this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2023
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βFlorida gun owners encouraged to 'shoot the storm' and fire their guns at Hurricane Irma
By Harriet Alexander New York 9 September 2017 β’ 8:47am Shoot at Irma A Florida man who suggested shooting guns at Hurricane Irma out of "stress and boredom" has found that his idea has captured peoples' imaginations - with over 46,000 signing up to join in.
Hurricane Irma is due to hit Florida on Saturday, and the state is currently experiencing the largest ever mass evacuation due to a hurricane in American history.
But Ryon Edwards, 22, came up with a novel way of amusing himself during the storm: firing bullets into it.
He started a Facebook "event", and as of Friday evening 46,000 people say they are interested.
"A combination of stress and boredom made me start the event," he told the BBC.
"The response is a complete and total surprise to me.
"I never envisioned this event becoming some kind of crazy idea larger than myself. It has become something a little out of my control."
The "Shoot at Irma" page Graphics suggesting how to shoot at a hurricane have sprung up online, with the suggestion that if you fire correctly the bullet might not come back and kill you.
Since Mr Edwards came up with his "masterplan", other similar Facebook pages have been created - including one suggesting using flame throwers to scare away the storm.
"It's time we took a stand against this bully!" reads the event description. "This is our home, nobody drives us out of our own territory.
"Join me in this fight as we shoot flames at Hurricane Irma and dissipate her on the spot."β
Thanks!
Also, that seems like a good way to end up shooting someone or someone's stuff.
This sounds a lot like when we tell kids "if an earthquake starts, get under something strong and hold on. Then yell, "STOP EARTHQUAKE, STOP!" until the shaking finally stops." Of course it doesn't affect the earthquake, but it feels better than crouching helpless and silent. (It might also help an adult know that you're okay so far, and where to look for you afterward.) Sometimes a false sense of agency is better than nothing.
Sure, but yelling isn't going to have any risk of accidental collateral damage. Encouraging a bunch of fucking idiots to shoot wildly at clouds seems asking for tragedy.
Yes, it's true the bullets will fall.
But at least the less-idiotic people will be protected by having sought shelter from the storm.