At 23:08 09-03-01 -0500, John D. Giorgis wrote:
>At 01:33 PM 3/9/01 -0800 Joshua Bell wrote:
> >"John D. Giorgis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> >>
> >>I'm watching _Primetime_ on ABC right now. They conducted an experiment
> >>by placing hidden cameras and disabled handguns in a room where teenagers
> >>will discover them. The reaction of the kids is appallling.
> >
> >Dateline (?) did the same thing last year with 5-year-olds. Same results.
> >Whether or not the kids had been shown an NRA gun safety video just minutes
> >before, the kids would almost invariably pick up the guns and play
> >Cops&Robbers.
>
>That was Primetime also.
>
> >The one that sticks in my mind is the child that rooted around in the
> >classroom until they found bullets (which I can only assume were
> dummies) in
> >the teacher's desk and started to load the revolver.
>
>The bullets were real. The police had disabled the guns, however, so that
>they could not fire.
>
>What was amazing, however, was teenagers taking a gun, *not* verifying that
>it was unloaded, and pulling the trigger with the gun pointed in the
>direction of a peer.
>
> >I resented my parents never letting me play with toy guns, but it seems to
> >have been somewhat successful.
>
>Same here. My mother had a rule against "reality" violence. For
>example, toy guns and toy soldiers were bad, whereas Star Wars and
>Transformers were o.k.
>
>As I eventually grew older, my newer circle of friends often liked to play
>war games. By that time, I was so thoroughly conditioned that I would
>always volunteer to be the "medic."
>
>I'd also point out that as a Boy Scout, when I turned 12, I was immediately
>encouraged to participate in target shooting at an outdoor rifle range at a
>Boy Scout camp. We had safety strongly drilled into us, while at the same
>time getting the full rifle shooting experience.
>
>I have no basis for this, but I can't help but feel that this experience
>would be a much more effective brand of gun safety than a mere video.
Which is what I have been saying. Although I think 12 is probably a little
bit late for first exposure to firearm safety.
-- Ronn! :)
