Subject:
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Re: Life size guns and assault rifles on Brickshellf-- opinions?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Sun, 21 Aug 2005 16:57:51 GMT
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Viewed:
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1237 times
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Aside from the topic, I have to say that those are some really impressive
models!
More on topic, I believe that I agree with you OnDrew. About two years ago
I attempted my own version of a Desert Eagle but in black with a futuristic
fiberoptic twist. The trigger worked and the nozzle lights up like a
gatling laser. You can see the model here:
http://www.xenobuzz.com/MyLegoCreations/Space%20Eagle.htm
Out of all the models that I've displayed to the public since becoming
involved in a Lego club, this one garnered the most complete and lasting
attention by every young boy who laid eyes on it. Their immediate reaction
was to pick it up and begin aiming and "shooting" at the closest thing,
whether it was a friend or parent. While I did enjoy the attention
initially, I stopped bringing it because I felt bad about it later on for
several reasons:
1. The kids were more excited that it was a gun rather than a Lego model of
a gun. This meant to me that they were primarily attracted to the power of
a deadly weapon (especially the constant reinforcement of such that they
encounter in just about every category of media, at least in this country)
without having any understanding of its potentially disastrous
repercussions. Only a few children expressed any curiosity about any
creativity or problem-solving issues that were involved in the building of
the model (which is what I like to talk about).
2. Seeing that their immediate response was to pick up the weapon and begin
"shooting" at friends and family reminded me very strongly how most children
are still learning the concept of cause & effect and don't give much thought
at all to the consequences of their actions. Parents have the toughest job
in the world, and my hat's off to every single one who manages to do their
job right! I just didn't want to encourage this kind of behavior since we
all have heard too many tragic stories about what has happened when the
weapon is real and loaded.
3. This final point is minor, but it bothered me that all my other Lego
creations, which I regard with equal and sometimes more importance, were
pretty much ignored. I didn't want to become know as the "Gun Guy", and I
didn't want my other creations to be overshadowed by one model, that, for
all intents and purposes, can do only one terrible thing.
Having said all that, I will be debuting another full-scale weapon (a
gatling-style laser shotgun with scope and security remote) on my website
fairly soon. I'm extremely proud of it and will probably bring it to a few
future meetings to show to my club friends. I'm still ruminating on the
best way to display it to the public, if I do at all. However, the gun will
be on my website, not one whose purpose is to invite and encourage
viewership by a large percentage of children in order to inspire them to
create, not destroy.
Whew! Well, I'm off to stroll the beaces of Point Reyes, California with my
lovely wife. I look forward to reading other responses when I get back!
Dave S.
"OnDrew Hartigan" <roj2323@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:ILJtBp.16GJ@lugnet.com...
> Hey all,
>
> I've noticed lately that there has been a serge in the amount of MOC's
> built on
> the theme of guns and assault rifles. Now I really don't want to cause a
> fuss
> considering there are weapons throughout the Lego line but for some reason
> life
> size renditions seem a little different. Personally in my opinion they
> should be
> posted elsewhere since the MOC's don't really stick to the ideals that
> Lego
> stands for. I would like to compare the life size weapons to the model of
> Auschwitz. The first thing that comes to mind when I see the latest
> full-scale
> legoized weapon is what they represent, hate, destruction and death. Now I
> don't
> want to say that I'm against guns or the right to build Lego versions of
> them
> but I would personally like to see them posted on maj.com with a
> disclaimer
> rather than Brickshelf where tons of kids are going to see them.
>
> In short I would rather see kids enjoying Lego rather than being shot by a
> cop
> mistaking a MOC for the real thing.
>
> here's what i'm talking about:
>
> <<http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/Viet-Kong/UZI-M11/thumb/uzi_ingramm.jpg_thumb.jpg>>
> <http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?m=Viet-Kong>
>
>
>
>
> What's your opinion?
>
> Ondrew
>
> P.s. I have set follow-ups to "lugnet.off-topic.debate" since I
> unfortunately
> feel this will probably be a heated thread. My apologies in advance.
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | One important addendum . . .
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| I thought I should say that I don't advocate censoring anyone's MOC submissions. However, I think we may need to consider that a significant number of contributors to Brickshelf are adults who create works that some would say should only be viewed (...) (19 years ago, 22-Aug-05, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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