Self Defense isn't Ideological or Racial- it's Practical.

As someone who coined the hashtag, #selfdefenseisselflove, I know first-hand self defense isn't ideological or racial- it's practical.

My first Second Amendment example wasn't actor Charlton Heston after he became NRA chairman or even armed
exploits of the original Black Oanthers Party, though they ran a close second as gun rights symbols. My late paternal grandfather, a math teacher, had a GA gun license which allowed him to wear his snub nosed .357 revolver in a hip holster beneath a jacket when going out at night. Granddad took self defense seriously despite his jovial demeanor.

After the deaths of Granddad and other Greatest Generation peers, self defense took on new urgency as our safe, segregated community was integrated violently. White chunks of cocaine mixed with other substances and called crack initiated street warfare and rampant drug addiction into stable communities who'd weathered Jim Crow, the Great Depression, the Second World War, two overseas police actions and a Civil Rights Movement. Our communities lost the Crack War and won new appreciation for self defense.

I refer to myself on Twitter and other social media as "#2A PLUS," meaning supporting gun rights and access to any other legal defensive tool. Great Southern Gun Show is my monthly go-to source for such tools and a welcoming environment in which to shop and fellowship with like minds.

In elite liberal cities like the one where I'm typing this commentary, availing oneself of self defense statutes in state law often means next defending yourself against politically motivated investigations and potential criminal charges. This is why my best practices far exceed what state law requires. This doctrine is buttressed by membership in the Home Defense Foundation of New Orleans and the USCCA: United States Concealed Carry Association.

My maturation as a Generation Xer witnessed gun rights and self defense generally go from bipartisan common sense to incendiary issues where common ground is hard to come by.

My position on self defense isn't the result of following a

White male manufactured, right wing worldview. Critics feel self defense is a conservative White male thing. It's not.

Self defense advocacy for me arises from assessing risk in majority Black and other working class areas. Burglaries and car break-ins that can escalate into other dangerous felonies and street assault are commonplace.

Self defense, from mindset to firearms, to pepper spray and beyond, isn't ideological-I know alot of armed liberals with sense-or racial, not conservative White male only, it's practical.

If you love yourself, and truly believe rhetoric about how your life matters, support self defense instead of hipster directed defenselessness.

#selfdefenseisselflove.

Cap Black.