I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend. (J.R.R.Tolkien, The Two Towers)

When I carry a gun, I don't do so because I am looking for a fight, but because I'm looking to be left alone. The gun at my side means that I cannot be forced, only persuaded. I don't carry it because I'm afraid, but because it enables me to be unafraid. It doesn't limit the actions of those who would interact with me through reason, only the actions of those who would do so by force.

Marko Kloos "Why the Gun is Civilization"

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Where's Waldo???

Believe it or not, there's a sniper with a gun in this picture. Can you see him?

Click here to check out a web site on ghillie suits.

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posted by H. Stallard @ 3:07 PM   4 comments

4 Comments:

At 5:57 PM, Blogger H. Stallard said...

Yeah, I made enough working the rally and a ballgame (I get paid for those) so I ordered my ghillie suit yesterday.

 
At 9:59 AM, Blogger Madcap said...

Hi Harold!

When I checked into your blog this morning, I saw a picture of a little girl with a pink teddy bear in one arm, and a pink gun in the other. That seems a little off to me, like treating a gun like a toy. What's your take?

 
At 7:06 AM, Blogger Madcap said...

I don't have a problem with kids and tools. We teach our kids to use hammers and knives and axes, etc. and they have their own collection of real tools that they use with a fair amount of freedom.

As I mentioned before, our son has a pellet gun (the only type we can buy without going through huge expense and registering for courses and paying for the Canadian gun registration, etc.) But we wouldn't let him have it without very close supervision because that one slip with a gun can be deadly, much more so than a hammer or axe. At a young eight, I don't trust his judgement and skill to be consistent enough to manage that tool on his own. I wouldn't let him use the table saw, either, it's just too fast and could rob him of too much.

It's just the way the poster is laid out that strikes me as odd; with the lone little girl holding a pink teddy-bear in one hand and a pink gun in the other, it certainly seems to equate the two. I know it's not meant to, but that's the first impression.

Harold e-mailed me his answer, btw.

 
At 9:04 PM, Blogger Madcap said...

I just found your reply, E, so sorry about the delay in returning. I would find the girl alone with a pink motorbike just as odd. You guessed me wrong this time. Kids get killed and permanently injured in our area all the time because their "doting" parents turn them loose with their "own" snowmobiles and quads. It's just sooo cute!

I think tools should look like tools, a little green paint aside. I'm not in favour of cute pink guns, or cute blue ones with racing stripes, either.

But really, my point is the risk of a single accidental slip causing permanent serious damage. A table saw can take your hand off in the blink of an eye - the odds are far lower that you'll lose a whole hand with an axe in an accident.

I also think that if the pro-gun folks are interested in engaging and educating the "other side", they'd do better to avoid images that are so easily misconstrued as advocating kids with guns. My guess would be that it just confirms the prejudice.

 

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