onegoodmove

I used to play with G.I. Joe as a kid. I also wasted about 2 years and $50k on "Mortal Kombat" arcade machines. I have yet to attack anyone, except for rare moments of self-defense. I have never pulled out someones heart and shown it to them before they died.

Fun fact: UK gun crime up more than 20% since handguns were banned 10 years ago

Source: http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/article3255689.ece

To those who advocate the banning of weapons, please take a good long look at the drug war. If evolution is outlawed, only outlaws will evolve.

dont you mean "prince of peace"??

Zaphod, buddy, while I don't disagree with your argument, I'm not exactly sure it is particularly relevant to the video.

The song is about kids playing with toys that represent horrific real-world violence, not about banning real weapons with which adults can defend themselves (and their children) against real criminals, and against their own government should it turn to villainy - perish the thought!

I'm not exactly sure parents flatly denying little Johnny from getting a plastic aircraft carrier (or to some degree, getting his hands on the latest installment of the GTA video game) is a good idea though.

This is because 1) children are just doing what children do, emulating what they see in the adult world, and 2) the kid will just dedicate himself to finding a way around the restriction (generally via a friend whose parents are more lax).

The main thing I advocate is that parents should explain to their children that while there are idiots starting wars and blowing shit up in movies and in the news, Mommy and Daddy try to stop it, and aren't like that, and little Johnny should be proud that they aren't knuckle-dragging warmonger zealots. Parents should also explain why war isn't fun and isn't exciting and why it is nonetheless a staple entertainment for the drooling masses.

As for the plastic death machines and "murder simulators", they should probably stay off Santa's list, but kids are going to get their hands on them sooner or later and it may be more appropriate for them to indulge in violent fiction as they become teenagers, provided they are mature enough, and provided their parents have taken the time to morally and intellectually educate and set a rational, gentle, peace-loving example for their children. There are some things, after all, that the public education system is both unable and unwilling to teach.

Also, propaganda war toys should be hurled into a pile in the town square and burned... or at least viciously recycled into useful new products! Producing war toys in order to indoctrinate children is disgusting.

Anyways, on the other hand, I also don't agree with tightly controlling and "shielding" children; I have rarely seen that produce independent, well-adjusted people.

My key point is that parents need to teach their children that in the real world, it's not just "bang you're dead", and it is never possible to "win" a war, and using brute force to attack and kill and capture is not an "accomplishment"; the last thing we need is to raise another generation of GWB's.

Erm, I meant the second part of Zaphod's post (sorry!) was not hugely relevant, ie. I'd rather not see a pro/anti-gun debate play out when the video presents a different and more interesting issue.

Frenetic:

Guilty as charged: I was looking for a debate in the wrong place and time.

However, this hits home for me.

When I was about 7, I was very keen on models of planes. One such model was the B-52 bomber.

My mother, a hardcore "hippy", refused to let me attach the bombs to the model. She gave the same arguments I see here.

My objection was that I wanted to learn more about planes, even the ugly truths that they are sometimes used to drop violence on innocent civilians. We compromised, and I was allowed to add one bomb.

This of course sparked my curiosity. Why was a bomb such a big deal? This led me to read "Slaughterhouse Five", and learn about Dresden. I've been a pacifist, non-interventionist ever since.

So, I suppose I just proved the singer's point, that children must be taught the danger of weapons. On the other hand, I have been able to fulfill my "lone gunman" fantasies via paintball and sniper video games for several years now, so there's something to be said for that too.