All of this!!! I hate guns with all my heart and now sometimes I wonder if we should buy a gun. My neighbor has a limp dirty yellow flag, and I have a yard sign about diversity, and yet, his wife bakes bread and brings us a loaf around Christmas and my husband helps him repair his fence, and he tries to talk to me about Jesus and my dog used to growl at him, which she almost never did at anyone else and sometimes (a lot of times) I want to growl at them too but then I remember the bread and how they called 911 and held hands and prayed over my atheist dad when he fell in front of their house and it’s all very very complicated 🤷🏻♀️
I LOVED the conversation with the neighbor. It painted a picture of a hopeful future where neighbors unite, supporting one another through challenging times when institutions like the government, healthcare, and social security may let us down. Even if we can't depend on those systems, I hope we can begin to count on each other more to lift one another up.
I've been a gun owner for a long time and can understand both the aprehension and the consideration for owning one in today's world. There are a number of great organizations like the Pink Pistols that may align and provide better insight than “Mr average American male” like myself.
My wife and I live in a very remote area of a very large, very sparsely populated county with a very small sheriff’s department. I’ve been around guns all my life, but choose to keep only a shotgun as a deterrent if it came to that. I’m a non-Rambo, but the world is what it is.
My sister, who also lives in a remote place with her husband, carrys a .38 and knows how, when, and if to use it. I also know a young woman here who asked me to check a mechanical issue on her truck recently, so I jumped in to start it and noticed her pink handled 9mm handgun. I commented that she probably doesn’t have a lot of anxiety, upon which she grinned and said no.
But the best way to live is in friendship and solidarity with your neighbors. We all look out for each other here, and even a stuck vehicle turns into a good cheer get together. Last summer, we had a huge wild fire that had shifted toward us, then shifted back on itself. Three or four of the neighbors got together on one of our decks and cheered as helicopters dropped water and aircraft dropped scarlet smears of borate fire retardant ahead of the flames. We all relaxed, had a good time, and felt stronger as neighbors.
Carrot, that old vet can become a great friend if you let him. He will teach you things you never knew you didn’t know, and because I’ve read your books, I know you know a lot. Let political comments go in one ear and out the other. Sometimes he might say something that will offend you. Ignore it. He doesn’t know all the new ideas, but he can be a loyal friend and a great source of wisdom. It sounds like it’s ready to happen.
Also, you might want to rewatch Gran Torino, because there’s a lot of wisdom and humanity in that movie that is a great cross generational and cultural primer.
Yes I live in a rural area that is a mix of conservative and liberal and I see lots of cooperation amongst people- the division is definitely manufactured/we all suffer under the same conditions and I see how fast it falls away when humans need to lean on each other to survive. The vet in the story is fictional (as is the farm and all the other characters) and is something I'm imagining for the lower 48 (we can't even grow apples up here). It's important to differentiate between who has power (the ruling class) and who may be misguided (homophobic conservatives, for example) but does not actually have power. So many of us don't actually have power, and we have more in common than we have differences.
In fact, at a neighborhood level, most of divisive labels have no meaning. The better you know people, the less you find to hate, if you’re a person of good will.
I’m a vegan and almost all of my friends are carnies. I make jokes about myself, they make jokes about me, I complain that I’ll miss them during my extra 20 years of life. They remark about how grim 20 years of eating celery will be.
It’s a simple choice. Muh precious principles are more important than actual human beings, or each person I meet is a unique, wonderful collection of experiences and ideas worth learning about.
This is beautifully true. I always think maybe I should buy a gun... just because I can, or I should, or I need to... but then does that make me a hypocrite?
Reading this felt like a relief. We have about 50% of the emergency supplies we should have (and most are camping supplies scattered throughout the house and garage), but we're slowly expanding. The question about guns crosses my mind at an increasing rate, but I can't make a decision. I silently hold a grudge walking past the houses in the neighborhood that had right wing political signs up a couple months ago, but simultaneously try not to completely write them off. Thank you for sharing <3
How Beautiful~Its complicated for everyone, and still we are all human and working together is what it is all about. Hope and kindness are both contagious, and go a long way to cancelling hate and paranoia. Thank you Carrot, keep shining the light and telling it like it is!
All of this!!! I hate guns with all my heart and now sometimes I wonder if we should buy a gun. My neighbor has a limp dirty yellow flag, and I have a yard sign about diversity, and yet, his wife bakes bread and brings us a loaf around Christmas and my husband helps him repair his fence, and he tries to talk to me about Jesus and my dog used to growl at him, which she almost never did at anyone else and sometimes (a lot of times) I want to growl at them too but then I remember the bread and how they called 911 and held hands and prayed over my atheist dad when he fell in front of their house and it’s all very very complicated 🤷🏻♀️
I came for the bleakness, I stayed for the hope. That was comforting to read
I LOVED the conversation with the neighbor. It painted a picture of a hopeful future where neighbors unite, supporting one another through challenging times when institutions like the government, healthcare, and social security may let us down. Even if we can't depend on those systems, I hope we can begin to count on each other more to lift one another up.
Great read and introspection.
I've been a gun owner for a long time and can understand both the aprehension and the consideration for owning one in today's world. There are a number of great organizations like the Pink Pistols that may align and provide better insight than “Mr average American male” like myself.
Either way consider me a new reader for the page.
My wife and I live in a very remote area of a very large, very sparsely populated county with a very small sheriff’s department. I’ve been around guns all my life, but choose to keep only a shotgun as a deterrent if it came to that. I’m a non-Rambo, but the world is what it is.
My sister, who also lives in a remote place with her husband, carrys a .38 and knows how, when, and if to use it. I also know a young woman here who asked me to check a mechanical issue on her truck recently, so I jumped in to start it and noticed her pink handled 9mm handgun. I commented that she probably doesn’t have a lot of anxiety, upon which she grinned and said no.
But the best way to live is in friendship and solidarity with your neighbors. We all look out for each other here, and even a stuck vehicle turns into a good cheer get together. Last summer, we had a huge wild fire that had shifted toward us, then shifted back on itself. Three or four of the neighbors got together on one of our decks and cheered as helicopters dropped water and aircraft dropped scarlet smears of borate fire retardant ahead of the flames. We all relaxed, had a good time, and felt stronger as neighbors.
Carrot, that old vet can become a great friend if you let him. He will teach you things you never knew you didn’t know, and because I’ve read your books, I know you know a lot. Let political comments go in one ear and out the other. Sometimes he might say something that will offend you. Ignore it. He doesn’t know all the new ideas, but he can be a loyal friend and a great source of wisdom. It sounds like it’s ready to happen.
Also, you might want to rewatch Gran Torino, because there’s a lot of wisdom and humanity in that movie that is a great cross generational and cultural primer.
Thanks for another great post.
Yes I live in a rural area that is a mix of conservative and liberal and I see lots of cooperation amongst people- the division is definitely manufactured/we all suffer under the same conditions and I see how fast it falls away when humans need to lean on each other to survive. The vet in the story is fictional (as is the farm and all the other characters) and is something I'm imagining for the lower 48 (we can't even grow apples up here). It's important to differentiate between who has power (the ruling class) and who may be misguided (homophobic conservatives, for example) but does not actually have power. So many of us don't actually have power, and we have more in common than we have differences.
In fact, at a neighborhood level, most of divisive labels have no meaning. The better you know people, the less you find to hate, if you’re a person of good will.
I’m a vegan and almost all of my friends are carnies. I make jokes about myself, they make jokes about me, I complain that I’ll miss them during my extra 20 years of life. They remark about how grim 20 years of eating celery will be.
It’s a simple choice. Muh precious principles are more important than actual human beings, or each person I meet is a unique, wonderful collection of experiences and ideas worth learning about.
This is brilliant and heartfelt. I love the way you write so honestly and to the point. These be weird and tricky times.
I really loved this, thank you. I can also feel the cracks forming.
A+ would read this story forever and ever
This is beautifully true. I always think maybe I should buy a gun... just because I can, or I should, or I need to... but then does that make me a hypocrite?
Oh my gosh this short story is good. Subbed
Reading this felt like a relief. We have about 50% of the emergency supplies we should have (and most are camping supplies scattered throughout the house and garage), but we're slowly expanding. The question about guns crosses my mind at an increasing rate, but I can't make a decision. I silently hold a grudge walking past the houses in the neighborhood that had right wing political signs up a couple months ago, but simultaneously try not to completely write them off. Thank you for sharing <3
How Beautiful~Its complicated for everyone, and still we are all human and working together is what it is all about. Hope and kindness are both contagious, and go a long way to cancelling hate and paranoia. Thank you Carrot, keep shining the light and telling it like it is!
This is the way 🧡