Well, now I’ve gotten a glimpse of the sort of thing that might happen if Trumpler’s hair is somehow set alight.
It’s good this didn’t just disappear into a memory hole.
I saw the actual video and the “malfunction” referred to seems, I’m guessing, to actually be that the genius forgot to rack the slide and put a round into the chamber before he pulled his piece. If that’s true and he’d pointed that gun at an armed person with a lick of sense he’d have been shot five times before he realized what his mistake was. These lovers of heritage-oriented statuary, I’m telling you, some of them aren’t too damn swift.
The man then strolls casually away, past a wall of police officers who make no effort to stop him.
Well of course, he was white after all.
Well… they did lose the civil war, after all.
I always thought “makeshift flamethrower” was the kind of gadgets SRL built, not just grocery store items and knowledge.
Well, they did, but plunking down the bucks for a pistol and thinking you’re now ready to go out in the world without fear is a misconception that knows no regional bounds.
He discharge a gun, in front of police, at a protest while threatening another person.
There is no reason on this earth that the police should have stood there other than fear or racism.
The Charlottesville police looked terrible all through this situation and I think and hope there’ll be serious repercussions and changes nationwide. One thing is certain—it’s insane to allow open carry at protests, or in general. You’re moments away from a mass gunfight in a crowd the whole time. It’s nuts.
Hopefully changes will be made… but maybe not while the GOP is leading. You can tell how well they did by their “4 arrests” during that whole weekend (from the NYT article). Which is fricken beyond ridiculous given what occurred… such as a racist firing a gun during the march.
If they won’t respect their duty to preserve public safety, maybe they’ll listen to their insurance brokers. You court disaster in violation of what a reasonable person would think is prudent, and then the disaster happens, insurance companies have to write big checks and they really, really hate that.
That’s open carry. Period.
The NRA knows this. It’s like there is some sort of endgame that is precipitated by this fact.
Generally it is smart to not have a round chambered considering weapons have this nasty habit of going off at inadvertent times. Remember the guy who was gonna shoot that target "up close and real personal and succeeded in shooting himself in the leg? (“I just fucking shot myself”).
Both the guy with the gun and the guy lighting a spray can should have been taken into custody as a matter of public safety and charges sorted out later.
When carrying, sure—without a round chambered the gun can’t shoot. Much safer. But it’s also considered smart to be sure to chamber a round before you go after somebody. It’s like rock-paper-scissors—a makeshift flamethrower beats a gun that won’t shoot. 
What’s really smart is not to commit assault with a deadly weapon against someone who’s not threatening your life right at that moment. And I guess the smartest thing of all would have been for all those fools to stay home. But that’s not the way it happened.
The only reason Chris Cantrell was arrested was because citizens swore out a complaint. There is ample video also of the kid being severely beaten in the garage by a gang of white supremacists and the police appear to have done nothing there either.
Does anyone know which came first, the gunshot or the flame-thrower? No excuse for police inaction at the scene, but if and when charges come up, the answer to this question will matter, methinks.
The police immediately recognized this gentleman as a good guy with a gun.
Unless they are black and you’re a cop. Cooter had half of the equation in place.
In 1952 I was 20years old, in Navy boot camp. We had a southern hot head that wanted to fight every yankee in the Co. I thought the civil war was over about 100 years, but this guy was still fighting it. Now I am 85 years old and they are still fighting. Sad some people never learn. That’s just the way it is.