Exactly, you are putting it into exactly the right words. You’re right about people on the left being more open about their weapon possession recently, but like you said, entirely in response to escalation and threats from right wing militias. And it’s worked! Incredibly well! It’s one of the things that changed a lot of my left-leaning friends’ minds about guns, watching alt right dudes chicken out when they were confronted by a group that’s as heavily armed as they are. It leads to a de-escalation of the situation because ultimately these militia guys are cosplaying cowards. It’s just such a useful deterrent against these goblins.