pushin out dem bullets

[WoodstockDoug]

There is a thread going on another part of the board, which I had to make a little joke about.  I originally answered there, but out of respect to keeping down thread drift, I'm moving my answer here.

When I shoot the R9 I push the gun forward like I am shoving it into someones chest as I squeeze the trigger.

If the little gangsters in my classroom are correct, you are supposed to turn the gun sideways, and push forward each shot as if you are throwing the bullet.  You also must never wear a holster, but always carry the gun in your waistband.  

My guys are amazing.  I teach inner city 7th, 8th, and 9th graders, who all swear to me that they own Glocks and Sawed-Offs.  When I ask them "what caliber?" about half of them can't answer.  Yhe other half will always either say 9mm or 45.  But if I ask them "what model Glock?" none of them can answer.  They look at me blankly and repeat, "Glock."  When I assure them that there are different model Glocks, just like there are different model Toyotas or different model Nikes, they get really defensive and try to make something up.  It's a riot.

One of the 9th graders, though, is the exception.  He has told me he can get me any gun I want.  He's named prices, model numbers, and the pros and cons of each.  He really does know his stuff, and is quite the hoodlum.  He comes to school about once a week, just to "check in" and see how the rest of his class is doing.  He's amazingly smart, intuitive, and gifted, but so drastically lacking in all the basic skills that there is zero chance he'll make it through next year.  It's sad.

[Newt]

Pray hard for the unfathered and unchurched for they know not right from wrong but also be prepared to deal with them when and if the time comes. If our government does not stop subsidising iligetimacy then they will be the down fall of our society.

[Aglifter]

If some of Erich's stories are an indication, just because they have no idea what gun they have, or how to use them, doesn't mean they don't have them.  I always wondered if it wouldn't be better for boys like that to be taken out to some farm somewhere, and made to use mules, axes, etc for awhile -- anything to get them away from that environment

[bigyimmy]

I explain in more detail here:

http://www.rohrbaughforum.com/YaBB.cgi?board=R9S;action=display;num=1138402087;start=30#40

[Richard S]

One of the 9th graders, though, is the exception.  * * *  He's amazingly smart, intuitive, and gifted, but so drastically lacking in all the basic skills that there is zero chance he'll make it through next year.  It's sad.

Doug:

And what is worse, he well may not live to see his 21st birthday.  

About three years ago, a small college I have represented was required to expell a similarly gifted (and similarly flawed) young man from one of the major west-coast cities.  He left the college vowing to return to his "hood" and "take it over."  About six months later, the college was informed that he had been killed -- apparently a casualty in some mindless "turf war" among rival gangs.  

[WoodstockDoug]

Yeah, this guy is headed in that direction.  A few days ago, I tried to get them to look somewhat towards the future, and the direction they were heading.  This particular boy just started laughing and laughing, and he said, "In 10 years... 20 years... I'm gunna be exactly what I am now, a pharmaceutical distributor.  That's what I do now, and that's what I'll be doing then, and I'll probably be making more money than you will."

Of course, all the studies show that for the hours those guys spend on the street, vs. the income they take in (on average) they'd be better off working at Walmart.  And most of them don't realize that even an illegal job takes persistence... showing up and "working" instead of hanging out with their friends and playing video games.  All that in addition to the prospects of jail and being killed in a turf war doesn't sound like a very good choice to me, but... my particular group of students looks upon me as an authority figure, and they aren't in the habit of listening to authority figures.

I could write a LONG post here about my observations of inner city youth, and most of it wouldn't be applicable to a gun forum, but I do have one thought that might be worth kicking around.  Yes, several of these guys do have guns, or have access to guns.  But when do they have opportunity to practice?  You can't really set up targets on a street corner and practice your aim.  And when all your guns are illegal and you are under 21, you can't go to a local range to practice.  So when/where/how do these guys get to shoot?  I don't think they do.

Not that it takes much skill to shoot someone at point blank range, but everyone on this board knows that at just a few feet away, it becomes exponentially harder to hit something with a handgun, especially if that target is moving.  I'm going to bet that most of the street thugs are AWFUL shots.  I still don't want them trying their luck with me as a target, though.

Also, I suspect that most of them are remarkably unfamiliar with the operation of their guns.  If you haven't shot a few hundred rounds through a particular gun, you really don't know what it can or will do.  Nor are you likely to even know how to maintain it, much less take the time to do so.

I don't know what good those speculations do, but I'd guess not much.  Regardless of whether they can shoot, the quality of their weapons, the caliber, the condition... no matter what, I don't want to test those odds, especially since as a teacher I am a designated target, automatically disarmed by law.  Maybe it's just wishful thinking that they won't be able to hit me, since I won't be able to shoot back.  And in the part of town where I teach, there are a whole lot more "pharmaceutical distributors" than teachers.

[Richard S]

Doug:

Keep the faith.  You are a teacher.  I am not a teacher.  However, both of my parents were teachers.  I owe my life and my career to teachers:  (1) to my mother and father, of course, for giving me life and inspiration; (2) to a certain grade school teacher for showing me the promise of the future; (3) to a certain junior high school teacher for teaching me the value of self reliance; (4) to a certain high school teacher for introducing me to literature; (5) to a certain college professor (actually a Dean) for giving me some insight into the magnificent panoply of recorded history; (6) to a certain law school professor for teaching me to understand our magnificent Constitution and the need to defend it; and (7) to a certain lieutentant colonel in OCS for pushing me beyond what I thought had been my limits.

Stay the course.  As my mother used to say, "If you change one life for the better, you have justified your existence on this earth."  I would estimate that you have already changed a multitude of young lives for the better and that you are destined similarly to change many more.