Subject:
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Re: What do other parents do with Lego guns?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Wed, 21 Jun 2000 22:28:29 GMT
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Viewed:
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567 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Dave Schuler writes:
> In lugnet.loc.au, Peter Callaway writes:
> > This also reminds me of another very pointed scene from Terminator 2 when
> > Laura watches the little kids running around (were they in New Mexico or
> > somewhere deserty like that?) "shooting" at each other with toy guns. She
> > says something like "There's no hope for us, is there?" or something like
> > that. It doesn't matter that the next couple of scenes involve her turning
> > that guys house into Swiss cheese with a M-16 ;-)
>
> I understand your point, but to nitpick, it's Sarah's son who observes that
> "there's no hope," and in fact when she's confronted with the horror of her
> own violence (a la Swiss cheesing), she breaks down and finds that she can't
> murder an innocent. Interestingly, the only people who die in T2 are slain by
> the evil T1000, and Arnold himself only shoots (with bullets) one security
> guard, and only in the legs.
To further nitpick your nitpick, I thought he kneecapped three of those SWAT
guys and hit the last one in the back with the smoke-canister launcher. But
your point is well made. It's been a while since I've seen T2.
> All of this aside, I can't help reflecting that I played with toy guns all
> the time as a child, and in fact my dad and I used to enact sizable battles
> with his Britains figures and Solido military vehicles. Despite this, I've
> never shot anyone nor used a gun in anger. I'm just not convinced that the
> representation of guns in toy form inclines a child to view a real gun as a
> toy, at least, not automatically. This is not to deny anyone the right to
> raise her child as she sees fit, but, to me, the "toy-guns-breed-violence"
> angle is a little too clean-cut to be realistic.
I too had toy guns, and I owned my first real gun when I was 9. We used to own
a farm out west. I was taught from a very early age how to be responsible with
guns, and I too have turned out reasonably well adjusted (some of you might
dissagree ;-). But for every well-adjusted person who was brought up in an
environment with guns, I'm sure there is an opposite. Even if the ratio is
100:1 or even 10,000:1 we still have a problem.
Larry summed my thoughts up pretty well when expressing his stance on toy
guns. I don't believe that simply giving a kid a toy gun is going to trigger
(no pun intended) some subconscious primitive killing instinct. However I've
stated before that I don't believe young kids have a very good capacity for
distinguishing between fantasy and reality. Who knows how a child is going to
react and develop if allowed to play with toy weapons? Until I can be assured
that a child is old enough to differentiate these realms, or can comprehend
the type of supervision and instruction which I feel would need to accompany
playing with toy weapons, I'm not taking any chances. You might all see
differently.
Again we're coming from two very different cultures. America has for a very
long time (it is after all the Second Ammendment) had guns as an integral part
of society. I'm sure most Americans at some stage in their life will see,
feel, own or fire a real gun. In Australia, the closest most people will
probably get to a "real" gun is watching the news or a movie.
And yes, I'm against letting kids play with violent video games too. Why can't
we all buy our kids LEGO Creator instead of Quake III? More LEGO less violence
I say!!!
Pete Callaway
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Message has 1 Reply:
Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: What do other parents do with Lego guns?
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| (...) I understand your point, but to nitpick, it's Sarah's son who observes that "there's no hope," and in fact when she's confronted with the horror of her own violence (a la Swiss cheesing), she breaks down and finds that she can't murder an (...) (24 years ago, 21-Jun-00, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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