I'm at the SHOT Show, which, needless to say, is a bit crowded. Ninety per cent of the people under forty are walking around with backpacks. After one day, I'm tired of getting smacked with these things and of people blocking traffic by unknowingly standing back to back. Why do they feel the need to walk around with all their earthly belongings strapped to their backs, instead of leaving their shit in the hotel room. While I'm at it, how about so-called "service animals". Why should someone , who's obviously not blind, get to walk around crowded indoor venues with a 120 lb German Shepherd, just because it's wearing a leash and a cute vest ?

Actual service animal? Or "emotional support" animal?

If actual service, it's not necessarily a guide dog for vision impaired. It might be performing other legitimate services.

My wife (mental health professional) has a client who is performing some sort of role in training a service dog -- I did not get details so I do not know the exact service, but it is not a guide dog for blind. The client brings Zeus, an 11 month old GSD, to the appointments with my wife, apparently takes Zeus every place the client goes, probably to get him used to various environments. My wife tells me that Zeus is extremely well behaved, is a very expensive dog, and is not a fake "emotional support" animal.

Shot show will naturally attract the type of person who carries a bag that has shit in it.

Trade shows encourage people to take shit like literature, despite the invention of the internet.

I have no problem with folks wearing backpacks at SHOT.

Carrying preferred food & water for a day of walking around. Storing all the swag that one can gather at SHOT. Hands free to handle new product. Better than carrying multiple bags of stuff.

Stop defending these people! You're interfering with my curmudgeonly rant .

The backpack is for TRINKETS.

Any convention or show quality is measured by the goodies, swag (I.E. Trinkets) you can hoard/collect. If you need a backpack you are successful.

You're just encountering some of the really zealous trinket collectors...

quote:

Originally posted by MikeGLI:

Trade shows encourage people to take shit like literature, despite the invention of the internet.

At SHOT, there's more than literature

The backpacks used to be for trinkets, but now I think that they are more for information gathering, catalogs, etc. They do not give away as much from the floor as they used to give away.

What if it was a vendor who gave out those backpacks?

Come on now...you all never heard of EDC