Sniping: Gunning Without Being a Gunner

Say you read yesterday’s post on gunners and decided that being an engaged and cooperative student wasn’t enough. “Law school is a take no prisoners business” you respond, “Why should I care what people think of me?” Well I can give many reasons, but if we’re at that juncture, there’s no point in arguing with you. So if you’re going to be a gunner, you might as well do it without getting to far into the open. In other words, you should be a sniper.

Most gunners are Rambo. They go into classes with guns blazing, mowing down everything in their path. But inevitably they make a tactical blunder and get outflanked. One snide attack from the professor or a more vigorous response from the class and all the ground the gunner has made is gone in an instant. The better plan is to make smart attacks that instill fear rather than embolden your adversaries to respond. Gunner bingo¹ is either disarming or devastatingly effective, you need to avoid it.

<

p style=”clear: both”>Pick Your Spots Remember, you’re not just a gunner because you talk in class a lot. You’re a gunner because you talk critically or irrelevantly in class a lot. Feel free to keep up the volume, but stay on topic and contributing more often than not. Like an enemy squad who has grown accustomed to the terrain, your classmates will let their guard down and be more vulnerable to the strike.

<

p style=”clear: both”>Pass Up the Good Shot For the Great Shot Just because the Elle Woods-wannabe said something intolerable doesn’t mean you need to go immediately on the offense. Some students are sympathetic figures, or some comments are a combination of conventional wisdom and public opinion. The best sniper will be a double agent: seemingly working for the benefit of the class until people start disappearing. Strike when public opinion is on your side.

<

p style=”clear: both”>Lightening Doesn’t Strike the Same Spot Twice The easiest way a gunner gets called out in the open and taken down is when they engage in public battles with another gunner or pick on another student repeatedly. Don’t make that mistake. Take your shot and move on. If someone wants to get a rise out of you, don’t take the bait. Remember, you’re supposed to be the superior one. Don’t get dragged down.

<

p style=”clear: both”>Never Underestimate the Power of Subtlety In this case more is not always better. Don’t drop the hammer when a little tap is all that’s necessary. Instead of studying in the front table of the library, be seen walking in and out of the library at all hours, even if you’re just in there watching Hulu while you eat dinner. Instead of prefacing follow up comments with “What I think James was trying to say was…,” just be short and sweet about it.

<

p style=”clear: both”>One Shot, One Kill Never, ever, ever get caught out by not having prepared. You have no credibility as a gunner if you are constantly swinging blindly, hoping to land a punch. Every attack and action should be well thought out, flawlessly executed, with an orderly retreat before the enemy even knows what happened to them. A gunner can’t survive too many misses, where a snarky comment directed at a classmate is based on flat out incorrect reasoning.

Tagged as: gunners