[Vision2020] Nation Debates Extremely Complex Issue of Children Firing Military Weapons

Paul Rumelhart paul.rumelhart at gmail.com
Thu Aug 28 09:03:25 PDT 2014


Why do you hide Borowitz reports behind obfuscated urls?

Just for the record, I'm all for teaching kids how to fire weapons and,
more to the point, how to be responsible around them.  That's typically
where you learn to treat every weapon as if it's loaded and the safety is
off.  You don't start them out on fully automatic weapons with a large
kick, though.  That was irresponsible of the parents and doubly so of the
instructor.

I would rather have children learn a) how to use and respect a firearm in
order to reduce accidents and b) not to be afraid of them or (worse) to
only be exposed to them through movies.

Paul


On Thu, Aug 28, 2014 at 8:51 AM, Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com> wrote:

> Courtesy of the New Yorker at:
>
> http://tinyurl.com/Children-and-Military-Weapons
>
> -------------------------------------
> Nation Debates Extremely Complex Issue of Children Firing Military Weapons
>
> WASHINGTON—Across the United States on Wednesday, a heated national debate
> began on the extremely complex issue of children firing military weapons.
>
> “Every now and then, the nation debates an issue that is so complicated
> and tricky it defies easy answers,” says pollster Davis Logsdon. “Letting
> small children fire automatic weapons is such an issue.”
>
> Logsdon says that the thorny controversy is reminiscent of another ongoing
> national debate, about whether it is a good idea to load a car with
> dynamite and drive it into a tree.
>
> “Many Americans think it’s a terrible idea, but others believe that with
> the correct supervision, it’s perfectly fine,” he says. “Who’s to say who’s
> right?”
>
> Similar, he says, is the national debate about using a flamethrower
> indoors. “There has been a long and contentious national conversation about
> this,” he says. “It’s another tough one.”
>
> Much like the long-running national debates about jumping off a roof,
> licking electrical sockets, and gargling with thumbtacks, the vexing
> question of whether children should fire military weapons does not appear
> headed for a swift resolution.
>
> “Like the issue of whether you should sneak up behind a bear and jab it
> with a hot poker, this won’t be settled any time soon,” he says.
> -------------------------------------
>
> Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .
>
> "Moscow Cares"
> http://www.MoscowCares.com <http://www.moscowcares.com/>
>
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>
>
>
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