this post was submitted on 16 Aug 2025
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iamverybadass
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If someone walks into a bank wearing a balaclava I'm going to assume they'll rob the place. If someone goes to a gun class wearing a school shooter uniform, I'm going to assume they're a school shooter.
People casually wearing balaclavas in public isn’t a thing - if you walk into a convenience store or a bank wearing one, then yeah, statistically there’s a non-trivial chance you’re a robber.
But the ratio of people dressing like the guy in that picture to actual school shooters is so vanishingly low that your assumption is going to be wrong virtually every single time. And besides, this isn’t a bank or a school - there are people literally shooting just outside the window. If there’s any setting where showing up in tactical gear makes any sense, it’s here.
Is it questionable judgment on their part? Maybe. But is it grounds to treat them like a literal mass murderer? Absolutely not. That’s just people being mean bullies.
Who dresses like that? Including knee and elbow pads? Only weirdos who probably only carry a gun because they can't wait to use it. It's not a fashion statement. It's creepy and no wonder people are weirded out by him wanting to obtain a firearm license.
You’re entitled to your opinion - but then you have no moral grounds to criticize people who apply that same logic to religious, racial, or sexual minorities who dress “out of the ordinary.” It’s the exact same guilt by association: they look like someone who’s done bad things in the past, therefore they must be bad too.
Also you're ignoring that he's taking a class about getting to carry concealed weapons. He's not just dressing like this to do his errands. They're not judging him based on looks alone. They're judging him based on looks, actions, and a comment he made that he expects things could dissolve into a dangerous situation at a class. A mentally healthy person doesn't expect things to pop off at a safety class. If he thinks it's likely at a safety class, he definitely thinks things might pop off at a movie theater, a festival, a mall, a doctor's office. I don't want this nut showing up to any of these places with a gun, I don't care how he's dressed.
You're being ridiculous. Wearing religious attire is not the same as wearing tactical gear. He's not wearing a black trench coat or full camo or something that could be considered a style of clothing. He's wearing protective gear, like he's expecting a fight.
I never claimed it’s the same thing - you’re not accurately representing what I said.
Racial, religious, and sexual minorities all face prejudice based on their appearance, and the people holding those prejudices always have excuses for why they think it’s justified. This is no different - you’re judging someone purely on how they look rather than who they actually are.
Do clothing accessories have a limit as to who is immune to judgement? What if it's a US flag? What about a thin blue line flag? What about a swastika armband? You keep saying that most people who wear tacticool mall ninja shit aren't dangerous, and I'd counter with the fact that most US nazis are fat lazy slobs who won't act on their hate. It doesn't mean I don't get to judge them for their shitty views or don't want to be around them in general. Tacticool bros might not be as bad as nazis but they suck ass in general and I don't want to listen to anything they have to say.
Above you said you thought he was autistic and so maybe that's why you seem to be giving him the benefit of the doubt. What if you're wrong about that and he's just your average newsmax chud? Mimicking clothing of known hate groups isn't the same as breaking gender norms, but I think you know that already.
Nobody is immune to judgment - I can’t tell people not to judge based on appearance since I do it too. You can absolutely make educated guesses about someone’s mindset from the way they dress, but it’s a huge leap to then conclude that they’re a potential school shooter and treat them that way. Making fun of them online on the other hand is just mean.
If someone wears a swastika armband, they’re not leaving much to guess - they’re openly broadcasting their beliefs. That’s not the same as someone in tactical or military-style gear. This example hits close to home for me because I also like military apparel. I wouldn’t wear it to the grocery store, but I’d be pretty offended if people mocked me on a hiking trail for looking more of like a soldier than an outdoorsman and especially if they went as far as to call me a school shooter or a nazi because of it.