I always tell sheeple that 911 would'nt have occured had all aboard been so armed and an effective policy to not open the pilot cabin door under any circumstances had been in effect. Hell instead of the long lines at the airports, airlines could have saved time and money by passing out complementary SAKS with their airline logos emblazoned on them. The passengers could take care of the rest. But no....
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First Negative Sheeple Reaction
- Thread starter msiley
- Start date
I didn't think of this at first, then wasn't sure if I wanted to post this.... but the very first negative response I got was when I just started becoming interested in collecting knives; and had no clue about quality.
It was the first day of High School in what I believe was the start of my Junior year. I called my then best friend and asked him to meet me before school started. I had a cheap imitation SAK Huntsman that I wanted to give him as a gift. I had one and liked it.
His response was pretty bad.... He called it a weapon, and said he couldn't possibly bring it into school with him. (This was back before schools went insane with those zero-tolerance policies. This was in the early '90s. Back when non-locking pocket knives were still seen as tools). He then said he'd have to ask his parents for permission before he accepted it from me. (He's Asian, so I understood). I was confident his folks would easily realize this was just a gift. Nope! He came up to me the next day, and said they refused to let him accept a "weapon" as a gift.
I was left with a feeling that the whole incident was just retarded. But since he was a friend, I bit my tongue. The friendship only lasted a couple of years, and ended soon after Graduation.
Mmm... was he Americanised, or more traditional? In quite a few Asian cultures, giving someone a knife as a gift (or any sharp object, for that matter, including scissors and letter openers) is seen as symbolising the ending of a friendship/relationship (cutting the bonds of friendship, something like that), so that might have been part of it as well.
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- Sep 12, 2006
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- 776
I know what you mean. I live in Ca. Sheeple capitol of the world. My edc is a Benchmade ruckus (not the mini) and when I pull that out, I get some strange looks. I keep a small pocketknife on me to use in public, seems to worry the sheeple less.
Definitely Americanized, with a few traditional traits left over. This fact, and the fact that I'm an Americanized Eastern European (not Asian), would not have caused him to believe I was trying to end the friendship. He knew I knew very little about his native culture. I don't believe he would have seen the gift as an insult. I had no idea he and his folks were so hoplophobic.
Years later, I learned on my own about that particular cultural quirk.
- Joined
- Mar 30, 2007
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- 205
Hey! There is nothing stupid in the mans response. He just doesn't see the need to carry a knife around and most normal people don´t.
Opening mail, cutting cardboard boxes once in awhile does not warranty carrying around a large knife! You can easily get by in everyday office and at home life with out a knife!
It´s just us knife nuts who think it's necessary and in many ways just to justify buying more knives.
Although carrying a knife in your pocket, I always do, a medium Gerber LST cause of the weight, does have advantages such as saving time not having to open your desk drawer to get out the mail knife or walking in to the kitchen to get either scissors og a kitchen knife to cut some cardboard.
If you're not in the wild hunting or in the outdoors, logging around a large knife is unnecessary and may seem very strange and intimidating to some people and kind of makes you look like a paranoid geek. Hence the man's respons: You must live in a bad neighborhood.
Opening mail, cutting cardboard boxes once in awhile does not warranty carrying around a large knife! You can easily get by in everyday office and at home life with out a knife!
It´s just us knife nuts who think it's necessary and in many ways just to justify buying more knives.
Although carrying a knife in your pocket, I always do, a medium Gerber LST cause of the weight, does have advantages such as saving time not having to open your desk drawer to get out the mail knife or walking in to the kitchen to get either scissors og a kitchen knife to cut some cardboard.
If you're not in the wild hunting or in the outdoors, logging around a large knife is unnecessary and may seem very strange and intimidating to some people and kind of makes you look like a paranoid geek. Hence the man's respons: You must live in a bad neighborhood.
hey... remember when I started this thread it was about
the reaction of a guy who I showed my Leek to? well guess what?
He needed to use my knife and asked me for it!
I had a Kershaw mini-cyclone on me at the time. I even
showed him how to use the assisted opener. After using it
he was very impressed by its sharpness! I will make him
a knife knut yet!
the reaction of a guy who I showed my Leek to? well guess what?
He needed to use my knife and asked me for it!
I had a Kershaw mini-cyclone on me at the time. I even
showed him how to use the assisted opener. After using it
he was very impressed by its sharpness! I will make him
a knife knut yet!
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- Dec 30, 2000
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- 3,839
Converting them one at a time is a great way to reduce their numbers and increase ours. Keep up the good work!
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- Mar 11, 2007
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- 866
I have had a couple of not so nice reactions from people especially when on the local lightrail. though by far the worst reaction so far was some lady actually called 911 on me while i was opening my mail on the light-rail on my way to work. to top it off i was using a very non intimidating size and style knife an Opinel #6 with a very well worn and faded blade. I did have redemption though when the officer arrived and asked to see what the caller was so worked up about. Handed it to the officer(closed of course) he looked and laughed his ass off then proceeded to administer a pretty solid ass chewing to the lady who called and wasted his time and even issued her a citation for calling the police for no reason 
riz_aaroni
Gold Member
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2007
- Messages
- 1,929
I have had a couple of not so nice reactions from people especially when on the local lightrail. though by far the worst reaction so far was some lady actually called 911 on me while i was opening my mail on the light-rail on my way to work. to top it off i was using a very non intimidating size and style knife an Opinel #6 with a very well worn and faded blade. I did have redemption though when the officer arrived and asked to see what the caller was so worked up about. Handed it to the officer(closed of course) he looked and laughed his ass off then proceeded to administer a pretty solid ass chewing to the lady who called and wasted his time and even issued her a citation for calling the police for no reason
Hahahaha, awesome ending to your story. Wasn't sure where you were going with it, seems you lucked out.
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- Feb 26, 2007
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- 3,222
I have had a couple of not so nice reactions from people especially when on the local lightrail. though by far the worst reaction so far was some lady actually called 911 on me while i was opening my mail on the light-rail on my way to work. to top it off i was using a very non intimidating size and style knife an Opinel #6 with a very well worn and faded blade. I did have redemption though when the officer arrived and asked to see what the caller was so worked up about. Handed it to the officer(closed of course) he looked and laughed his ass off then proceeded to administer a pretty solid ass chewing to the lady who called and wasted his time and even issued her a citation for calling the police for no reason
that is awsome
I'm the Director of Safety at my company and have 50+ facilties that I'm responsible for. I carry a Leek for the same purposes (and some others) and no-one has ever said anything to me or even questioned it.
When I was a kid I got into the habit, which I still have, of carrying some small folder (usually simply a SAK or something like that). A pretty usual reaction was and is interestingly enough people ridiculing my carrying a knife when they discover it while I use it for some simple chore. Then they start asking to borrow a knife. That's the main reason why I've become very discreet about carrying a knife, I'm tired of people who can't use a knife making a mess of mine. (First blunting and/or chipping the blade, then filling the mechanism of a folder with dirt obviously being a special favourite.)
Rarely, someone may say "Oh, what kind of knife is that? ... Cool." As a note of what people have said about city vs country earlier, that has only happened with other people who grew up in the country.
Perhaps because I've learnt to be discreet, I've never really have anyone been startled by any of the knives I carry. (Discretion is also a good idea on cause of the knife laws here in Norway which since the early nineties boil down to "If a police officer has a bad day, he can fine you for carrying anything resembling a knife." If you carry something "reasonable" and have a "respectable" reason for carrying it, it's legal. "Respectable" is defined by the police and the courts. Sheeple heaven.) Another part of it is perhaps that I think most/many Norwegians own a fixed blade for hunting, hikes, etc, so a folder which isn't an assisted opener is usually not seen as threatening as such.
Rarely, someone may say "Oh, what kind of knife is that? ... Cool." As a note of what people have said about city vs country earlier, that has only happened with other people who grew up in the country.
Perhaps because I've learnt to be discreet, I've never really have anyone been startled by any of the knives I carry. (Discretion is also a good idea on cause of the knife laws here in Norway which since the early nineties boil down to "If a police officer has a bad day, he can fine you for carrying anything resembling a knife." If you carry something "reasonable" and have a "respectable" reason for carrying it, it's legal. "Respectable" is defined by the police and the courts. Sheeple heaven.) Another part of it is perhaps that I think most/many Norwegians own a fixed blade for hunting, hikes, etc, so a folder which isn't an assisted opener is usually not seen as threatening as such.
Who's post are you responding to? The topic-starter's or someone else's?
Cause your first sentence was insulting as Hell! Maybe if you had more than 22 posts, and an established rep as a BF Regular; I could say you were joking around. But, let's keep in mind that it was not that long ago that the "normal" people were the ones who carried knives on a daily basis. "Average" would be a better word. Normal folks are prepared to handle mundane cutting chores.... without having to resort to using their teeth, or asking the co-worker they just made fun of if they can borrow his knife.
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- Dec 4, 2005
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- 955
Excellent post! It's good to hear a balanced perspective on this subject, though not one likely to endear you to the more narrow-minded.
While it annoys me greatly when people are taken aback or make stupid comments when I open one of my knives to use it (I prefer not to try to tear open packages with my teeth), I understand that a lot of people aren't used to seeing people carry knives. Like guns, knives are capable of inflicting a great deal of damage, so great care is indicated in their use.
I've gotten to where I don't like to even let people hold my knives, because they seem to think they're like butter knives -- flip them around, rub your finger against the blade, whatever. I don't get cut, though the knives I carry will easily shave hair, because I'm careful.
Education in knife use, and seeing people use them carefully, is what is needed to help the general public start understanding that carrying a knife is actually a good idea. In responsible hands, of course.
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- Dec 4, 2005
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Good points. My wife (God bless her - she's learned to accept the common sight of knives AND guns!) reminds me that I grew up in the country, where it seems you're constantly looking for a knife to cut twine or open boxes or whatever. Lots of people grow up in an almost completely insulated environment, where they never realize a need for a sharp tool.
Then again, it seems utterly idiotic to me when people go running for the scissors in their drawer to open the tough packing tape on a box. How hard is it to just carry a small knife for those myriad times a day when you need it?!
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Wow! Don't think I've heard that expressed quite so well before.