I'm not quite sure what Bob means by knowing if people who OC are 'Good or bad.'
I meant exactly what I said. What's ambiguous about it? Maybe YOU automatically trust people you see carrying openly, but that mindset doesn't automatically transfer to everyone else. You know perfectly well that there are cops all over the country who would get plenty excited if they saw people carrying openly all over the place. But I imagine they'd get over it soon enough if it persisted.
To answer your questions, if they have any relevance, I've never seen anyone going in a convenience store to rob it, period. And I have never seen anyone carrying openly waiting to be seated in a restaurant, except cops. And that's here in gun-totin' AZ.
I know your agenda might be to get everyone to accept open carry, and maybe open carry is well accepted in your part of the country, but there are many parts of the country where it's simply never going to be. I suppose I could crusade for it, but in my mind, if I were of the crusader mindset, there are better things to crusade for, such as sound economic practices by our increasingly corrupt government........but that's for another thread, or another forum.......
As a US Army vet, I spent a good number of years around men who were heavily armed, every day, all day. And now that I spend time at ranges and a gun club, I think nothing of seeing armed people. But I was not raised in a place where open carry was the norm, so there have been periods of my life where it was a new thing to see, and my reaction was no different that the reaction of many other people.
Go to Europe or other places where nudity is generally well tolerated, and then come back to, say, North Dakota, and try practicing what you observed. I supposed you'll be puzzled by the reaction you'll get (arrested, actually), but it's explained by the fact that people get acclimated to certain norms and when someone does something outside of that norm, there is a stir. Nothing to be puzzled about.
Having said all that, I would be fine if open carry broke out all over the place. If we can trust the general population with cars, we can trust them with firearms. I'm very much pro 2nd Amendment and literally believe we have the right to both KEEP and BEAR arms.
I like Massad Ayoob's writing on open versus concealed carry. He addresses people's attitudes in a balanced and matter-of-fact way. He points out pros and cons to open carry (e.g., it can cause an unwanted stir in some places, but then again it could act as a deterrent to crime in other places........but then again a pistol carried openly on the hip can make you TARGET NUMBER ONE if some real bad guys come around....etc etc).
For me, where I live, knowing the people in my community, concealed carry is my pick and I feel no compulsion to try to advance the cause of open carry. Arizona has recently changed a few laws in favor of gun rights and I'm very pleased to live here.
I support your right to carry openly, really I do, but I also think you may need a reality check if you equate a softball bat with a .45 caliber.