Of course, I'm not the only blogger who appreciates Muir; many of us who are predominantly gun-bloggers feature his daily 'toon. It's probably because if you like guns you're probably conservative, and DBD is certainly a Conservative forum.
You can go to Muir's website (see the link above, or click on the cartoon at the bottom of this page) to get the background of the four main characters: Damon, Sam, Zed and Jan. Or you can ignore that, and just enjoy their daily give-and-take.
If I was enamored of the Blogger-Tests, I would start one asking "What is your favorite Day By Day Character", but it would probably be either x-gen Jan or Baby Boomer Sam - Muir has a talent for celebrating feminine pulchritude.
The character I most closely identify with? No contest. Zed is an aging male Geek, gotta be the hero in my book.
The smartest character? Damon, who gets (almost) all of the very best lines, week to week.
The most interesting (and only) Liberal among the four main characters is Jan, who generally serves as a foil for the conservative messages Muir presents. Muir has endowed her with a sense of humor, which not only keeps the character likeable but makes me doubt her credentials as a card-carrying member of the Democratic Party. Well, I guess there must be at least ONE Dem with a sense of humor. Wouldn't you know she would be a regular in a Conservative Cartoon.
At the risk of sounding like a South Park fan: Favorite episodes are a possible source of diverse opinion. There's the time when Sam and Zed were explaining CCW to Jan. This winter, Sam bought Zed a shotgun for Christmas. Then Zed bought Sam a beautiful gown, took her to a ball where Bill and Hillary were guests of honor, and punched out Bill for making a move at Sam.
That Zed is a real Party Animal, and there's just another reason why he's my hero. Who wouldn't like a guy who fulfills so many of my own post-adolescent fantasies?
Usually, Muir dances around the RKBA/shooting issues. Not that he doesn't address them, but they are merged into larger themes. This week, he has Sam and Zed going to the range and inviting Damon and Jan as their guests. Nice of Zed and Sam, but this frightens Jan.
When they meet at the range, Jan is surprised that Sam is there for the joy of shooting, for not adopting the role-playing costumes she might wear -- using pistol-shooting as an excuse.
Sam then convinces Jan to try shooting a gun, in an attempt to show her that guns aren't ugly, they're fun.
Damon and Zed appreciate Sam's efforts to introduce Jan to the joys of shooting, and Jan's willingness to try something new even though Jan is dubious.
Damon -- has regrets.
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You're probably wondering why I'm spending so much time picking my way through a series of cartoons that you could have read for yourself and sorted out the inherent message without this superfluous commentary.
I just wanted to draw your attention to the idea that, if you are a shooter, you can do yourself and the world a favor by taking a non-shooting friend to the range. Teach them the basic principles of gun safety, coach them, and let them find out for themselves the shooters are real people. We're not a bunch of nitwits who are acting out a fantasy role as we sit on the tailgate of our pickup and drink beer. We're safe and responsible, and that's the kind of people we want to attract to our sport.
Some people -- those who have never tried it -- think that shooting is, in fact, a solitary vice .
Those of us regularly participate in shooting sports, though, consider it a pleasurable excuse to spend a nice day with congenial company, sharing a social activity.
Several Gun Bloggers make an open invitation to ANY person who has never gone shooting, but would like to try it, to meet them at a range. The blogger offers to provide access to the range, firearms, ammunition, safe & appropriate targets, safety equipment ("eyes and ears"), and instruction.
Among bloggers on my "links to me" blogroll who make this offer are Captain of a Crew of One, One In A Row and The Smallest Minority, (I'm sure there are others in my blogroll who make this offer, I've only included one small section as a representative sample.)
Perhaps not surprisingly, two out of three of these folks are in Arizona. I am unsurprised because Arizona remains a bastion of RKBA enthusiasm. Captain of a Crew of One is in Virginia, and I make no assumptions although I do point out the large number of Virginians who were active participants in the American Revolution and signatories to the Declaration of Independence.
Why don't I make a similar offer?
Perhaps I'm not as courageous as these other bloggers. Shooters tend to be conservative (I believe I may have mentioned this observation before) and I am well-qualified to be counted in this personality group. I tend to choose my friends very carefully, and I would like to know something of the character of people I take to the range before I arm them.
This isn't a negative reflection on those who DO have the courage to offer an open invitation to a day on the range.
How about you? You're a shooter. When is the last time you took some one to the range who wasn't already a shooter? I have taken a few friends to the range, and we left friends, too. We always enjoyed the day, and while they haven't all ended up with the same enthusiasm for shooting that I have -- I believe every person I took shooting had some appreciation for the shooting sports as a safe, enjoyable activity.
You might consider taking a friend to the range this week.
Wet t-shirts are not generally recommended.
UPDATE: 23 March, 2006
Geekthanks to the Hobo Brasser for pointing out that I had been referring to "Zed" as "Zeke". I have no idea why I did this, but it certainly proves that I need an editor. I've corrected the mistake.
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