Can We PA-leez Put the Sheep Dog Myth To Rest?


My first revelation when it comes to firearms was when I was living in Hawaii. A disgruntled former Xerox employee returned to his workplace and shot 7 people.

I was not aware of Hawaii's anti gun reputation but I came to the conclusion that ONE armed employee would have been able to do much good.

It was not until several years later that I recieved my first permit to carry. I have thought about this for some time. The way I figure it I am pretty certain that I will shoot my way OUT of a situation but there is no way I am willing to shoot myself INTO a situation.
 

I agree

Carrying a gun is a huge responsibility. I was brought up with guns. I sort of got a kick out of the sheep dog analogy when I first heard it. However your analysis is right on. Anti-gun people are jealous and angry about the freedoms we enjoy and the responibilities we are willing to shoulder and by their rhetoric they would and do encourage irresponsible use of firearms. Anti-gunners often frequent gun bloggs. Let none of us become cannon fodder for their war against freedom. Let us all continue to be advocates for the safe, sane and prolific use of firearms (and that is not an oxymoron). Not only " more guns less crime" in a free society more guns more freedom, more kindness, more charity. My father taught me to never say anything to any one that I wasn't willing to back up. That is a principle that applies accross all walks of life. I was a little kid when he taught me that. Consequently I have always kept my words in check and it saved me a lot of grief.
 
Once upon a time, I confronted a young man over smoking next to the gas pumps in a station where I was filling up. He took exception to my suggestions and his father got involved too, threatening to call the cops on me. I told him, "Go ahead, I'm sure they will be interested in how the fire codes are being broken here; or if you want, I'll call them for you!" They immediately backed down, put out the cigarette, and sulked. The point is, I was at that point a sheep dog.

I have to say I think the Sheep Dog concept covers a broader territory than just firearms. Some times its just about speaking out against wrongs around us; not giving tacit permission with our silence. I think its about standing up against evil no matter how it manifests! Certainly it covers someone abusing a child or wife (or anyone, really) I think its about civic duty. About actually accepting jury duty because we need principled people on the jury who Can and Will think for themselves. Its about educating yourself about your rights and then acting as if they mattered! How about informed voting. There's a whole topic in itself. By our action & inaction, whether we intend it or not, we set a standard for society and maybe more importantly, the children in our society.I could go on but I think that gives us the idea. It's not just shoot/don't shoot, but good citizenship.

Having said all that, there is still the decision of when to get involved, or, like all political decisions, where do we draw the line?

Food for thought, to be sure.
Be strong
 
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So many good points in such a ahort post. I wish I had that ability. People do everything they can to get our of jury duty and then ***** about the quality of juries. They refuse to vote because not one is to their liking then ***** about who those that did vote elected. The easiest thing there is to do is nothing then ***** about what those who did something got accomplished. Sheepdogs don't complain and make excuses about what they don't have, they do something with what they have
 
Kudos to Treo. Claiming to be a sheepdog is no more convincing than someone claiming to be a man. If one feels the need to say it, the argument is already lost.
 
Are there two groups of people that carry concealed ? I've yet to meet anyone who is out looking for trouble and itching to shoot someone ? I must know the right people.
 
Are there two groups of people that carry concealed ? I've yet to meet anyone who is out looking for trouble and itching to shoot someone ? I must know the right people.

Or either hang around in the right places. I have known plenty of them and usually they find exactly what they are looking for,
 
sheep dogs...
anyone who ever put on a uniform for the military, law enforcement, fire or EMS. Those are the true sheep dogs. Anything else is just so much keyboard commando rhetoric and possibly stolen valor.
I served in the USAF for over 20 years...I am a sheep dog (retired).
My oldest son is a Marine...he is a sheepdog in ways you will never know.
My middle son is a fireman...more of a sheepdog than you can imagine.
My youngest wants to join the Army and fly helicopters as soon as he graduates...(future sheepdog but has not earned the title yet).
If you ever put on a uniform in service of your fellow man you are a sheepdog. If you have not you are only an armed individual...it is not up for discussion.

I never bothered to read this thread until today AFTER the subject came up on my RSS feed to a B5 blog

so I read this entire thread and Festus said it best...... We got sheepdogs and we got posers

I to am a retired USMC sheepdog

So courtesy to Russ Vaughn

The Sheepdogs

Most humans truly are like sheep
Wanting nothing more than peace to keep
To graze, grow fat and raise their young,
Sweet taste of clover on the tongue.
Their lives serene upon Life’s farm,
They sense no threat nor fear no harm.
On verdant meadows, they forage free
With naught to fear, with naught to flee.
They pay their sheepdogs little heed
For there is no threat; there is no need.

To the flock, sheepdog’s are mysteries,
Roaming watchful round the peripheries.
These fang-toothed creatures bark, they roar
With the fetid reek of the carnivore,
Too like the wolf of legends told,
To be amongst our docile fold.
Who needs sheepdogs? What good are they?
They have no use, not in this day.
Lock them away, out of our sight
We have no need of their fierce might.

But sudden in their midst a beast
Has come to kill, has come to feast
The wolves attack; they give no warning
Upon that calm September morning
They slash and kill with frenzied glee
Their passive helpless enemy
Who had no clue the wolves were there
Far roaming from their Eastern lair.
Then from the carnage, from the rout,
Comes the cry, “Turn the sheepdogs out!”

Thus is our nature but too our plight
To keep our dogs on leashes tight
And live a life of illusive bliss
Hearing not the beast, his growl, his hiss.
Until he has us by the throat,
We pay no heed; we take no note.
Not until he strikes us at our core
Will we unleash the Dogs of War
Only having felt the wolf pack’s wrath
Do we loose the sheepdogs on its path.

And the wolves will learn what we’ve shown before;
We love our sheep, we Dogs of War.

Russ Vaughn
2d Bn, 327th Parachute Infantry Regiment
101st Airborne Division
Vietnam 65-66
 
"sheep dogs...anyone who ever put on a uniform for the military, law enforcement, fire or EMS. Those are the true sheep dogs. Anything else is just so much keyboard commando rhetoric and possibly stolen valor."

What nonsense! Not all the battles in this world are physical and if you think they are you need to pull your head out of the elitist sand and wake up!

In the broadest sense, a sheep dog protects the herd. So, what does our flock need protection from? I think it is a mistake to construe sheepdog as meaning only those with guns willing to protect others against physical assault, or only those within a structured organization such as the Police or Military, although they are indeed sheep dogs. I interpret it to mean those who stand up for what is right in society whether that is speaking out against injustice, or picking up a telephone to summon aid. What are we on this forum if not sheepdogs in the sense of drawing a line against the errosion of the 2nd ammendment? Its not always about physical agression. The sheep dog fights for the herd, and many, if not most battles are being fought with the spoken word and pen. Even if it did mean getting physically involved, how many of us are willing to just ignore a child being physically abused by another adult-even a parent? I have seen this! So what if "me and mine" are not directly invloved? does that make me a Sheep Dog? I think so; others wouild say it doesn't count unless I'm wearing the right Uniform. Does that make me a wanna-be or poser? No. It means there are certain things I know are just plain wrong and will not allow if I have the power to prevent it. It means that we all (hopefully all) draw a line somewhere against wrongs. We act as Sheep Dogs-or not-depending on which side of our own personal line we are at any given moment. Yes, I realize there are those out there (and I've known a few)who are merely using the excuse of "righting wrongs" to exert force and feel important. That in no way excuses the rest of us from acting responsibly. I believe in the concept of Civic Duty. The very reason our country is in the situation it is today is because too many of us have failed to do our civic duty. We have looked the other way when confronted with governmental abuses. We have failed to take personal responsibility for our own safety. We have failed to educate ourselves and our children about our rights and obligations; we've left that to the school systems. We have listened to judges and lawyers who have told us we "must" find someone guilty or innocent. We have submitted to authority without questioning whether that authority was true, correct, or even legal! We, as a nation of sheep, have given the "inch" that lead to the "mile" being lost. Then we all cry about how awful it is!

This is not meant to denigrate anyone on this forum per se. I relize we are all here in an effort to take personal responsibility for our own protection. That's a very good thing! I guess the point is that we need to broaden our thinking a bit. If we continue to see our duty as merely personal protection, or the protection of the herd as the sole province of the "official" Sheep Dogs, we may have already lost the war!

And yes, I've worn the uniform.
 
There used to be a certain validity to the terminology of sheep and sheepdogs when the concept was originally conceived, but like most everything else that has grabbed the public's attention, it has become so perverted that it has lost its effectiveness and become more of a pigeon-holed label for a bunch of wannabe's.
Marv
Ret. LEO
 
Nope, never, because we have guys like this posting things for the whole of Idaho to read:

Link Removed

"Gnoter," about 30 comments from the most recent.

Yeah, like I said, I was all "Yay sheepdogs," until I met someone who thought he was one and didn't know even the basic safety rules of handling a firearm.
 
I would have to agree with you. If I heard shots and someone yelling for help I do not know what I would do at this time. After some thought, how would I know who the BG is if coming around a corner saw one guy on the ground and another holding a gun. Which one is the BG? If the guy with the gun has on a hoodie, he could be a CCL who defended himself or it could be the guy on the ground. So which one do you shoot? This could be a problem. Also if the good guy is the guy with the gun, he could think I was another BG if I come running around the corner with my gun drawn. Of course I would shoot if he stated pointing his gun at me. Then it would become a anti-gun crowd's perfect dream. Two CCL's shooting it out on the street. They would say, "We told you it would be the Wild West!" So before I would involve myself in a situation I would have to KNOW more about it and felt threatened.
 

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