but here in CA, Airsoft weapons are required to have an orange tip on the muzzle to distinguish them from 'real' weapons....and to remove or conceal that tip is a crime (a misdemeanor, I think).

I've played paintball semi-pro when I was younger, and know at least those weapons don't really look anything like the M-16's and M-4's of modern military use...and the pros usually have a big hopper on top, since they shoot so much.

For those who *do* conceal their Airsoft weapons to look like the real thing, I have little pity--if they get their asses shot off it would be their own fault only, since the weapons are only for games, and really *shouldn't* look like the real thing. If you so hunger for the real thing, take a trip overseas, and rent time and ammo with the real thing and indulge yourself...but here in the USA, I'll be the first to call 911 on the nut-cases who either are playing a sick joke, or those who want that 'blaze of glory'...I don't distinguish those who need help--either desperation or bad joke, both should be talking to a pro if this is how they want to express themselves....

-5.75,-4.05
"We're all fucked. It helps to remember that." --George Carlin

(I am well aware that in many areas guns are a way of life and not purchased for any reason other than that.)

_{1."George Washington did not cross the Delaware for Capitalism," -Shmuley Boteach.
2.The Dems haven't punished the GOP enough, so you're going to reward the Republicans?}

...have paid more attention to his behavior than his gun. Why was he holding it? Maybe it was a new purchase and he was examining his new toy.

Maybe he ws picking his kids up on his way from the firing range, and he was moving it.

Maybe he was a crazy S.O.B. about to mow down everyone in the park. How can you tell just by seeing the gun? By your description, it was probably real, and by the way, it's called a MAGAZINE not a clip (my anal retentive side says...).

You did the right thing, but to answer your question - people do this when they feel they have zero power in their personal lives. When they feel 100% consumed with their own weakness as a human being, they snap like that, if their self-loathing is reflected in the world and with others around them at large.

I've been wrestling with my idea of the mood of the nation for a couple of years now. My wife and I were at the beach last summer, and as we watched our children play on the sand I told her that I had a very bad feeling about the economic and political climate.

Part of it was that there was no end in sight for the war in Iraq, and the domestic turbulence that stirs up. Part of it was that the neocons were rattling sabres against Iran--they quieted down for a while, but this has picked up again recently. There's no doubt in my mind that Bush will launch some sort of strike or somehow instigate hostilities with Iran before leaving office, especially if a Democrat is elected to the presidency. This would put the administration's political adversaries in an impossible situation.

Couple that with the Democratic congress's unwillingness, or inability, to really crack heads and take the fight to the administration. Their inaction spoke volumes, as if they were blackmailed, as was the lockstep GOP congress before them.

Another part of it was that, at that time, we were getting invitations to sign on with about a dozen credit card companies a week. You remember? Not so much any more. People we knew were running around stark raving crazy, buying houses, expensive houses, all over the place, refinancing, just sheer stark lunacy. This at a time when I knew a lot of manufacturing regions were being gutted throughout the midwest.

This incident with the gun may have nothing to do with the economic or political climate, but feels like one of many semi-related anecdotes about our times. Then again, it may be a direct result of the economy. This isn't the '60s though, there's no guns 'n' butter economy to fall back on. It just seems like everything will get very sour and perhaps even explosively violent. Bad times.

Is there any way you can get a follow up on this story from the police? I am curious.