Jump to content

"I need to decompress "


Hawkwrench

Recommended Posts

I am not going to touch the weapon carry issue. As a wise Command Sergeant Major once said to me, "Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig". 

 

That being said, as a combat veteran and former LEO, I am ingrained with the sheepdog mentality of protecting those who cannot protect themselves by any means necessary. You did the right thing in intervening, and did the best you could under the circumstances.  Try to remind yourself of that and don't beat yourself up over the "what ifs". Believe me, I do that a lot and it's MUCH easier said than done.

 

I say these things as one who deals with my own PTSD on an almost daily basis. I was diagnosed in 2005 and have been working on and with it since then. As Mark pointed out in a previous post, there's no such thing as mild PTSD. It's like being pregnant, you either are, or aren't. So yes, you experienced PTSD. 

 

If you need/want to vent some more, or just to talk feel free to message me. That goes for anybody. I'm not just fantastically good looking, but also a peer counselor for veterans at the local VA hospital. I swear I've had enough therapy to start my own practice!

 

On a side note, we all might want to remember that this forum consists of members from all over the world who have many different views. Especially on weapons. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You know, Mrs. Buckman, you need a license to buy a dog, or drive a car. Hell, you need a license to catch a fish! But they'll let any butt-reaming ******* be a father. (parent)

Keanu Reeves; Parenthood

Link to comment
Share on other sites

27 minutes ago, mozart said:

Quite honestly it would scare me to hell to live in a country where any Tom, Dick or Harry is allowed to carry a gun and may not have the wit when, or not, is the right time to use it! 

 

If you look at the statistics, it's very rarely, if ever, a problem here. The overwhelming majority of lawful American gun owners, are just that, lawful.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We quickly miss the point.  The man had an experience that left him shocked, troubled and needing to talk, so he came here to this forum, to us, people to whom he can relate, for empathy.  Instead he got virtue signaling and pointy fingers.  His situation has nothing to do with large scale planes as was immediately pointed out, but neither do new trucks, the loss of loved ones, walks in the woods, the virtues of wearing masks in public, paeans to RBG or most of the other esoteric things we feel compelled to share here among friends.  Many of us on this site are Americans of a certain generation; this is what we do, how we cope -- or did before all the "correctness" came to town.  Thankfully, one of us understood and actually offered substantive support.  Good on him.  We also should note that Hawkwrench stepped in to protect the welfare of someone he didn't know without a second thought and at his own peril, which is somewhat more than most would do.  Oh, and for the record, my name is neither Tom, Dick, nor Harry but I am possessed of wit, training, common sense and, most importantly, the right.  You might want to ask King George about that before opining further. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This isn't a public forum and there is no 1st Amendment right, herein.  Ask me how I know. 

 

In the spirit of offering genuine help and understanding to the OP, I would suggest he seek out and utilize trained PTSD counselors to be evaluated, counseled and set on the road to recovery.  I cannot (not qualified) and will not offer any more substantive advice based only on a common thread of these fora and a shared interest in modeling.  While I have friends that suffer with PTSD, I won't say I even remotely understand the ailment as I don't believe I have ever experienced PTSD so my input remains as I have said above.  I wish the OP good luck, God speed and health.  All we can do, as a community, is listen (as many have done) with compassion and care.

Edited by Juggernut
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks to all who commented for or against.

As Oldbaldguy said, I came here to this forum and talk to friends to get it off my chest so maybe I could somehow get some sleep and not reenact the scene over and over in my head while laying in bed.

I've learned and heard for many years that getting it out in the open is usually one of the 1st steps, hence why I came here and the title. For those who offered help and counseling,  I thank you for offering to help a total stranger cope.

Ruffling feathers over one's views on certain topics was not what I had intended to do. 

 

Tim

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Hawkwrench said:

Sometimes just drawing your weapon and unfortunately pointing it at the threat will stop the situation from escalating as many Law enforcement officers well know (including myself).

 

This is the elephant in the room Tim. This is what polarises and drives people nuts. It's an extraordinarily divisive issue on which almost everybody has a opinion.  LSP is not the place for opions on this topic. It's why this topic was bound to create some heat and why the staff developed a sense of foreboding.

 

I'm not making any judgements about what you and others are entitled to believe.  I hope you can accept though that many professionally trained Police in other countries operate, don't ever and would never use firearms in the manner you suggested.

If we could just avoid references to firearms or imagined scenarios it would be awesome. 

 

Having addressed that elephant, plenty of people, including myself have face similarly awful situations and we want to empathise or help you unpack such an incident so that you'll be OK.

 

Extreme interpersonal violence against a completely innocent and vulnerable person 'is' super shocking. It's totally OK to be rattled and to then wonder about the 'what if's.

 

All the best. You did the right thing and you can't fix everything.

 

Matty

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In the case described by the OP IMO the best course is to take photos or better yet video, get the license plate and maybe try to stop it without putting anyone in any danger. I'm sure it was horrible to watch but getting too involved might not be good for you or your family in the long run.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, Hawkwrench said:

 Again, it was not my intention to stir up contention.

Tim

We're all good mate. No one ever assumed it. It's just the inherent nature of the topic itself. That's not on you.
Happy for the thread to stay open so long as we just omit firearms discussions.

I suspect everyone on LSP is hoping you're going to be OK. That's the only important take-away message worth remembering. It's genuinely heartfelt.

 

Cheers mate

Matty

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...