s not “shibumi.”
Great refinement evinces a simplicity that belies the extensive training, effort and reflection that have gone into its outward appearance. The sheer beauty of being makes you forget the angst of its becoming.
And now I’ve used far too many words .....
She said that she was worried that I may become a target of security, should something bad happen on campus. I responded that I'm a target all the time. I wear a ring, drive a car, and am religious. She said she would research to see if it was against policy and would get back to me next week. Her next words were, and I quote, "Could you just not wear it today?" Irony struck, as I was wearing the belt attachment for a drop-thigh holster today.
Oh, she got it, I think. It just goes so much against her ideology that she refuses to accept that there might be any validity to the viewpoint.
Do not fall for her expressions of "worry" for you.
As Yosemitest said in #55: I wouldn't be surprised if the gun hating liberal "She" finds other reasons to keep on harassing you and even exhibits a "grading bias" against you for showing her to be the hysterical fanatic she is.
I would find ways to not ever have her as an instructor again.
Thanks again to all. If anything else happens, I will keep you updated.
Thanks much for the heads-up.
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