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'Nose Hill Gentlemen' pro-gun letter sparks Twitter frenzy

Lord Tammerlain

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'Nose Hill Gentlemen' pro-gun letter sparks Twitter frenzy -  News - MSN CA

A Michigan police officer says he's not deterred by the negative reaction caused by his letter to a Calgary newspaper.
Walt Wawra wrote in a letter to the Calgary Herald editor that he wished he had a gun on a recent trip to Calgary.
The veteran officer said he was on a walk with his wife at Nose Hill Park when they were approached by two "aggressive" men.
“They said to me: ‘Hey, have you been to the Stampede yet?’ And my wife and I both looked at him, and we ignored that first comment,” Wawra said.
“They moved a little closer and they said a little louder: ‘Hey! Have you been to the Stampede yet?’ I believe I said in response: ‘Gentlemen, I don’t have need to talk to you about anything. Goodbye.’” cont

Being asked a question about being to the stampede in a nature park, causes someone to wish that he was armed?
 
'Nose Hill Gentlemen' pro-gun letter sparks Twitter frenzy - *News - MSN CA



Being asked a question about being to the stampede in a nature park, causes someone to wish that he was armed?

It would depend on the circumstances. According to the cop, the two young guys had an agressive manner, and blocked the walkway that he and his wife were taking, then got louder with their questioning. I don't know about you, but I'm a female in my 50's, and if two young guys approached me, blocked my path, and were persistent, I'd be pretty uncomfortable.
 
It would depend on the circumstances. According to the cop, the two young guys had an agressive manner, and blocked the walkway that he and his wife were taking, then got louder with their questioning. I don't know about you, but I'm a female in my 50's, and if two young guys approached me, blocked my path, and were persistent, I'd be pretty uncomfortable.


I know the park he was in, it is wide open. The path blocking was just the paved pathway, to either side would have been short grass, that anyone could have walked on if they wanted to get around. His path was not blocked.

It also appears this was during the Calgary Stampede, so asking someone if they have been to the stampede is not going to be unsual. Calgary is generally a friendly city, and people will ask questions and even say hello when walking.

If he was walking by the Calgary Drop In Center at night, then I could see the concern, but Nose Hill Park I cant. To me it appears he does not feel comfortable going anywhere without a gun
 
That made no sense . . . none of it made any sense to me. What were they talking about?
 
I know the park he was in, it is wide open. The path blocking was just the paved pathway, to either side would have been short grass, that anyone could have walked on if they wanted to get around. His path was not blocked.

It also appears this was during the Calgary Stampede, so asking someone if they have been to the stampede is not going to be unsual. Calgary is generally a friendly city, and people will ask questions and even say hello when walking.

If he was walking by the Calgary Drop In Center at night, then I could see the concern, but Nose Hill Park I cant. To me it appears he does not feel comfortable going anywhere without a gun

Well, since I'm not familiar with the area, I'll have to take your word, but I would still be leary of two young male strangers making an advance toward me, uninvited.
 
That made no sense . . . none of it made any sense to me. What were they talking about?

The Stampede is like a very large county fair

It involves a rodeo, rides, country western music, and lots of drinking for adults
(stds and pregnancies increase during that time)

The two young men were probably either drunk or on the way to becoming drunk, and from my experiences here, asking loudly as drunk people do, if the man and woman had been to the stampede
 
I know the park he was in, it is wide open. The path blocking was just the paved pathway, to either side would have been short grass, that anyone could have walked on if they wanted to get around. His path was not blocked.

It also appears this was during the Calgary Stampede, so asking someone if they have been to the stampede is not going to be unsual. Calgary is generally a friendly city, and people will ask questions and even say hello when walking.

If he was walking by the Calgary Drop In Center at night, then I could see the concern, but Nose Hill Park I cant. To me it appears he does not feel comfortable going anywhere without a gun


Your making all suppostiions based on air....first of all if hes retired hes not a very young man...hes with his wife who he needs to protect in a public park. Hes confronted by two young strangers asking a totally absurd meaningless question blocking his path...WHY? why would two strange youths approach and older couple in a park block their path and ask a meaningless question out of nowwhere...Its human instinct and GOOD SENSE to become very concerned for your welfare and your wifes. How did that man know they werent setting him up for an attack...He DIDNT...how did he know what their intent was...HE DID NOT KNOW....
Next time your walking with your wife or girlfriend in an area strange to you...and someone comes up and gets in front of you and blocks your path and asks have you BEEN TO THE HOEDOWN yet....let me know if you dont get nervous...
 
Well the writer is supposedly a retired cop. Now some cops can spend most of their career away from the public in administrative positions but if this guy did any street time I am surprised the retired cop felt so threatened.

I was with my wife in New Orleans when two young street hustlers came up trying their bit on us, I told them I wasn't interested, they blocked our way so I stood face to face with the taller one, looked him in the eye and told him to stand aside. We stared for a two count and it was over. So yes I have been there and done that, unarmed, and given New Orleans is a bit rougher than Calgary (which my wife went to for Halliburton and felt EXTREMELY safe walking around in unescorted but she is an Army vet so perhaps she is of sterner stuff than the retired cop) I'd say the cop is over whining the incident.

The cop should have said something rather than ignore the two guys, simple civility there.

Bottomline was no weapon was needed, now if the thugs had attacked them then the cop's whine about not being armed is valid, as it stands- nope. Two guys ask them twice if they have been to the Stampede, and rather than answer they acted like they didn't hear them.

Weak whine, weak former cop, weak excuse to complain about Canada.
 
So - let me follow here:

Where he lives- they're not allowed to own firearms.
He was with his wife and whether or not we would have felt threatened in that situation aside - he felt threatened.
He mused over twitter that perhaps it would have been nice to have been able to protect himself and his wife amid a potentially dangerous situation.

I don't know - his desire to be able to protect self and spouse seems reasonable to me. . . controversial? No.
 
Wasn't my point at all.... the twitter dude, claims to be a retired cop, yet he used NONE of the training he should have had to be a cop. You don't go from ignoring two guys to brandishing your weapon. He did NONE of the intermediate steps in force application. Apparently for him it is ignore the 'threat' to shoot the threat, no middle ground.

And what was the threat? Did the two attack them? Did the two touch them? Did the two even verbally degrade them?

Thinking if the retired 'cop' is that fearful of so mild a meeting he had no business carrying anyway.

While on the subject, there are a multitude of lesser defense weapons/systems available, he didn't think about that, only his whine over not being allowed to conceal carry in a different country.

If I was a cynical man I'd say this was total hogwash pandering to the 'gun' totting right wing.

Cops, real cops, know many more ways to deal with a threat other than shoot it.
 
so - just some random person making up stories and lies on the net? Not new.
 
I have to agree with the officer. It doesn't matter if it's in the middle of a crowded street in broad daylight, I do not care to be disturbed from going about my activities by anyone. I don't talk to strangers. I don't even recognize the existance of panhandlers and their ilk. I go out of my way to be armed and ready as much of the time as humanly possible. It's just like I was taught many years ago.... "BE PREPARED".
 
Cops, real cops, know many more ways to deal with a threat other than shoot it.

Yeah, but none of them are any good unless you're armed.

I've noticed that people are a lot more polite to a person who is openly carrying a firearm.
 
Yeah, but none of them are any good unless you're armed AND WILLING TO USE IT.

While the gun is best, any weapon that you are actually willing to use is generally a pretty reasonable form of defense. People don't want to bleed and whether you stick them, batter them with a baton, or shoot them; most just don't want to deal with it.
 
Tigger-
good to here you do get out of the house from time to time, would have bet you stay down in the basement. Course one thing to keep in mind, once you leave the USofA you leave the 2nd A behind so choose the country you flee to carefully. You can't concealed carry in Canada as in the story that started this, along with a whole host of other nations. What new country are you moving to that allows concealed carry?

Aunt-
don't know if the story is real or not, do know the retired 'cop' must not have been on the street much. His reactions and whines are more like an imaginary civilian than a veteran cop. Or a never been puffing up like he has a clue what is really going on...
 
So - chunk this into the 'likely not at all true' file stash :)
 
Lowdown-
I know alot of cops who have had idiots/drunks/druggies/domestics go south even though the Officer was in uniform, sidearm fully in view. They have never had to shoot the bad guy. There is an escalation of force, it isn't ignore to brandish...

If having a concealed weapon on you is what gives you the courage to walk around outside and deal with people who talk to you I think a reevaluation is in order. My incident in New Orleans was while I was not packing a firearm, I didn't need a firearm to 'be brave'.

Some folks need a security blanket to go out in public and some don't.

I just found the whine over two guys wanting to ask a question a bit much...
 
So - let me follow here:

Where he lives- they're not allowed to own firearms.
He was with his wife and whether or not we would have felt threatened in that situation aside - he felt threatened.
He mused over twitter that perhaps it would have been nice to have been able to protect himself and his wife amid a potentially dangerous situation.

I don't know - his desire to be able to protect self and spouse seems reasonable to me. . . controversial? No.

He is from Wisconsin, visiting Calgary I would gather for the Stampede and potentially friends and family. He states he carries a weapon back in the US. Handguns are restricted weapons in Canada, and for private individuals only allowed for target shooting. They are to be stored in a safe secure manner when in transport or at home. They can only be used at registared shooting ranges as well
 
Yeah, but none of them are any good unless you're armed.

I've noticed that people are a lot more polite to a person who is openly carrying a firearm.

That is not being polite, that is being scared the guy is a nut job and will shoot you if you look at him funny
 
Tigger-
good to here you do get out of the house from time to time, would have bet you stay down in the basement. Course one thing to keep in mind, once you leave the USofA you leave the 2nd A behind so choose the country you flee to carefully. You can't concealed carry in Canada as in the story that started this, along with a whole host of other nations. What new country are you moving to that allows concealed carry?

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are the two I'm looking at currently.
 
That is not being polite, that is being scared the guy is a nut job and will shoot you if you look at him funny

You say po-TAY-to, I say po-TAH-to. No real difference there. It gets the point across and the job done.
 
Outside of Law Enforcement so few people open carry around people who don't know the pistol packer quite well to make the 'polite' phrase more than an empty utterance.

(but that doesn't mean knowing the pistol packer makes you less leery of them, hell knowing them might make you extremely worried when you see them :mrgreen: )

Tigger- I have 'never leaving the country' in the pool so please keep us updated on your selection and leaving. I'd suggest Saudi Arabia over Pakistan, Pakistan is full of fellas who don't care if you have a potayto or a potahto. ;)
 
Regardless of "where" this occurred (even in Calgary) I don't see the question, "Have you been to the stampede?" as innocuous.

If two aggressive punks asked me the question my suspicions to what their response would be to my answer would be to tell me my ticket was on the bottom of their boot as they kicked me in the head . . . Punks (at least the one's here in Philly) love using a play on words as the "icebreaker" before they proceed with the beatdown.

"Stampede" is especially appropriate given the typical violent 'footwork" of current youthful strongarm robbers.
 
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