"What do you need that weapon for?"

[PURPLEDC]

Man sorry for the second post. But reading a lot of the responses in this thread talking about calling her a B#&$ and engaging her in a fight, and telling her to f off. Even if some of you are joking I think its poor form. And you wonder why knife people are stigmatized? If you are really using a tool, then why are there so many irresponsible, violent, disrespectful and down right offensive posts being made? Seems like many simply use the whole "tool" argument as a cover for their actual intentions. Its like a gun rights activist saying if they dont relax the laws we should take up arms and start shooting people. And this forum is public. Believe it or not the "sheeple" as some of you so affectionately call those who dont understand us to sometimes check into sites like this and many of the responses are not helping any cause but theirs.

 

[Metal Made Fox]

Believe it or not the "sheeple" as some of you so affectionately call those who dont understand us to sometimes check into sites like this

Is that how you became part of this forum?

 

[Quiet]

LOL Damn.

 

[other memory]

I would have said "I need this weapon to pick the dirt out from underneath my fingernails. Wana watch?"

Or

"I need this weapon to feel cool and superior to you. Now go away, you're interrupting my favorite NPR program".

 

[Caleb M.]

It is impossible to judge the woman or caleb without knowing exactly what happened. Also, as a fellow teenager, I feel that this makes teens look bad. I actually enjoy when people ask questions like that because it is an opportunity to teach someone about knives. If the woman still insisted on arguing after I explained myself I would simply apologize for any inconveniences I might have caused her and continue my day.

I tried to explain myself as calmly as possible. But some things I just can't let go.

 

[PURPLEDC]

Is that how you became part of this forum?

And you wonder why the older generation uses age as a measurement of maturity and class? No I started on this forum as a knife lover. But when I am out in public, I tend to show everyone respect because I was taught to treat others as I wish to be treated. Not to do as I please with an undeserving sense of entitlement. I have butted heads with more than my fair share of people over a variety of subjects. Some of them rather heated. But when all is said and done I can man up, admit I'm wrong and apologize. And I dont feel being a fan of knives automatically requires that I have a an immature attitude about treating people with dignity and respect. To me the the people who have the biggest mouths usually are compensating for not really having a lot to back the bluff. I see puffing ones chest and trying to act like a big tough guy behind a keyboard to be childish and down right comical. Its so funny that the only thing that stops me from cracking a rib in laughter at some of the crap kids post here is the fact that I know they are actually serious. Its sad really. And history has shown that if any of these people are still around in 10 years (not likely if they keep the same attitude) will admit later on how stupid they were. And they will admit they were just young and dumb. And its been that way for centuries. And yes, I was a very very stupid kid.

That whole "respect your elders" saying is BS. I respect everyone equally, and furthermore I respect anyone who deserves my respect.

No one deserves automatic respect just because they are older than us. They deserve respect if they are well mannered people with good intentions and morals. I have seen many older folks who are unworthy of anyone's respect. If some old lady or ANYONE for that matter comes up to me and starts harassing and trying to lecture me, you can be sure that I will rudely tell them to get away from me.

I have never in my life seen so many contradictions in a single paragraph. Congrats.

I tried to explain myself as calmly as possible. But some things I just can't let go.

Really? You were so threatened by an old lady questioning you on using a knife that you lost your cool? An old lady?........ Maybe it really IS a good idea for you to get a SAK with some scissors in it if your that jumpy. Are you in a wheelchair? I'm going to assume you have two working legs for a minute. Couldnt you have used those instead of your mouth? Just saying sometimes the best choice isnt always the one that we initially want to make but its the one that makes us a man. If teenagers really want all the respect they claim they want and feel its unfair for people to use their age as a negative data point in relation to their maturity then maybe younger people should make choices that reflect those desires. Even if they FEEL that they cant let it go. You can let anything go. You made a choice. And some might say a bad one. Im not trying to bust your balls but really sometimes people comments are going to get the entirely opposite reaction they claim to be seeking. And it puzzles me.

It is impossible to judge the woman or caleb without knowing exactly what happened. Also, as a fellow teenager, I feel that this makes teens look bad. I actually enjoy when people ask questions like that because it is an opportunity to teach someone about knives. If the woman still insisted on arguing after I explained myself I would simply apologize for any inconveniences I might have caused her and continue my day.

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

That is an excellent and mature way to look at it. Even if its not what you want to say, or what you are really thinking sometimes the best way to win a fight is to avoid one all together.

 

[LawnDuckOB1]

i carry a victorinox with the standard red cellidor scales because of the possibility of encounters like this. I guess i expect people to not be threatened by it.

(but then people around me don't know I'm also carrying my food prep knife in my back right pocket, my one handed opening edc in my front right pocket, my multitool, and the tiny knife of the victorinox swisscard glued to the back of my phone case. - too much? must be the Eagle Scout in me.)

 

[Mitchell Knives]

You were way nicer to her than I would have been.

 

[Janfrederik]

It's funny how easy it is to say that you would react in a given way, whether it's being polite or shutting her down. I don't know, I just don't see why people feel like they need to let everyone else know what they would've done. Just let it be.

As an aside: For those berating Caleb over the Guy Fawkes mask, it's quite easy to get caught up in doing stupid things to see other people's reactions when you're hanging out with your buddies. But that doesn't mean he's incapable of being mature and respectful when speaking to old ladies.

 

[Caleb M.]

Used to? Last month really isn't that long ago. You gotta do more than try!

I notice that a lot of the young kids on here are infatuated with hacking and hacking culture. I don't understand it - unless you're an experienced computer programmer, screwing around with hackers will get your CPU eat up with viruses and could land your parents in jail. All computer hackers wants you for is to do their bidding, and maybe lend your CPU's processing power to a Denial of Service attack. Anonymous isn't anybody until a criminal enterprise in the Czech republic needs their resources to create a credit scam bot-net. Then somebody gets rich while the thousands of U.S. teenagers that bought into a constructed message are unaware that they're contributing to the same people draining mommy and daddy's Target credit card. Then anonymous is you because your IP is on the activity.

Hacking doesn't make you look cool or dangerous. If you haven't made a lot of money then there is nothing to brag about, and if you have you'll want to keep your mouth shut so you can get away with it - so it is self defeating as far as any kind of reputation goes.

Throw away the mask kid, if you're still here when you're 18 and have shown progress and I am too, I'll be the first one (unless Grey Kilt beats me to it) to donate some $$$ to help you upgrade your Mini Grip to a full sized grip. Better yet if you spend your time doing something constructive, you could end up like the kid that developed Summ.ly and just buy Benchmade.

I understand what you're saying. I guess I was into "hacking" because I saw some cool video. I am giving all that crap up, there really isn't a use. Are you serious about the Griptillian?

 

[kvtcomdo]

You were way nicer to her than I would have been.

Sorry to hear that.

 

[Indoril]

If you think that's scary, I was a local park last summer and there were a whole bunch of kids running around swinging some sort of terrifying clubs at some sort of hard ball being thrown at them by another kid! They acted as if it was some sort of game! Imagine my horror when I saw the parents of these youths actually sitting around cheering and clapping for this dangerous activity! It still makes me shudder just thinking about it.

I lol'd

I think in situations like this it's all about context. When you see a person using/holding a knife, you should first ask questions like "where are we? are we in a rough part of town? what time of the day is it? what does the person look like? do they look shady or suspicious? do they look agitated or aggressive? are they using the knife in a reasonable manner?" etc... If the lady was reasonable, and asked herself these simple questions before confrontation, she would probably find she has no reason to fear. Notice the type of knife itself doesn't matter all that much; the context of the environment is much more important. The knife is just the object. You must take into consideration the relationships between the knife, its user, and the environment at hand in order to make any reasonable assumptions about what the person is doing or intends to do with the knife (or any object for that matter).

If it would be prudent of the lady to ask those above questions, then of course the same applies to you, the wielder of the knife. In fact you should scrutinize your current environment and context twice as heavily than any passer-by. You should not only be aware of what you intend to do, but more importantly, how what you are doing could be perceived by any other reasonable person. Like I said, you have to take into consideration the same contextual questions. Are all your other clothes in the laundry that day, so you threw on a grungy hoodie? Are you in a part of town where there has been recent suspicious or criminal activity? Did you have a double espresso this morning so you're a bit twitchy? You can see that, even though you're in 100% compliance with the law and have no ill intentions, someone could interpret the same situation in a totally different light. And the key thing to realize is that that interpretation could be as equally valid and reasonable as your own.

But of course, not everyone will do the above. There are unreasonable and unaware people in every camp, whether they are wielding (object A) or (object B) or no object at all. If a person is just being unreasonable or irrational it would probably be best to politely ignore or take leave of them.

 

[DenverEdge]

I think you did good. No reason to be calm and act like people's ignorance and idiocracy is no big deal. It is. and the lady deserved to hrar your opinion after she rudely invaded your personal space and yold you her's

 

[kvtcomdo]

Are you being serious or are you just trying to jerk our chains? I can't even begin to tell you how flawed and untrue that statement is.

OK young man; school me.

There is no flaw in the "Golden Rule".

There is no flaw in showing respect for those who preceeded you.

There is no flaw in remembering the gifts those who proceeded you have given you; which most don't appreciate until they are much older (or more mature).

I don't even know you but will give you respect just because you are another human being. The respect will be withdrawn if you prove unworthy of it only.

How is it that as I aged my parents became smarter every day.

How is it that while growing up we didn't appreciate their contribution to our lives until they were long gone; regretting every day the lack of that acknowledgement while they were still with us.

What has happened to us that we are so jaundiced that we can't realize that respect and caring for those older than us is a chance to actually learn from others and not keep making the same mistakes over and over.

How can you see as flawed the simple acknowledgement that another deserves our respect (Due regard for the feelings, wishes, rights and traditions of others).

I'm sure you expect others to give you this; why is it so difficult to give it freely to others.

Everybody wants it; but I won't give it to you until you show yourself worthy..............just WOW!

I pity you.

 

[PURPLEDC]

It's funny how easy it is to say that you would react in a given way, whether it's being polite or shutting her down. I don't know, I just don't see why people feel like they need to let everyone else know what they would've done. Just let it be.

As an aside: For those berating Caleb over the Guy Fawkes mask, it's quite easy to get caught up in doing stupid things to see other people's reactions when you're hanging out with your buddies. But that doesn't mean he's incapable of being mature and respectful when speaking to old ladies.

well it is a discussion forum after all. And if someone is going to go through the trouble of making a whole thread dedicated to the incident there is bound to be varying opinions on the subject and its natural for people to express how they would handle the situation differently if they dont seem to agree with how it was handled. Kinda like how anytime someone starts a thread on batoning 10 million people rise up like knife zombies expressing the only tried and true way to split a piece of kindling.

I lol'd

I think in situations like this it's all about context. When you see a person using/holding a knife, you should first ask questions like "where are we? are we in a rough part of town? what time of the day is it? what does the person look like? do they look shady or suspicious? do they look agitated or aggressive? are they using the knife in a reasonable manner?" etc... If the lady was reasonable, and asked herself these simple questions before confrontation, she would probably find she has no reason to fear. Notice the type of knife itself doesn't matter all that much; the context of the environment is much more important. The knife is just the object. You must take into consideration the relationships between the knife, its user, and the environment at hand in order to make any reasonable assumptions about what the person is doing or intends to do with the knife (or any object for that matter).

If it would be prudent of the lady to ask those above questions, then of course the same applies to you, the wielder of the knife. In fact you should scrutinize your current environment and context twice as heavily than any passer-by. You should not only be aware of what you intend to do, but more importantly, how what you are doing could be perceived by any other reasonable person. Like I said, you have to take into consideration the same contextual questions. Are all your other clothes in the laundry that day, so you threw on a grungy hoodie? Are you in a part of town where there has been recent suspicious or criminal activity? Did you have a double espresso this morning so you're a bit twitchy? You can see that, even though you're in 100% compliance with the law and have no ill intentions, someone could interpret the same situation in a totally different light. And the key thing to realize is that that interpretation could be as equally valid and reasonable as your own.

But of course, not everyone will do the above. There are unreasonable and unaware people in every camp, whether they are wielding (object A) or (object B) or no object at all. If a person is just being unreasonable or irrational it would probably be best to politely ignore or take leave of them.

Your assessing the situation from a different perspective than the little old lady may of been able to. And honestly man, I have met a lot of shady people. For a spell its all I surrounded myself with considering the poor choices I had been making at the time. And the one thing I noticed is that most of the people who looked like they could and would do some damage were actually the least of anyones worries. They had a front to try and prevent any type of confrontation from happening as they knew they wouldnt fair to well if there was one. The really dangerous crazies I met you would never even know it. People these days usually know all too well that looks can be deceiving. You see it on the news all the time. Why just the other day some girl a few towns over from me murdered her 11 year old sister. The girl who commited the act was 14. NO ONE, suspected she would have been capable of killing but she did. Even if the little old lady had the skills of Magnum P.I. she may still er on the side of caution. Maybe she DID feel he wasnt entirely that threatening and that is why she engaged him the way she did. Either way a dude using a knife in a park draws attention. Especially someone that young. In my area its illegal for anyone under 18 to even purchase a knife like a mini grip without an adult and you may even need to be that age to carry it.

 

[Janfrederik]

well it is a discussion forum after all. And if someone is going to go through the trouble of making a whole thread dedicated to the incident there is bound to be varying opinions on the subject and its natural for people to express how they would handle the situation differently if they dont seem to agree with how it was handled. Kinda like how anytime someone starts a thread on batoning 10 million people rise up like knife zombies expressing the only tried and true way to split a piece of kindling.

I was moreso speaking of the ones that implied that the woman was stupid and they would've blown up on her. I just don't see a point in it. "Hey, look at me, I'm macho!"

Also, check your second quote. I didn't post that. Not trying to be rude.

 

[link2derek]

I always wonder why people feel the need to "explain" themselves. I don't -- and I prefer to answer stupid questions (or good questions that I don't want to answer) with more questions (e.g., Why do you ask? How did you come to that conclusion? Have we met before - do I know you? Etc., etc.).

I favor Thomas Jefferson's line of thinking: "Free Men do not ask permission to bear arms" (and that can be applied to blades as well). Therefore, I don't feel the need to explain myself to anyone in the normal course of my daily business.

I tried to explain myself as calmly as possible. But some things I just can't let go.

 

[Caleb M.]

I favor Thomas Jefferson's line of thinking: "Free Men do not ask permission to bear arms" (and that can be applied to blades as well)

I heard that quote before, but never knew who said it. Thanks.

 

[grownstar]

Damn, Blackie's not even denying it.

So Caleb, what version of the mini-Grip do you have?

 

[Krav]

Being Polite, respectful, kind with a smile will always work best in any situation. If I get angry, or confrontational, rude so to does the other person.