(RI) Program teaches dangers of firearms

[Atticus]

"It’s different for kids today. I think they see (guns) as a means to an end, a viable option. When I was growing up in Central Falls we didn’t go around saying ‘if you mess with me, I’ll blow your head off.’ Today it’s almost socially acceptable to use violence to resolve your problems."

That's one nugget of truth in the whole article. It's just too bad they don't, or won't, address the issues that have created that attitude.

 

[c_yeager]

Right. Teach them as kids that competition is bad and everyone is a winner. Then when they grow up and get passed over for promotion because they don't know how to compete against others and better themselves, they can comfort themselves that it's not their fault and the world is unfair.

Hey now, this was a fad a few years ago, and those of us in our mid-twenties got to catch a bit of it. I LOVE it. Many of my peers have no idea how competitive the real world is. All you have to do now is give %5 more than your coworkers (who are halfassing at best) and you get to have whatever you want. People i've worked with comiserate with one another about how poorly they are all payed, I went to my boss and said "hey, im better than these guys, pay me more", its awesome.

Seriously, being even a little assertive these days opens more doors than you can imagine. People in the workforce right now grew up with this nonesense about everyone being special (and if EVERYONE is special then being special isnt) And so many dont even realize that you actually have to ask for things if you want them. In the real world there is no teacher watching to make sure that everyone gets an equal portion of the pie. The longer it takes people to realize that, the longer the rest of us have to get ahead.

 

[gezzer]

Note: RI voted a Kennedy to be their Rep in Congress.

Sickening isn't it?

 

[SteveS]

Have heart people. Take comfort in the fact that, after the kids go home from what obviously is an adult exercise in foolishness, the kids will go right back to being (naturally) competitive and making toastguns. One idiotic program will not a wussy society make.

Good point. Any follow up to this article? How many people actually showed up to this event?

 

[HankB]

They have a "gun basher?" Hmmm . . . if they'd had something like that when I was a little kid, I would have been inclined to take one of my old, cheap toy guns and load it up with "cracker balls" and then watch for an explosion when it was "bashed." (Cracker balls were the local version of torpedos - fireworks that detonated when thrown against a hard surface or stepped on.)

Once, in grade school, several decades ago, they tried to have us play some dopey "non competitive" game involving running here and there with a ball during recess. Didn't work out so well - most of the kids figured, if we can't win OR lose, why even bother trying? This experiment ended after a week or two with the teacher just doing a lot of yelling at kids who weren't inclined to play along, after which it was back to schoolyard softball. (Yes, we DID keep score!!!)