When posting on-line I will never:

1. criticize anyone for using “clip” instead of “magazine”

1a. criticize anyone for referring to a Georgia Weapons Carry License as a CCW.

2. get in a discussion about which caliber is acceptable in a gunfight

3. get in a discussion about whether you should use a Glock grip plug

4. criticize anyone about how often they clean their gun

5. criticize anyone for what cleaner or lubricant they use

6. call a shotgun a shottie

7. call a revolver a wheelgun

8. call Walmart “wally world “

9. post simply “+1”, “well said,” or some similar agreement, except as part of a retweet, thereby showing my endorsement and agreement

10. accuse anyone of kool-aid drinking

11. tell you that your gun or ammo is unsafe* or junk

12. change your words and say I “fixed it for ya”

13. tell you to move to a gun friendly state

14. use profanity frivolously

15. have a contest that is announced on one or more sites but only available to members of another site.  I.e. no “Facebook only” contests that are announced on Twitter.

16. get in a discussion about Israeli carry

* unless I think it is unsafe in my opinion as a Certified Glock Armorer, in which case I will tell you why I think so, and what I think you should do about it.

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Clip or Magazine?

Yes, there is a difference. But is it important that we chastise anyone, especially casual gun users, or worse, non gun owners, for using them interchangeably?

I read several gun forums, and I’m fairly active on Twitter, and a lot of times it seems the quickest way to get the ire of some people is to use a word incorrectly. My observation is that the words “magazine” and “clip” seem to be the ones that draw the most ire from gun purists when they are used interchangeably. Yes, they mean different things. But how important is that? Important enough to alienate someone over?

Should we not be inclusive to shooters who are looking for advice from those who’ve been there before? After all, are we not all on the same side?

When the zombies come, and I’m shoulder to shoulder with another shooter, shooting his AR, and he asks me for a clip, am I really going to rummage around in my Maxpedition bag and pull out an SKS stripper clip of 7.62×39, and toss it to him? Then laugh as the zeds eat his brains?

Be careful, oh ye language snob. If you insist on separating common usage from technical usage, you may find yourself in trouble.

An example: is this snake poisonous?

Now, if you held this up and asked a biologist who was also a “gun purist,” you would be told “no.” And you would snuggle this bad boy to your breast, and almost immediately be bitten, and die a painful death.

Now, he would tell you that not because he likes watching you die, but because rattlesnakes are not poisonous. In fact, I’ve eaten them prepared several ways, and have never suffered any ill effects from eating rattlesnake meat.

Is it venomous? Oh, hell yes! But venomous is not poisonous, any more than a clip is a magazine. So sorry, you asked the wrong question. Oooo. You might want to put your feet up and call 911.

Now, if someone asks me if a rattlesnake is poisonous, I say yes, and shoot it in the face. Unless they have it skinned and breaded and the fryer is hot. In that case, get out the wing sauce, and let’s go.

All this needs to end.

We need to act civilly, and be inclusive rather than snooty and exclusive.

To that end, I present The Pledge. It’s an expansion of something I read in the signature line of user ManNamedJed on GlockTalk, and I send him my thanks.

First, let me say, I do not mean ill of anyone who does not take The Pledge. You may choose to act the way you do, it’s a free country, and the Interwebz doubly so. But, I believe that following The Pledge not only will make us more inviting to new shooters, but it will make forums and Twitter a lot more pleasant.

Second, when I find someone acting as a gun purist against a new shooter or someone who is just looking for help, I will let them know about the Pledge, and link them here. I will then answer their questions, but I won’t beat the issue to death. I am not a Pledge purist.