I recently made a post on M4carbine.net in response to a thread on flashights. Specifically, Surefire vs. all others. In case anyone reading this doesn’t know it already, I get a check from Surefire from time to time when I write for their magazine, Combat Tactics. I can also typically get free stuff if I ask. The good news is that Surefire lights are so good that I’ve rarely asked because I’ve rarely had to. I say all of that so that you can read my post there knowing fully who it is coming from. I bet you’ll not get that level of honesty from any other writer, online or in print.
I would like to elaborate further, because this post has come in the same time in which I’ve been having conversations with others on topics as far ranging as guns, cars, grills, etc. You know, man shit. So I’ll take the original post, edit, add to it, etc. as well as remove reference specific to the original topic. I hope that doesn’t confuse anyone.
As humans we always seem to want more. More money, more beautiful mates, more impressive cars, more impressive houses, more food, more drink... Notice I do not say “better”. “More” without respect to “better” is something I’ve come to think of as “moar”. Why? Because it is internet parlance, which seems fitting for this particular type of folly, since it is often largely “moar impressive to people on the internet.”
Sometimes you will hear them make mention of “better”. One example might be “better performance”. The "better performance" thing I hear about all the time cracks me up to no end. As compared to what? As measured against what metric? A howitzer has "more performance" than a 5.56 AR , but if I want any meat left on the pig I'm better served with the "mouse gun". I see people chasing around after "better performance" in all kinds of things lately, ignoring the fact that what they have now is light-years better than what they had yesterday, but they seem to keep thinking that "more" means "better". More lumens, more options, more modes, more, more, moar! how about more range time?
Outside of guns, and almost as entertaining, are car guys. Moar power, moar speed, moar performance, moar offroad capability. Often this manifests in the desire for vehicles that are not available in the US. This is especially true when it comes to offroad vehicles. Guys lament over the fact that they can’t buy the Hilux here, or whatever other diesel-powered thing they have built up in their mind to be the epitome of wilderness exploring. Here’s a question though: when was the last time you took your current vehicle offroad? When was the last time you got that vehicle stuck? If you ever got it stuck at all, are you certain that wasn’t your fault, and not the fault of the vehicle? Are you certain that your MOAR! would have gotten you out?
If there is something that an item legitimately isn't doing for you then yeah, go see if there's something that does. But what I see instead is a screwball cycle that makes no sense (and this applies to WAY more than just gun stuff)...
- Guy buys item
- Guy uses item
- Guy is happy with performance of item
- Geek wants moar!
- Geek lobbies establishment for moar!
- Establishment tells geek to fuck off
- Geek lobbies secondary market for moar!
- Secondary market thinks geek knows what he is talking about
- Secondary market reacts to geek
- Secondary market produces moar! for geek market
- Original guy sees moar! and thinks "why don't I have that?"
- Guy gets distracted by bright-shiny-object (literally)
- Guy loses sight of what matters and starts chasing after moar!
In this paradigm "real world use" and "you just don't get it 'cause you're not one of us" gets thrown around to justify the moar! sickness of the original guy. It is code for "I have no fucking idea why I want moar! and I'm pissed off at you for asking me to explain it so I'm going to attempt to discredit you rather than address the topic at hand. I will also use 'I don't have to justify myself to you' as further justification, and eventually will retreat to 'not everything has to be so serious' when all else fails."
If you don’t have to justify yourself to me, why do you keep trying so hard to do so? Or, put another way, “are you trying to convince me, or convinced yourself?” If you’re satisfied with your most recent moar (at least until the next moar comes along) then why not just be satisfied? Why is the performance of your moar so contingent on you rallying others to buy the same widget you bought, and now advocate?
I admit, I want more too. More better. (yes, I’m aware that is not proper grammar) I want to be more accurate. I want to be faster. I want to manipulate the gun better. I want to be stronger. I want to have more stamina. Why? Because unlike the trigger that will fool me into thinking I am more accurate, or faster... unlike the optic that will fool me into thinking I am more accurate... unlike all the widgets and gizmos and MOAR!, you can’t take away my speed, my accuracy, my stamina, my strength. Only I can lose those myself. In apathy, laziness, refusal to work... As long as I maintain my skills there is nothing you can do about it, and I can use those skills to operate any widget or gizmo you give me because those skills are not reliant on those widgets and gizmos.
It is good to have widgets and gizmos that make us better, or make our work easier, or make us more effective, but don’t forget where you came from, and how much more those that came before you did with less. How much more many that have less do even now.
So next time you’re chasing MOAR!, ask yourself if you’re chasing more to augment and supplement your skills, or as a substitute for them. Are you sure? Ask yourself if it really is more... better... or if you are just trying to fill some void in your soul that, for whatever reason, it appears that only your credit card can fill. As yourself what you will do when you don’t have all your MOAR1!
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