I'm 'Obsolete'...

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  • JeepHammer

    SHOOTER
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Aug 2, 2018
    1,904
    83
    SW Indiana
    This week I got stuck with a 23 year old 'Expert' for about 4 hours that informed me I was 'Obsolete'...
    He is a 'Competition' pistol shooter and a supposed 'Expert' on combat handgun tactics.

    I know I'm old, nearly 60, and I'm disabled, but I had no idea I was 'Obsolete'.
    Glad someone told me... I was under the delusional belief I was still working & making contributions.

    I got told that the trusty 1911 was 'Unreliable', and antique, under powered 'Relic' from 'Cowboy Days'.
    I got told the M1A/M14/M21 and AR10/SR25 that I like were 'Useless' in a modern battlefield (keep in mind he's a civilian).
    He said an M40 would make a nice lamp, but bolt action rifles have no place on a battlefield.

    I kept a pleasant tone and asked about his military/combat experience, of which he has none, but said he had seen 'A Lot Of Videos'.
    Never been in a war zone, never been in the military, but he does have an 'Honorary' badge from Homeland Security as a rep for a contractor.

    I was wondering when the lethality of a 1911, M40, M14, SR25 went to zero?
    I'm aware I've been out of the Marines since 1995, have things changed that much?

    I was also wondering when actual experience became useless and 23 year olds became 'Experts' in things they didn't study in school and have zero experience in?
     

    KittySlayer

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    4   0   0
    Jan 29, 2013
    6,473
    77
    Northeast IN
    I love watching youngsters forge ahead with their youthful enthusiasm and new knowledge(?). Then us old guys get called in to fix their screw ups.

    My son has finally acknowledged how much I learned these last few years now that he has settled into successfully adulting. Have a couple young women at work who have really impressed me with their ability. But my general interactions with youth (<35) makes me worried about who will be wiping my butt when I retire. Not sure they are capable or qualified.

    When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years."--Mark Twain.”

    A nice coffee cup from the last Terminator movie.


    233613_1.jpg
     

    BehindBlueI's

    Grandmaster
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    29   0   0
    Oct 3, 2012
    25,890
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    I was also wondering when actual experience became useless and 23 year olds became 'Experts' in things they didn't study in school and have zero experience in?

    For as long as there's been 20 somethings, but the Internet has turbocharged it. All opinions are equally valid. The fact you've never done something is irrelevant, as long as you imagine you'd be good at it. It's certainly not contained to the youth. Look how many legal experts we have on INGO who've not been in a courthouse except to get married and pay their property taxes. Everybody on the news knows how the police should have done something, despite having no experience, and people are willing to riot over their interpretation. Celebrities know more than doctors about immunizations, and for some reason we're having a resurgence of preventable diseases.

    Experience and actual expertise is seen as a hindrance in some folk's worldview.
     

    CHCRandy

    Master
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    5   0   0
    Feb 16, 2013
    3,699
    113
    Hendricks County
    I don't know about competition or military and I never owned a 1911 until a few years back. I was working at Mr Churchmouses' house when I got it. He told me how accurate they were and I didnt know if I believed him or not. After he freshened up the trigger I went to the range and was amazed. I have never owned a pistol as accurate as a 1911. If that is obsolete, I want to be obsolete.

    Back to the 20 some year old. He just hasn't had to pick his butt up. Think about it and at 20 we thought we knew everything as well. If only I would have listened to my dad more often. I am in my 50's and still learn something new everyday. I don't think we ever stop learning.
     

    patience0830

    .22 magician
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 96.6%
    28   1   0
    Nov 3, 2008
    17,587
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    Not far from the tree
    I don't know about competition or military and I never owned a 1911 until a few years back. I was working at Mr Churchmouses' house when I got it. He told me how accurate they were and I didnt know if I believed him or not. After he freshened up the trigger I went to the range and was amazed. I have never owned a pistol as accurate as a 1911. If that is obsolete, I want to be obsolete.

    Back to the 20 some year old. He just hasn't had to pick his butt up. Think about it and at 20 we thought we knew everything as well. If only I would have listened to my dad more often. I am in my 50's and still learn something new everyday. I don't think we ever stop learning.

    If wisdom is to come with age, how else but to learn every day?

    Otherwise age comes to us all by itself.
     

    Wolfhound

    Hired Goon
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    45   0   0
    Apr 11, 2011
    3,966
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    Henry County
    Seems like almost everyone starts their adult life at 18 and thinks they know everything. They spend the rest of their life finding out that they most certainly don't.

    “There are three kinds of men. The ones that learn by readin'. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.”
     

    Bennettjh

    Grandmaster
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    5   0   0
    Jul 8, 2012
    10,434
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    Columbus
    I just turned 28 and I love 1911's. There's so much to learn from my elders. My folks have taught me so much I wouldn't know where to start.

    I know what you mean though, a lot of people my age can't function away from their phone. Yet, are experts.

    ETA: Since when is 1911 considered "Cowboy Days"?
     

    Mgderf

    Grandmaster
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    43   0   0
    May 30, 2009
    17,877
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    Lafayette
    "When I was eighteen I knew everything. The older I get, the dumber I get" -my Dad circa me at seventeen...





    Miss you Dad
     

    MarkC

    Master
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    2   0   0
    Mar 6, 2016
    2,082
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    Mooresville
    When I was working on my master's, one of our professors "handed" this out electronically:

    No, you're not entitled to your opinion

    I was really surprised that a younger academic in today's world would start a class with, basically, "no, your opinion may not be valid." The example in the article goes on about vaccinations.

    My son, at 17, now believes himself to be so much smarter in many (but, surprisingly, not all) areas. I look back and see myself at that age in him. Sometimes I feel like I'm getting a bit dumber each day, but I think it is because I learn a little bit more about what I don't know.

    Or maybe it's just advancing age. :):
     

    Nazgul

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    12   0   0
    Dec 2, 2012
    2,538
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    Near the big river.
    At 20 I was wearing an old style steel helmet, carrying an M14, wearing a flak jacket, on the ground running. Didn't have time to worry about being expert at anything except surviving.

    Don
     

    AGarbers

    Expert
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    24   0   0
    Feb 4, 2009
    1,360
    48
    Martinsville
    I just turned 28 and I love 1911's. There's so much to learn from my elders. My folks have taught me so much I wouldn't know where to start.

    I know what you mean though, a lot of people my age can't function away from their phone. Yet, are experts.

    ETA: Since when is 1911 considered "Cowboy Days"?

    I'm going to guess the lad watched the movie The Wild Bunch. 1911 pistols are the only pistol allowed at SASS Wild Bunch matches, so maybe he somehow made the link to cowboys. My 1911 is my most accurate gun, at least in my hands.
     

    Brad69

    Grandmaster
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    0   0   0
    Jul 16, 2016
    5,104
    77
    Perry county
    At the tender age of 23 I was a SGT/E5 Team Leader my smart mouth was kept in check by older tougher men with more experience.

    The M21 is still in use for a Designated Marksman role
    The M24 is still state of the art in Sniper riles (Army version of the M40)

    I think the “cowboy days” lasted to the early 20’s with some of the most violent exchanges in the teens.
    I assume the 1911 would have intimidated a few foes?
     
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