[Gryphon]

Originally Posted by sukivan

Wow, I am appalled at the attitudes of the people here.

Of course you are. You're 18 and still a bit naive. That's not meant as an insult but it's a simple generalization that applies to most teens that have little "real world" life experience. Your reaction is not surprising.

By slinking into obscurity, we would only be validating the asinine assumption that there is something shameful about airsofters taking photos of themselves. Hell, there is nothing wrong with taking photos of yourself with real guns, either.

Of course not. But try telling that to a knee-jerk liberal soccermom who's afraid of their kids being shot to death at school.

Any reporter trying to make hay out of a bunch of hobbyists playing with harmless airguns that shoot tiny plastic balls would get crucified by the public.

Case in point about youthful naivety. If you follow the news you'll see daily examples of sensationalism, mistruths, and falsehoods that the reporters are never crucified for. How often have we heard of "machine guns" or "rocket launchers" being seized in raids only to learn they were deactivated hunks of steel? The media is nearly immune unless the gaffe is substantial and obvious, and even then you're likely to get an apology at most. And that's if anyone notices. If you seriously believe a reporter would face discipline for villifying a gun-pose picture in the Gallery you are sorely mistaken.

Oh, and for those who are calling for a minimum reading/posting age for the gallery - may I ask what exactly you are hoping to accomplish?

You prevent people from outside the community from accessing it and viewing things they may misinterpret. By meeting someone face to face you can get a better understanding of their true motives and intentions. You demonstrate your naivety again by asking if we think that will stop school shootings; you're missing the point entirely. I wonder if you've read anything at all that's been posted in this thread?

Acting more secretive will only make this harmless hobby seem more suspicious to the uninformed John Q Public.

You still don't get it. We WANT John Q. Public to remain (relatively) uninformed because that's what keeps the heat off of us. If you really think that forcing airsoft into the public spotlight is a good idea with the current socio-political atmosphere, you are more naive than I had ever imagined. I can see the headlines now - "Militia Games Train Youths For Killing" or "Replica Assault Weapons Sold Openly On Internet". Get real.