Bremen Cook

Mr. Tsuyuki

Eng. 202

9/14/10

Argumentative blog #1

            Shotgun or “Shotty” is yelled before getting into a friend’s car. By saying the word one have the right to sit in the front seat of the car. This is a heated battle because no one wants to sit in the backseat. Even if one does not mind sitting in the back, the game stirs up competition throughout friends across the world. The question is, when is it allowed to be called? There is a fine line of shotgun calling where if one calls it before the driver says “lets leave” then their call is thrown out the window because it does not correspond with the shotgun rules. The caller is then shunned from the front seat for that specific ride. If one calls it to late then obviously he or she has been beaten by their peers and will have to sit in the back. As Friends we have gone into detail of the rules of this game. These rules are the facts that support any questioning about the game. Once in shotgun position if for any reason there is a pit stop or simply leaving the car there is a ten minute grace period where seating arrangements in the car are still the same. After the ten minute grace period, the shotgun game is back into effect. This brings up a recent argument I had with a friend of mine.  My friend picked me up and since no one was in the car I sat in the front seat (shotgun). We then met up at a location where we all hung around and talk. We were only there for about five minutes before we were off on our way. Before we left my friend called the shotgun position. I was confused about this call for he was not in the car when I was picked up. Also there is a ten minute grace period which we have not passed yet. I had to explain to him that since I was already sitting in the front seat I was automatically given this ten minute grace period. He then insisted that since he was never in the car it was a new game.  He also said this wasn’t fair for him. Using the rules we made up as a group I reinforced them and stated “I’m only playing by the rules”. This was a hard concept for him to except but eventually he went to the back with his head down and his ego shattered.  Rules are set in place in case there is any confusion or conflicts. In this case the rules worked in my favor.