On the subject of rioters.

[Diesel42]

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This is great advice but not always easy to follow. I bet some of us can remember being young when somebody in our little band of merry men decided to do something stupid. Now 45 years ago the thought of that something stupid rising to the level of getting me shot never crossed my mind. I would be willing to bet there are times when a group of youths are all doing just fine when that one off person in the group suddenly does something stupid that the others are not planning for or even in favor of. Meanwhile, there you are with a bullet hole in your chest and the idiot you were hanging with caused it by doing something stupid you never expected them to do.
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With respect, every person is responsible for their actions. If I fail to intervene when a friend does something stupid, then I become responsible for the stupid act because I didn't stop it. Property crimes not so much, but claiming ignorance with personal injury is a lame defense.
My two cents,
Nick

[The Annoyed Man]

So, if I read / understand correctly - it's like the Texas Law of Parties? Meaning, that TAM, Andy and I go to the local Andy's...if Andy drops the custard cone...well, then we are ALL guilty of dropping the custard cone?! Even if TAM is in the getaway vehicle (we don't want our spouses knowing that we've been at Andy's...but Andy dripped some custard on his shirt...so we now have evidence of the crime) Or something like that...

Dude! There’s an Andy's Frozen Custard 3 blocks from my house. Bite your tongue! In fact, AndyC has to drive past it to get to my house. Be realistic. There’s no way any of us are dropping that cone!

[crazy2medic]

My mother taught me not to hang out with people that can get you in trouble!
So don't hang out with people that can get you SHOT!

This is great advice but not always easy to follow. I bet some of us can remember being young when somebody in our little band of merry men decided to do something stupid. Now 45 years ago the thought of that something stupid rising to the level of getting me shot never crossed my mind. I would be willing to bet there are times when a group of youths are all doing just fine when that one off person in the group suddenly does something stupid that the others are not planning for or even in favor of. Meanwhile, there you are with a bullet hole in your chest and the idiot you were hanging with caused it by doing something stupid you never expected them to do.

Exactly!

By the time I reached 18 I had whittled my circle of friends to a mere 4 true friends and they were raised stricter than I was and feared their parents more!!

[PUCKER]

So, if I read / understand correctly - it's like the Texas Law of Parties? Meaning, that TAM, Andy and I go to the local Andy's...if Andy drops the custard cone...well, then we are ALL guilty of dropping the custard cone?! Even if TAM is in the getaway vehicle (we don't want our spouses knowing that we've been at Andy's...but Andy dripped some custard on his shirt...so we now have evidence of the crime) Or something like that...

Dude! There’s an Andy's Frozen Custard 3 blocks from my house. Bite your tongue! In fact, AndyC has to drive past it to get to my house. Be realistic. There’s no way any of us are dropping that cone!

I drive right by the one on Wm D Tate every morning and evening to/from the office...

[03Lightningrocks]

My mother taught me not to hang out with people that can get you in trouble!
So don't hang out with people that can get you SHOT!

This is great advice but not always easy to follow. I bet some of us can remember being young when somebody in our little band of merry men decided to do something stupid. Now 45 years ago the thought of that something stupid rising to the level of getting me shot never crossed my mind. I would be willing to bet there are times when a group of youths are all doing just fine when that one off person in the group suddenly does something stupid that the others are not planning for or even in favor of. Meanwhile, there you are with a bullet hole in your chest and the idiot you were hanging with caused it by doing something stupid you never expected them to do.

Exactly!

By the time I reached 18 I had whittled my circle of friends to a mere 4 true friends and they were raised stricter than I was and feared their parents more!!

Hahaha... by the time I was 18 I was married and had a baby on the way. I could no longer afford to hang out with my little band of merry men.

[Rafe]

Tangential to this topic, if anyone needs to refresh their "hurricane preparedness" kit, AR500 armor is having a buy one, get one free special on their 10" x 12" curved level III+ "Advanced Shooters Cut" plates. With the basic base coating only, that would be $124 for two plates. Lead time is 7 to 8 weeks.

You know. For the hurricane preparedness kit. In case of severe storms and flooding. That sort of natural disaster emergency.

https://www.ar500armor.com/3-plus-bogo.html

Okay. My fault for posting the above. I'll go smack my head into a wall until the buyer's remorse goes away. But...

I have an incredibly bulky (with something like a fake leather outer shell; talk about hot) plate carrier that only accommodated (barely) max 8.75"x11.75" small SAPI plates, and I have two level III plates that I can fit in there. No cummerbund or side plates possible, and only 8" of MOLLE available on the front. To that is stuck a mash-up of a few small mag carriers/pouches. The whole thing is approaching 20 years old.

I hadn't really been shopping for a new rig, but last year I'd signed up for the AR500 mailing list...and they make certain you're constantly reminded of it, but to their credit the emails often with some good info and links to useful videos.

Anywhoo, I punched at the calculator and the basic Testudo Gen 2 package (without the extra load-out stuff, but with level III+ plates and shock trauma pads) retails for $409. The July 4 sale price is $353. However... With the JULY4 discount code, the carrier is $164. With the buy-one, get-one plate offer, two 10"x12" multicurve level III+ plates and trauma pads come to $159. That makes $323 for the same kit as the $353 sale price, which retails for $409.

So... I impulse purchased. They're bulky and heavy darned things, but I've always figured that if the time came that I really needed to bug out or bug in, that it would probably mean a plate carrier wouldn't be the worst idea in the world. My dear wife doesn't have one of her own, so will be bequeathed my old one...which she would likely refuse to wear even if a foreign power landed ground assault troops in Galveston. But it'll be there. In case.

And I don't expect the new rig until the beginning of September. So no help if we see violent, armed rioters in our neighborhoods July 4 under the cover of fireworks noise. (See how I brought that back around so I wouldn't completely off topic?)

[clarionite]

My mother taught me not to hang out with people that can get you in trouble!
So don't hang out with people that can get you SHOT!

This is great advice but not always easy to follow. I bet some of us can remember being young when somebody in our little band of merry men decided to do something stupid. Now 45 years ago the thought of that something stupid rising to the level of getting me shot never crossed my mind. I would be willing to bet there are times when a group of youths are all doing just fine when that one off person in the group suddenly does something stupid that the others are not planning for or even in favor of. Meanwhile, there you are with a bullet hole in your chest and the idiot you were hanging with caused it by doing something stupid you never expected them to do.

Many many moons ago, when I was in High School, I was cruising around town with a buddy and an acquaintance. We were pulled over by a Highway Patrolman. I don't recall why we were pulled over, but being teen aged boys, we were probably doing something stupid along the lines of spinning out or speeding. But the patrolman took the acquaintance aside. Apparently the acquaintance and the patrolman's nephew had gotten into a fist fight a few days before and the patrolman was reading the acquaintance the riot act. I could see the acquaintance balling up his fists as I watched in the rear view mirror. In his haste to get the acquaintance out of the car he had never asked me to turn the ignition off. I remember telling the friend that if he hit the patrolman, we were driving off and letting him deal with the repercussions of his stupidity on his own. As an adult, I can realize that was not the proper action to take... But as a kid, that was my way of not getting a bullet hole from someone else's stupidity.