39 votes

Florida man worries about his ruined reputation after pulling gun on Uber driver dropping the man's daughter off at their house

20 comments

  1. [9]
    devilized
    Link
    As someone who does own firearms, this guy deserves every bit of his ruined reputation. He literally assaulted an innocent man who was just doing his job. He should have his firearms taken away...

    As someone who does own firearms, this guy deserves every bit of his ruined reputation. He literally assaulted an innocent man who was just doing his job. He should have his firearms taken away since he obviously doesn't know how to use them despite his veteran status.

    53 votes
    1. [8]
      Akir
      Link Parent
      I honestly question the man's mental stability. To see an unmarked car and assume that it must belong to some kind of organized crime unit instead of every personally-owned car ever is a huge leap...

      I honestly question the man's mental stability. To see an unmarked car and assume that it must belong to some kind of organized crime unit instead of every personally-owned car ever is a huge leap to say the least. Do I need to put huge anime decals on my car so that people don't think I'm a gangster and start firing on me?

      I'm morbidly curious to see if I can find an unedited interview with the man just to see how much of a ditch he digs himself into.

      25 votes
      1. turmacar
        Link Parent
        I mean even his "reasoning" is nonsense. Does he think "child traffickers" often drop the kids back off at home?

        I mean even his "reasoning" is nonsense.

        Does he think "child traffickers" often drop the kids back off at home?

        22 votes
      2. Fiachra
        Link Parent
        I have noticed a subset of the gun-supporting kind of American that seems to greatly overestimate the amount of home invasions, random kidnappings and gangland sieges that happen in the real world.

        I have noticed a subset of the gun-supporting kind of American that seems to greatly overestimate the amount of home invasions, random kidnappings and gangland sieges that happen in the real world.

        14 votes
      3. [2]
        devilized
        Link Parent
        I'm sure he wasn't in the right mindset since his daughter was missing and he wasn't getting help from law enforcement, but that still doesn't excuse his behavior. Being scared doesn't justify the...

        I'm sure he wasn't in the right mindset since his daughter was missing and he wasn't getting help from law enforcement, but that still doesn't excuse his behavior. Being scared doesn't justify the use of deadly force, and you shouldn't be pointing a gun at someone unless you're going to use it. That's the sort of responsibility you take owning a firearm.

        8 votes
        1. ButteredToast
          Link Parent
          This underlies the difference between someone keeping a firearm as a last line of self-defense as compared to someone keeping one as a comfort blanket of sorts. The former may be justifiable in...

          This underlies the difference between someone keeping a firearm as a last line of self-defense as compared to someone keeping one as a comfort blanket of sorts. The former may be justifiable in many parts of the US while the latter is a situation that shouldn’t have ever been allowed to happen.

          7 votes
      4. [3]
        redwall_hp
        Link Parent
        Yes, always. I'd recommend going all-in with a vinyl wrap, though. If someone is already at that level of paranoia, it would probably make it worse, since clearly cars + Japan = drift racing...

        Do I need to put huge anime decals on my car

        Yes, always. I'd recommend going all-in with a vinyl wrap, though.

        so that people don't think I'm a gangster and start firing on me?

        If someone is already at that level of paranoia, it would probably make it worse, since clearly cars + Japan = drift racing yakuza, according to a documentary they saw once.

        17 votes
        1. [2]
          Promonk
          Link Parent
          How generous of you to assume the man has a modicum of curiosity about the world such that he'd watch a documentary. I would've guessed that "Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift" movie myself.

          How generous of you to assume the man has a modicum of curiosity about the world such that he'd watch a documentary. I would've guessed that "Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift" movie myself.

          2 votes
  2. [7]
    domukin
    Link
    Tweaked the title a bit to make it more neutral. Other outlets’ titles come across as brushing off the man’s actions, calling him “overprotective”, which seems too far in the other direction.

    Tweaked the title a bit to make it more neutral. Other outlets’ titles come across as brushing off the man’s actions, calling him “overprotective”, which seems too far in the other direction.

    19 votes
    1. [6]
      sneakyRedPanda
      Link Parent
      If I can be honest here, I have literally no idea what the new title is trying to say beyond what the original title did. Edit: OK got it now, it seems pretty clear so I’m not sure what the...

      If I can be honest here, I have literally no idea what the new title is trying to say beyond what the original title did.

      Edit: OK got it now, it seems pretty clear so I’m not sure what the roadblock was. I’m all for “their” as the de facto gender neutral pronoun but maybe this is one of the situations where the ambiguity doesn’t help.

      2 votes
      1. [4]
        unkz
        Link Parent
        Is the pronoun about gender neutrality or is it because it’s the only possible choice for describing the house of a plural group of people?

        Is the pronoun about gender neutrality or is it because it’s the only possible choice for describing the house of a plural group of people?

        8 votes
        1. [3]
          sneakyRedPanda
          Link Parent
          Right, it’s almost certainly about the group of people, but when you read the sentence you do always have to determine the answer to that question, with the context being the only indicator as to...

          Right, it’s almost certainly about the group of people, but when you read the sentence you do always have to determine the answer to that question, with the context being the only indicator as to which usage of “their” is intended by the writer.

          1. stu2b50
            Link Parent
            I don't see how that can make anything ambiguous in the title. There's only 3 people: the man, his daughter, and the uber driver. It makes no sense for it to be the Uber driver's house, and the...

            I don't see how that can make anything ambiguous in the title. There's only 3 people: the man, his daughter, and the uber driver. It makes no sense for it to be the Uber driver's house, and the man and his daughter presumably live in the same house.

            How would it be less ambiguous than another other pronoun? If it said "his house" or "her house", well, the uber driver could be male too, or female, we don't know anything about them at all.

            4 votes
          2. sparksbet
            Link Parent
            Since singular they used for someone whose gender is unknown or unspecified (such as the uber driver in this example) is old as balls, any trouble resolving the reference in contexts like this...

            Since singular they used for someone whose gender is unknown or unspecified (such as the uber driver in this example) is old as balls, any trouble resolving the reference in contexts like this isn't exactly new-fangled.

            1 vote
      2. domukin
        Link Parent
        I just changed “whines” to “worries” and added the subtitle for context. I didn’t mean to start a gender discussion, lol

        I just changed “whines” to “worries” and added the subtitle for context.

        I didn’t mean to start a gender discussion, lol

        5 votes
  3. pseudolobster
    Link
    It seems to me like these sort of people feel like every time they "have to" pull their gun it makes them the hero. Whereas, I'd say if you're the one pulling a gun first it's more likely you're...

    It seems to me like these sort of people feel like every time they "have to" pull their gun it makes them the hero. Whereas, I'd say if you're the one pulling a gun first it's more likely you're actually the villain.

    13 votes
  4. tanglisha
    Link
    This man has had extensive training in both forearm safety and the Geneva convention. His cartoon said he's a retired Colonel, so he's had responsibility over good sized groups of people before....

    He also really wants people to know he’s a veteran, saying, “I served 31 years, I was an Army doctor, I trained as a Navy flight surgeon, I served with the 7th Special Forces Group, I served with the 160th. I served six tours.” That, of course, only makes things worse since he’s not some yokel who’s never been taught the rules of firearm safety or when it’s appropriate to pull a gun on someone.

    This man has had extensive training in both forearm safety and the Geneva convention. His cartoon said he's a retired Colonel, so he's had responsibility over good sized groups of people before. His judgement was trusted. I really hope this isn't all projection, bad things happen when you put gun happy men in charge of women.

    8 votes
  5. elight
    Link
    Can we just take a moment to recognize the amazing, unfortunate, yet always mind-boggling hijinks of Florida Man? He's the world's worst super hero (?) who is always in the news!

    Can we just take a moment to recognize the amazing, unfortunate, yet always mind-boggling hijinks of Florida Man? He's the world's worst super hero (?) who is always in the news!

    5 votes
  6. Grzmot
    Link
    Damn man that guy has an MD he should have like a brain at least the size of a pea lol

    Damn man that guy has an MD he should have like a brain at least the size of a pea lol

    3 votes