Isn't it strange how pictures change with context. To me both this picture and the discussion around it changed after the recent school massacre.
Yes, we played war, but now I understand why my parents who had experienced a war never liked it. DagT > fra: frank theriault <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > dato: 2005/03/22 ti AM 01:15:13 CET > til: [email protected] > emne: Re: PESO: "Gotcha" - Jerusalem > > On Mon, 21 Mar 2005 07:36:46 -0600, Bob Sullivan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Frank, > > > > In the 50's, all of us kids played WAR. > > John Wayne was a box office hero in numerous war stories. > > My dad served in WWII and my uncle Bill was off in the Korean war. > > By the time we got to the late 60's, it was the Vietnam era... > > and I didn't want to play war anymore. > > > > We all grew up just fine. They will too. > > Bob, > > I was born in '56. We played "war", too. We also played cowboys and > Indians. Our Indians scalped people, and our cowboys shouted racial > slurs at the Indians. I owned a Daisy air rifle. I wanted a BB gun, > but my parents refused; they didn't really want to get the air rifle, > but it was a compromise to shut me up, I guess. > > I'm not saying "it was okay for us when we were kids, but not for kids > in the new millenium", but lets face it. These are different times. > The word "terrorist" hadn't entered the popular lexicon. Whatever was > going on in the Middle East back then was hardly a blip on our radar > (post Suez Crisis, pre 7 Day War). Korea was over, Americans were > still "military advisors" in Vietnam. The race riots had yet to start > during the long, hot summers of the mid-to-late sixties. > > It was the Cold War; we thought we were under seige from 5th > Columnists everywhere. Guns and rifles weren't a concern, being nuked > was. > > It was a different, more innocent time, especially in North America. > > Look, I know that "boys play war", but that doesn't make it right. > Given that 12 year old kids are being shot by soldiers in the country > that photo was taken in puts "playing war" in a different context than > it did when we were kids, and in a different context than it does here > in our countries. > > Children and adults are being shot for throwing rocks at soldiers in > that country. Arabs are killing Jews, Jews are killing Arabs. > > I know that Boris will say that it doesn't happen "all that often", > and I accept that most areas of Israel are in fact safe, most of the > time. I'm not saying that Israel is a dangerous place, or that I'd be > afraid to go there - indeed, I'm going to visit Boris someday, after I > win the lottery, on my World-Wide PDML Tour! <vbg> > > But, the facts speak for themselves. Acts of terror ~do~ happen > there, and military reprisals are a fact of life (unless our news > sources are lying...). In that atmosphere, kids playing with guns > scares the hell out of me. If I were their parents, it would scare > the hell out of me. If I were an Arab, walking by these (obviously > Jewish) kids, seeing them with a gun (even at their tender age) would > scare the hell out of me. If I were an Arab carrying a gun, being > scared by these kids with their toy gun... See where I'm going here? > > Anyway, that's it for me on this. And, I suppose this should also be > a reply to Boris, as well. Sorry if I over-reacted, but if I did, I > make no apologies for it. I know we're not supposed to talk about > guns on this list, and I certainly am not criticizing anyone here who > likes guns, owns guns, collects guns, is a memeber of the NRA, etc. > That's your business, and I'll keep my nose out of it. > > Jostein, again, I thought that was a great photo (the tilt was great, > BTW - dont' you dare straighten it! <g>). But if it was a couple of > kids in California or Norway, it would have been a fun photo. The > context in which it was taken, like it or not, puts a whole different > spin on it. Great stuff! > > Last post on this subject. Sorry to have rambled so... > > cheers, > frank > > > > > > > -- > "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept." -Henri Cartier-Bresson > >
