Dear Avid Shooters
I am writing this to a new and unexpected audience. I understand you may or may not think I have a hidden agenda or maybe I made up my story (despite running with a companion), elaborated, over-emotionalized it, or in someway wronged you as target shooters. Let me put to rest that I never intended on doing any of those things. In fact, with the amount of discussion you all are having about it, perhaps this is a sensitive topic. But I really don’t want to mislead you.
1) I have no intention of messing with your areas of shooting that are legal
2) I want us to all share space in a fair and sensible way. If I run off trail, it certainly does not pose a potentially fatal threat to you. But if you shoot illegally or irresponsibly, it does pose a threat to me or others.
3) I am not entitled. I have been running for 10 years on hundreds of trails and had no issue with this before and I have seen many people doing appropriate target practice over the years with no issue (into banks, into set up targets, etc.) I believe this was an accident-but it was enough of an eye opener for me, to write a blog and to let others know it can happen.
4) Saying an incident is isolated, is not calling out or generalizing all target shooters. I’m sure many of you are runners, sports fans, hunters, moms and dads, and all good people.
5) Have you ever had a bullet go over your head? How about 10-12 rounds? Its sickening and scary- sorry for being dramatic here but I just want to run and not worry about this. Do you blame me?
6) I was raised around guns. I am not scared of them.
7) I take responsibility for not understanding what was going on. Acting the best way I knew how and giving people the benefit of the doubt. I am not experienced with this kind of thing, so I’m sure you can see I was just doing what instinct told me and my friend at that moment.
8 The area we encountered is known for target practice- not illegal target practice. Backstop with clear visibility to the target. I have no issues with that at all.
9) I am hypersensitive because I am still jittery and haven’t been able to sleep. But your onslaught of insensitive comments are not helping your image as a whole right now. You should want to help me, not blame me.
10) What agenda could I possibly have? That’s the most perplexing of all. I am runner, not a gun law advocate. That’s it.
Jen, thanks for the follow up (and for the initial post! and yay for being ok!). I hope it calms the commenting folks a bit – lots of things lately had become political when they are simply personal and emotional. You can’t say what you eat without becoming someone’s almost enemy, or how you raise your kids. I am all for guns, but not for guns shooting at people when they yelled already. Do gun shooters drink? Heck yeah. Is it against the law? Absolutely not! But is it responsible – or at least sometimes? There are accidents happen everywhere, no matter what affiliation with what party or agenda you have. That was a very, very bad (hopefully) accident, and it needed to be told. Stay strong.
Thanks Olga:) You couldn’t have said it better! I’m moving on and hope everyone else is too!! Hope to see you soon. Hugs,
Jen