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FROM GI JOE TO BARNEY Our Children's Misplaced Hero Worship
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
FROM GI JOE TO BARNEYOur Children's Misplaced Hero WorshipBy NICKI FELLENZERWe all knew it would come eventually, didn't we?In the aftermath of the worst terror attack in our nation's history......we watched helplessly while thousands perished aboard hijacked planes, in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon....we breathed a sigh of relief while our brave fighting men and women were sent to deal with those who perpetuate, sanction, fund and support such violence....a drooling, slack-jawed, blame-everything-and-everyone-but-don't-take-personal-responsibility automaton woke up from her valium-induced, Barney the Dinosaur stupor and decided to launch a frontal assault on G.I. Joe.No, I'm not kidding.According to Daphne White, Executive Director of the Lion & Lamb Project, military action figures are "aggressive toys." The mission of the Lion & Lamb Project is to stop the marketing of violence to children."Our message has always been, as far as children are concerned, violence is not child's play," White said, especially "when there is so much real violence going on in the world."So let me get this straight.You mean to tell me that the real American hero, a soldier, armed with guns, grenades, tanks and other cool stuff that boys have played with for decades, a soldier, whose job it is to protect his country and its citizens, a soldier, who represents honor, integrity and courage is not to be considered a role model for kids, because he's too violent for this woman's catatonic, itsy-bitsy spider infested, Fisher-Price version of the real world?Who shall children emulate and look up to then?Using her logic, they certainly can't look up to police officers, who not only wear a uniform and firearms (*GASP*) but also deal with violence every day of their lives.Soldiers? Airmen? Sailors? Marines? Fuggedaboutit! Way too violent! They carry guns, after all! Their entire job consists of war, after all! Nah, we certainly can't make heroes out of these folks.Heck, using Daphne White's logic, knights in shining armor are out too. We certainly can't have children exposed to chivalry and rescued damsels in distress! The ubiquitous sword the knight carries with him implies that SOMEWHERE there's violence and danger that he must face! Meanwhile that distressed damsel must have been placed in her precarious situation by SOMETHING or SOMEONE evil, likely a misogynistic troll who disrespects women and embraces violence as a way of life.While we're at it let's get rid of toy guns of any kind, swords, Frisbees (a modernized replica of the discus (an effective and deadly weapon from long ago), baseball bats (used to violently smack small round objects around a large field), golf clubs (used for the same purpose), boxing equipment, Laser tag, Power Rangers and toy cars just for good measure.And we certainly can't expose our children to toy airplanes! After all, it was airplanes that the hijackers used as guided missiles on September 11th! We can't possibly have our children play with toys which replicate such heinous objects, now can we?And while in the wake of the September 11th massacres, all experts concede that children need patriotic heroes to look up to and emulate, Jeff McIntyre, a federal affairs officer for the American Psychological Association, claims G.I. Joe is much more dangerous. "At one developmental stage, it may just be a doll for the kid, but eventually they may begin to emulate that character and begin to do things that that character does. And, that will include violent action eventually." He says kids learn the wrong lessons from "militaristic" toys including G.I. Joe, "that have violence as endemic to their character."Why of course! It's much more preferable for children to play out joy-joy scenarios with the Care Bears, Barney and Rainbow Brite, who all reside in such realistic universes! So when they're thrown into the real world of terrorist attacks, biological strikes, hijackers, rapists, muggers or serial killers, they can simply give their assailant a hug and try to talk and sing him out of whatever violent act he has planned. Because after all, songs, dance and sharing solve all problems in the wonderful world of Sesame Street."Problem solving, cooperating, getting along - I think that's the kind of world we would all rather have," the Lion & Lamb Project's White said. "I think most parents want to teach those values to their children."That's right, Ms. White. We all want to live in a world where sharing and cooperating are the status quo. We all want to ensure that our children have those values. But we also want to instill in our children a sense of reality and self-preservation. We of the realist mindset want to ensure our children understand that while goodness, kindness and cooperation are desirable traits in people, not all people possess said characteristics.We want to guarantee our children's safety and security, and sometimes that guarantee is achieved through violent means. We live in a world that's not always good or fair. We live in a world that harbors terrorists, murderers and thieves. We live in a world that DEMANDS we take responsibility for ourselves and the ones we love, that we defend them, protect them and teach them right from wrong the best way we know how.This in no way means that we put blinders on our children and shelter them from everything bad, violent and evil. Pretending that violence and evil doesn't exist will not make them go away. Closing your eyes and ears and screaming, LA LA LA LA LA LA LA, at the top of your voice will not make violence disappear from the world. Your disregard of reality in no way negates its existence.So while you raise your children in the bright and sunny world of Barbie, Barney, Blue's Clues and nothing else, while you try to alter reality to your own warped sense of how things SHOULD be, while you intentionally blind your children to the truth about self-defense, courage and honor by taking any semblance of authenticity out of their worlds, we realists will show our children the truth.We will not attempt to shield them from reality, but rather show them how to survive. We will not claim that by closing their eyes to the fact that the world isn't always flowers and sunshine that we're somehow making the real world a better place. We will give our children the tools to protect themselves and those they love. We will give them the knowledge to do what's right and the resources to counter evil.And we will show them true heroes, those who risk it all to rid this world of evil, those who have the honor and courage to fight for what's right, and those who have the skills and resources to protect and defend those who need their help. And yes, those heroes sometimes carry guns. Those heroes sometimes even use them. But we realists know that evil doesn't exist in guns, knives, grenades, swords or tanks. Evil doesn't exist in toys or movies. Evil exists in those who hurt innocent human beings to achieve malevolent means. And our guns, knives, grenades and tanks are tools we use to defend ourselves against such evil. http://www.armedfemalesofamerica.com/archive.php?aid=95
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GUN CONTROL: If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention!kimberkid@gunbroker.zzn.com
? otherwise, you'll find an excuse.
I'M PRO CHOICE! I CHOOSE to hunt, trap, eat meat and wear fur!!