In line with the discussion on the “Girls With Guns” post, I was reminded of an experience The Oracle and I had about 3 months ago with one of his co-workers.
One of the people who reports to The Oracle at work is an Indian (of the Asian variety). He is what we call an onshore consultant, meaning he possesses a work visa and is employed by an outside company; part of the influx of such workers to corporate america in the past 10 years.
Vinoth (his name) became curious a while back about what we do for enjoyment and relaxation after hours and on the weekends. He is very fascinated with American life and culture and all that. So one thing leads to another and The Oracle tells Vinoth about our hobby. I expected to hear that he was horrified but I couldn’t have been more wrong – he was thrilled! He wanted to experience as much American culture as he could and the only time he’d ever seen shooting was in movies; he was very eager to try it out on his own. So an invite to our house after work and a quick safety lesson in the basement and we were off to the range.
Vinoth was surprised at how much fun he had. He confessed that he thought all Americans involved in the shooting sports were Wild West types, with guns strapped to our thighs and murder in our eyes. It was a revelation to him that in fact the shooting sports – tactical shooting is what we had him do – was enjoyable and made you think. He really liked how he had to tune things out to really focus on the front sights and manage the recoil.
He peppered us with questions all night long, watching us intently as we illustrated grip, stance, focus and finally the very satisfying hole in the target precisely where you wanted it. Vinoth was a willing and apt pupil.
He tried every single gun we brought with us – from a Kimber 1911 .45acp to a 9mm Beretta 92fs to a 9mm Smith & Wesson M&P to another Smith & Wesson in a .38 Chief’s special revolver all the way to a 20 gauge shotgun. He loved them all – but was very partial to the .38 (mine, of course 
). And damn if he wasn’t really good at it!
He came to us only knowing things from American movies – right down to taking my beloved .38 revolver and – gasp – spinning the cylinder and smacking it back in. Vinoth left that evening wanting to come back and do it again. So, a few weekends later The Oracle invited him to the range to observe the activities in their weekly Tactical Self-Defense Shooting League. Vinoth came and, according to The Oracle, was practically giddy with what he saw. He met about 20 other people who all show up every Saturday morning to practice their shooting skills and share a camaraderie that is like no other.
I don’t think Vinoth has been the same since. And we remain quite proud of the fac that we showed a person who comes from a very anti-gun culture that the American sport of shooting is fun, builds character, makes great friends and teaches countless valuable skills.
Kris – it makes you feel almost as good as the guest when you see them light up!
I have a similar story, although my guest wasn’t as “unexposed” to guns as your guest. You might say that while your guest had never seen the Dark Side until exposed, mine had – but 40+ years ago.
Some years ago Daimler had a fuel cell facility in town – where they would test and develop hydrogen powered cars – and the manager was straight from Germany – this was run by Daimler AG from Stuttgart rather than MB-USA –
Anyway I took Wolfgang – and another German friend from my car club – out to the range – and Wolfgang – after shooting my .45 – you could see his face just light up – he was beaming. It really makes you almost as happy seeing their happiness.
Said he hadn’t been shooting since he was in the German Army in the mid 60s, some 40+ years ago.
That is an awesome story, Kris! To me, it’s always amazing the preconceived notions others have of Americans (and we of them).
Great story, and a great experience for ALL involved… but especially Vinoth. Good On Ya.
Welcome to ‘Murica, Vinny!
Glad you’re finding out that all those stereotypes are just silly things.
Its great that someone can come to another country and embrace those aspects of its culture, rather than try to transform it into that of their former country.