Anyone who is right in their mind will tell you not to give an Uzi submachine gun to a child. But there are lots of cretins out there, in Arizona this time (last time it was elsewhere), who take their kids to places where they can stuff them with hamburgers and shoot Uzis at the same time.
The establishment is called Bullets and Burgers and has great reviews on tripadvisor. It would have gone unnoticed, in the same league as other American weird "fun" parks, such as the Holy Land Experience and the Disney World (the last two are next to one another), had it not made the news today: Someone gave a nine year old girl an Uzi and taught her how to shoot. The girl lost control of the assault weapon and killed the instructor.
No wonder. Why would a nine year old child be taken to a place to be taught how to use submachine guns and eat hamburgers (and freedom fries)? I think the answer is: because it usually is fun! Well, it is so, until, one day something goes wrong.
But we know the response of most Americans, don't we?
Some of them will say:
And, by the way, educate your kids:
According to Arizona law, it's OK for a child above 8 to have a machine gun (under the supervision of an adult). The law doesn't care if the adult or the child gets killed. "A nation, trained to arms, is an American linchpin of freedom, and is respected in Arizona like nowhere else." "We in Arizona seem destined to set [...] a shining example of gun rights for all free peoples of the Earth."
The establishment is called Bullets and Burgers and has great reviews on tripadvisor. It would have gone unnoticed, in the same league as other American weird "fun" parks, such as the Holy Land Experience and the Disney World (the last two are next to one another), had it not made the news today: Someone gave a nine year old girl an Uzi and taught her how to shoot. The girl lost control of the assault weapon and killed the instructor.
No wonder. Why would a nine year old child be taken to a place to be taught how to use submachine guns and eat hamburgers (and freedom fries)? I think the answer is: because it usually is fun! Well, it is so, until, one day something goes wrong.
But we know the response of most Americans, don't we?
Some of them will say:
Guns don't kill, people do. The girl was not properly taught. Instructors need more pupils of that age in order to teach properly. So, more guns are needed and more children who will shoot them.Others will say:
It is Satan conducting spiritual warfare. It's an attack on Christianity in general, on Christians, and it's Satan trying to stop God's work in the earth. He'll use whoever he wants, whoever he can. It was Satan who guided the girl's hand.In all cases, the response to this sad incident will be: More guns, more children using them, and prayers to god so that Mr Satan goes away. Actually, they're probably right. Because if you look carefully at the video below (someone thought it would be so cute to film the nine year old girl with the Uzi) you will see Satan at the upper left corner. Remember that, after all, Satan was seen again during the 9/11 attacks.
And, by the way, educate your kids:
According to Arizona law, it's OK for a child above 8 to have a machine gun (under the supervision of an adult). The law doesn't care if the adult or the child gets killed. "A nation, trained to arms, is an American linchpin of freedom, and is respected in Arizona like nowhere else." "We in Arizona seem destined to set [...] a shining example of gun rights for all free peoples of the Earth."
I'm still shaking my head. There were at least two people - adults - who thought it was a good idea for a 9-year-old to shoot an Uzi. That was my first response when I saw this: "Who doesn't know that an Uzi has too much recoil for a 9-year-old to handle?" Idiotic!
ReplyDeleteNow this poor girl has to live the rest of her life knowing that she pulled the trigger, intentional or not, that resulted in someone's death. I can only imagine the images that come to her in her sleep. Poor kid.
That's right. Despite my sarcasm above, that's exactly what I've been thinking: how to tell the little girl that what happened wasn't her fault? Or was it? Whose fault was it? How can she live her life knowing that she has killed someone. She will be tortured by this forever. She knows that it's her parents who told her it's fine to do so. Will her parents take part of the blame? Even so, how much of the girl's suffering can this alleviate?
ReplyDeleteI think the first thing the parents should do (if they haven't already) is step forward and take all the blame. Say that they made a grave mistake and make it clear that it is them who asked the girl to shoot. Will they do that? I don't know. I was actually toying with the idea of writing a followup posting on this matter.
Also: don't you think that the State of Arizona should do something about these provocative posters, "guns save lives, Arizona says: educate your kids [teach them how to shoot]". It's a chain reaction. The girl does what her parents tell her to do, the parents (being, obviously, cretins) get influenced by all these posters: it's not that Burgers and Bullets is an amusement park, it's also part of the children's education, according to Arizona. Shouldn't the governor of Arizona step forward to and say "well, we're probably mistaken by promoting gun shooting as education for kids"? I think she should. But I don't think NRA will let her do it.
Also: don't you think that the State of Arizona should do something about these provocative posters, "guns save lives, Arizona says: educate your kids [teach them how to shoot]". It's a chain reaction. The girl does what her parents tell her to do, the parents (being, obviously, cretins) get influenced by all these posters: it's not that Burgers and Bullets is an amusement park, it's also part of the children's education, according to Arizona. Shouldn't the governor of Arizona step forward to and say "well, we're probably mistaken by promoting gun shooting as education for kids"? I think she should. But I don't think NRA will let her do it.
DeleteBeing American, I suppose, I'm not sure how I feel about "Arizona doing something about those posters." I do believe that in some cases - especially in our country where gun use is so rampant - that guns can save lives. There are so many criminal elements here that have them that it's nearly impossible to confiscate them all. And I also believe that the gist of the poster is true. Educating kids about responsible gun use is paramount. But being a responsible gun owner myself I would say that educating kids would be teaching them to have a healthy respect for firearms and that they are definitely not toys. They are not to be played with.
Perhaps you are right. I get infuriated by the *misuse* of weapons, and what I read in these posters was probably affected by this incident (and others). Perhaps the posters should say "educate responsibly" or "be a responsible gun owner" or "keep your guns safe". Indeed, the poster doesn't say "educate your kids to shoot Uzis" (which is what `I read').
ReplyDeleteIn fact, yesterday, I read on opinion article (at CNN I believe) where the author claimed that NRA should do something about it, in the sense of changing some laws. Uzis, at the hands of children, should be out. Not available together with a hamburger.
When I was in Austin, a crazy colleague was threatening to kill me with his gun because he didn't like the way I was doing mathematics. I asked for help from the university. The vice chancellor replied: "off the record, if you're afraid that your neighbor has guns, you get a gun too." And this was going on for years, until, one day, the crazy guy started shooting the dean's car. Then they put him in jail. He's still in.
Our opinions and way we view things are very much skewed by our experiences, aren't they? In this sense, I'm very willing to hear others' point of view, as long as it's rational.
We used to be able take threats like the one you experienced as hyperbole or exaggeration. That is no longer the case. It's frightening.
DeleteUzis should definitely be out for children. I think that it's ridiculous that this place exists as some type of "theme park" for kids. Guns is serious business and anyone who doesn't treat it as such should not be allowed near one.
Many in my country believe that it is a given right for each person to own a gun if they wish. I do not share that opinion. There are people who demonstrate that they are not mature enough and certainly not knowledgeable enough to handle a gun. A person must demonstrate skill at driving to be licensed to do so. Guns should be even more so.
>That is no longer the case. It's frightening.
DeleteWhy? Are you saying that crime has gone up? Or that the law enforcement agencies are not doing the job they used to do? Do you feel that America is leas safe than it used to be? (Not the world, I'm talking about US.)
I should set a disclaimer here to start looking into the laws in the state in which you live to see whether you're permitted to have a semi automatic UZI. You can find more details on kwc on the site kwc.us.com.
ReplyDelete