Guns

Saturday afternoon, around 2pm, I was getting on the subway headed downtown. On the platform, I see two guys talking, and one is holding a large cardboard box. He opens it and shows his friend his new purchase—a rifle (still in the plastic in the box). I do not know enough about guns to say anything about it, but it was surprisingly casual and not at all secretive.

Personal firearms for protection seem to be proliferating in Cairo. I see advertisements for them at the local store. Mainly, I think, people are buying them to protect their homes, feeling that the disappearance and distrust of the police and other state security forces makes it necessary for folks to take personal security into their own hands. I am not a big fan of guns in the hands of police or civilians.