Sunday, March 23, 2014

Out of our Element

One of the homework assignments for our training is to attend a cultural event and then discuss it with the group at our final meeting.   We tossed around a couple of ideas and then Dave finally came up with the winning idea... we would attend a gun show.

No Dave, not those types of guns.  

This is definitely not something we would ordinarily attend.  I wasn't exactly sure what to expect at the show but we assumed it would be mostly attended by white men.  This was in fact the case I saw a few women there and some kids as well.  Sunday was billed as "family day" but there did not seem to be anything kid specific there like face painting or clowns.  

A few things I didn't expect or was surprised by at the show:
  • Lots of jewelry vendors.   The more I thought about it the more sense this made.   The target audience is men.  Men can earn brownie points with their significant other by bringing home a piece of jewelry after spending the afternoon at a gun show. 
  • I've never looked into purchasing a gun but was a little surprised that prices started at around $200.    For some reason I thought entry prices would be higher. 
  • Guns with pink grips.  Really, is this the way to attract female buyers.
  • A coin dealer.   This was actually good for me as I have been meaning to find somebody to appraise the various coin sets I have.  He said he attends quite a few of the gun shows that take place in the area.  I am puzzled as to what about the target demographic is also interested in coins, but it clearly makes sense 
  • A woman selling home made honey and dried foods.  The honey was delicious and we bought a couple of jars.   It wasn't until we left that we realized why this made sense at the show.  The honey was advertised as never going bad; along with the dried beans and such appeals to the survivalist.  
  • The vendors with cash or check only, nobody seemed to take credit cards.   With services like Square I have just gotten used to everybody even vendors and fairs taking credit cards.   
  • A group raffling off tickets for a quilt.   This one still puzzles me. 
A couple of things that didn't surprise me.
  • The demographics.
  • Lots of anti-Obama merchandise including toilet paper.  (OK the toilet paper surprised me but not the anti-Obama aspect of it).  
It was definitely an interesting experience but I can't say I will ever go to  show again.  I didn't feel uncomfortable, we had some interesting conversations, and bought some delicious honey; but I just don't have a need for a gun.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

What surprised me the most is that a gun show qualifies as a CULTURAL event!
I would think not accepting credit cards makes a quick, nothing to check sales a lot easier. No trail and all that.

Dawn said...

Christine, We asked to make sure it would count towards the assignment. The main purpose was to expose yourself to a strange situation or a group of people outside of your normal circle of comfort.