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Giving a game of Cops and Robbers new consequences

Steve Williams

by Steve Williams

11 Jun 05:55am

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Filed under: Children, Kenrick Monk, Nick D Arcy, Parenting, Parties, Shooting, Society

12 comments

So it was a fantastic week for guns. Nick D’Arcy and Kenrick Monk had to go the mega mea culpa for momentarily being confused as to which sport they pull on the green and gold tracksuit and Dunlop Volleys for.

On the bright side, it could be a lot worse…

It was also a great week for parenting combined with guns, and it doesn’t get any better than that. One notable example showed that children are not only our future, but are in very good hands. Ok, one of those hands might be their mum or dad brandishing a semi-automatic pistol, or a pump-action shotgun, but that’s of little consequence.

The story of eight-year-old kids having parties at a shooting range copped more of a barrage than a nude guy chomping on a face in Miami.

Where’s the problem? It should be encouraged. What else are you going to do for a kid’s party? Bouncy castle in the backyard? BORING! Stretch limo to a session with a beautician?

PLEASE, SO 2003. McDonald’s party? WHAT? You going to let your kids eat that stuff? Haven’t you read those alarming reports on childhood obesity? (Yes, I know they have salads, but work with me). Paintball? Nah, that’s just pretend for pussies.

No, kids these days want to shoot stuff with real high-powered weapons. Not so much “pin the tail on the donkey” but “blow the f*ck out of the donkey”. Maybe that’s next, hunting birthday parties - preferably not limited to garden-variety Equus africanus asinus, but endangered species like Black Rhinos, or tigers (any brand will do). That would also get the children out and get them some fresh air.

The gentleman at the shooting range sounds as responsible as the parents, his only condition for would-be Dirty Harrys and Harriets - “You have to be tall enough to get above the shooting table”. See? Where’s the drama with that? Caring Mr Smith-Wesson doesn’t want little Tiaaanna coming home with a gaping hole where her left nostril used to be.

A word of advice - just make sure your little Trevor takes a really, really good present to the party. You don’t want to be around a disappointed, tearful eight-year-old wielding a Glock pistol…

Most commented

12 comments

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    • M says:

      07:35am | 11/06/12

      What a fantastic idea for a birthday party. Wish we could do it here.

      Reply

    • Gregg says:

      10:21am | 11/06/12

      Better still, let them loose in a NP to bring home some goat or whatever for the BBQ.

    • M says:

      01:58pm | 11/06/12

      I think making them kill and prepare their own food is taking it a bit too far for a birthday party.

    • Gregg says:

      07:50am | 11/06/12

      Well, it couldn’t be anywhere but the US Steve….....and I suppose if it’s good for the economy!
      But really, it might not be everybodys’ freckled cup cake but there is a little more control than you infer and an educational aspect to it.

      George Bush lives in Texas and he go along to talk about smoking guns, landing on aircraft carriers etc. and start annual recruitment drives for ongoing grunts.
      Then there’s that border to protect too.

      Reply

    • craig2 says:

      11:30am | 11/06/12

      you mean the mexicans?

    • chuck says:

      11:51am | 11/06/12

      Steve perhaps we should ban steak knives too! Not sure 8 year olds is a good idea playing with weapons BUT safety around things that can hurt you needs to be taught (you note I didn’t say guns).
      As for D’arcy and Monks - drongos they may be but what is the big deal posing with weapons?? It has little to do with the public except the idiots posted it apparently on their social network pages. I would be more concerned to know that they were driving around the neighbourhood.
      PS we have uniformed people who are allowed to carry weapons and regularly use them - eg. on nude self harmers perched on the top of roofs or in their living rooms. What sort of message is that.
      Talk about Lethal Force and overkill.

      Reply

    • JN says:

      12:19pm | 11/06/12

      I’m by no means a gun nut or a hunter; in fact I haven’t owned or fired a gun for many years, but I find the gun issue now interesting. Back in the day it was normal for the old man to buy the kids a slug gun, then a 22 or perhaps 223 as they grew up. In fact many families in my parents era subsisted on duck or rabbit hunting as well as fishing in the bay. During the depression years a lot of people actually lived in makeshift camps on the southern islands in Moreton Bay or places like Cribb Island and basically lived off the land. A licence wasn’t required to own a gun. Most people owned bolt action hunting rifles but then along came this obsession with military style weapons to the point where you could buy a semi-auto AK replica through a mail catalogue with pistol grip, banana magazine and fold out bayonet, delivered to your door. Still, back when the guns were freely available gun deaths seemed to be far rarer than they became during the 80s and 90s and beyond. So is it the guns that are the problem or society? I think it is undoubtedly society and what children are now exposed to as they grow up. Music seemed to have a big influence, especially the grunge era bands(which I liked and still like very much). Young minds are very impressionable, especially when they see themselves on the outer, unpopular with women or unpopular in general. It’s no coincidence that many of the school shooters in the US and elsewhere have publicly stated they identified with songs like Jeremy and books like Rage by Stephen King.

      Reply

    • M says:

      02:03pm | 11/06/12

      Not everyone who shoots is a gun nut/freak/weirdo/etc.

      I’m licenced, and tbh I spend most of my time in target shooting comps. I’ve hunted a bit before, but I don’t get the time to do it these days. It’s great fun. But for some reason the beig- P- nanny-state brigade in this country seems to have been breeding at a disproportionate rate to the rest of the population, so that now we shooters have to justify our passtime to boring idiots who associate guns and gun owners in this country with all the worst displays of idiocy from America.

      I hate this country and the people that live in it sometimes.

    • JN says:

      02:32pm | 11/06/12

      Yeah I agree M. It’s a bit like banning cars because some people drive like lunatics. Still, “the worst displays of idiocy” as you call it have all happened on Australian soil just like the US; all around the world for that matter. I really don’t see the point of semi-automatic weapons anywhere but in the military and perhaps limited applications in the bush (eg feral animal culls and the like). You don’t need an AK-47 replica to shoot at targets or knock over a pig.

      Reply

    • TheHuntress says:

      03:03pm | 11/06/12

      Am I the only person who thought “actually, that could be a good idea for my sons birthday”? Reality is it would teach safety, motor skills and hand-eye coordination. I’m not a fan of guns, think that US is totally nuts as far as their gun laws are concerned, but what’s wrong doing it safely in a controlled environment?

      Anyway, I prefer fencing. Swords are so much more romantic than guns…

      Reply

    • Lyla says:

      05:00pm | 11/06/12

      Shootin’ and cake but NO PIÑATA?!

      “It’s not festive like that…”

      Come on! Kids love bashing the crap out of those colourful paper-mâché creations. We all do!

      On a serious note - kids in Texas (and most of the US) have more to fear from the absolute rubbish their parents and the schools feed them, than they do of attending a few gun-slinging lessons.

      Reply

    • Slick says:

      01:35pm | 12/06/12

      My only concern is how does an 8 year old handle the kick back? Ive seen a 30 year old, who fires guns all the time, scope himself. And yes, I laughed:)

      Reply
 
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