oh, minneapolis fandom.

[kalmn]

yes, this is sf author joel rosenberg. yes, he used to go to minicon. i believe he's given it up recently. yes, he was one of the major drivers of mn-stf schisming *again* over guns.

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2010/12/08/police-man-brings-handgun-knife-into-mpls-city-hall/

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A Minneapolis man and author of a conceal and carry book was arrested Wednesday, accused of bringing a dangerous weapon into a Minneapolis City Hall on Nov. 5, according to police.

Joel Rosenberg, 56, allegedly walked into the City Hall with his wife for a pre-arranged meeting with Sgt. Bill Palmer, who is the Public Information Office for the Minneapolis Police Department.
[...]
Police said they later learned that Rosenberg is active in posting commentary on many web logs and Internet sites. Police believe he wrote an open letter to Palmer, which said, “When you stupidly lunged at me to grab my knife and gun, you didn’t watch my hands. One of them was on my back-up gun; the other was within an inch of my back-up knife.”

to my friends who have conceal/carry permits-- this sort of shit is why i don't believe you when you explain why conceal/carry permits are a great idea and everyone should have one.

Comments

[carbonel]

Joel is not stupid, and he currently has a profound grudge against the city government. My assumption, therefore, is that this is part of some shit-stirring plan on his part.

Whether it will work or not, I have no idea. But I'm quite certain there's more to this than appears on the surface.

[wordweaverlynn]

Sounds like he wants to go out in a blaze of glory. AKA suicide by cop.

[kalmn]

he's not stupid, he's just an asshole. an asshole with a bad, violent temper.

[(Anonymous)]

Based on what I know of him, this is an extremely fair and reasonable assessment. If anything, it's a bit too kind.

[carbonel]

Asshole, yes, at times. Vindictive, certainly. But I haven't seen any evidence of violence.

[(Anonymous)]

I find it interesting that four concealed weapons does not constitute evidence of violence.

[guppiecat]

Like many ideas, the "everyone should have one" concept is both perfectly logical and entirely unworkable from our present circumstances.

If we lived in a world where every individual were taught firearm safety from a young age and the overall culture had a shared understanding that the majority of people were armed but action would only be taken under certain circumstances, then I'd strongly agree that everyone should have a concealed carry. Sadly, to get from where we are to the magical land of mutual agreement and understanding requires a lot more than taking a training class and passing a test.

(For what it's worth, I do carry a knife everywhere... but knives tend to be more multipurpose tools than firearms, so I don't think it's directly comparable.)

[matthewdaly]

It sickens me to compare this story to all of the innocent POC who have been shot dead out of the illusion that they were reaching for a gun when Mr. Rosenberg evidently has the privilege to be two moves from shooting a police sergeant in his own office and then brag about it. THAT is what the Second Amendment means to me -- that you have the right to either be a bully or be murdered depending entirely on how the police perceive you.

[geeksdoitbetter]

holy shit

i completely didn't think of what might have happened

[snippy]

I have no information or opinion on Joel's relationships with Minneapolis fandom or government, but...he was literally my introduction to fandom, at my very first con. He was GOH and he and Felicia took me under their wing for the whole weekend. We hung out, bathed their girls (who were little! then), had most meals together, and generally had a wonderful time. I have a fondness and respect for him because of this.

[sraun]

Which summarizes my experience with Joel nicely.

He's a very nice, polite, helpful man in person, as long as you haven't pushed certain buttons (he seems to have a 'the restaurant is always out to get me' button).

On the internet, he can quickly turn into an abusive asshole. By preference, I do not interact with him any way other than in person.

Part of me says 'he was intimately involved with getting the law passed, and has written the book on it, he should know what he's getting into'. Part of me says 'oh, my, he's pushed it over the line this time'.

He's been unhappy with the Hennepin & Ramsey County Sheriffs for a long time. I wonder if his family's recent legal set-to finally pushed him into 'I don't care, I'm going to be the test case.' I.e., he doesn't care how long it takes or what it costs.

[kalmn]

i wasn't going to mention it, but now that you have--

http://michaelaventrella.wordpress.com/2010/10/13/interview-with-author-joel-rosenberg/

felicia herman, his wife, was arrested and charged with child abuse. the charges have since been dropped.

i do not know any more about it than was in the article, however, even if they were on my list of people i'd consider let babysit before, they're sure as hell not now.

[daedala]

My understanding is that he has been getting progressively worse over time. I can totally believe what you say, but I also agree with kal on his present state.

[wild_irises]

I. Can't. Even.

I gave up on them (not that they care, especially, or that it affects any of us very much) when I learned (from him) that he kept his concealed carry guns in his coat pocket in his front closet when the kids were little. Loaded.

I don't wish him ill. But apparently he wishes himself ill.