Courtesy of the Mirror:
There’s a clip early on in this film of a young boy opening his Christmas presents. “You’re crazy,” he tells his father as he sees what’s in the box.
“I’m too young to have a gun!” He points it at himself and his little brother to prove his point. “I’m SIX and he’s THREE!”
And already it would seem, he’s way smarter than his dad.
Every year, 3,000 children in the United States are killed or injured in accidental shootings.
And this disturbing film doesn’t even touch on the increasing number of incidents involving mass killings in schools.
Instead, it shows us the TV commercials selling real guns to children and we meet the parents who encourage and even force their children to learn to shoot.
Four-year-old Kaelyn Williams is in tears as the recoil from the rifle her daddy made her shoot has hit her on the chin.
But her dad JD, who lost both legs and one arm when he stepped on an IED in Afghanistan, is trying to make his daughter see that shooting is fun.
He can’t wait until he watches her kill her first wild animal.
“She’s going to learn to shoot whether she likes it or not,” JD states grimly. “Part of the Williams’ life skills: No1. Learn how to shoot.”
This is the kind of hard hitting documentary that the NRA would never allow to be shown in America.
Which is why I am making sure that we see it here. And what it tells us about America's gun culture, and the desire by some parents to make sure that the culture continues, is both shocking and embarrassing to us as a nation.
It is almost 50 minutes long, so if you cannot watch it all in one sitting, then just take your time and watch it in segments. But please make sure to share it with your friends and families.
P.S. Here is more coverage of this documentary from The Telegraph and The Guardian.
I watched it the other night. It was terribly sad and quite disturbing.
ReplyDeleteI can't watch. I'm old and squeamish and already terrified by the increasingly deadly stranglehold the NRA and its craven, venal political handmaidens have on our society, aided by too many pathetically small-dicked (literally and/or figuratively) individuals full of inadequacy, hate, and irrational fear they want everyone else to experience, too.
ReplyDeleteBut thank you for exposing their vileness.
I wept while screaming expletives at my computer directed towards these parents.
ReplyDeleteMy dad gave me a rifle for Christmas when I was 13. I was not surprised because he was, after all, a master gunsmith, and the gun was a work of art. I could see the excitement and delight on his face as I unwrapped the present, and I knew I had to respond appropriately because it meant so much to him.. I didn’t mind getting a gun, though being a 13 year old girl, there were other things I deemed more important and had hoped to receive. A couple months later he took me with him and the guys on one of their clay-pigeon shooting expeditions. He carefully instructed me on exactly how to use the gun, including elaborate safety precautions. Dutifully, I learned to shoot that day, but really hated the recoil of the gun and how loud it was and declined all future shooting expeditions. I know he must have been disappointed but he never showed it. He accepted my decision, and continued to be the same wise, loving father he had always been. Guns were a huge part of his life, but he never forced them on me, unlike the father in this story. My dad would have been extremely angry at the parental irresponsibility of giving a 4 year old or 6 year old a gun, much less teaching them to shoot it.
ReplyDelete‘My Parents Open Carry’ the Children’s Book for Kids with Insane Ammosexual Parents!
ReplyDeleteYou know what the world was missing? A children’s book that teaches the children of open carry “activists” that what mommy and daddy are doing is completely normal, that’s what! That void has been filled by My Parents Open Carry, a delightful tale of 13-year-old Breanna Strong and her loving, gun-toting parents.
“If you open carry and have a difficult time explaining why to your family and friends, or if you want to learn about the open carry of a handgun, or if you’ve wondered if open carry is right for you, then this book is what you need,” the book’s web site reads.
http://aattp.org/my-parents-open-carry-the-childrens-book-for-kids-with-insane-ammosexual-parents/
It's just so disturbing and I just don't see where this will stop. It's like a cancer spreading throughout the country. That there a little children being trained to accept this as normal is ludicrous and frightening. I'm just sickened by this explosive growth of weaponry that is legal and becoming more and more out of control every day. Every single day another gun related death occurs. It's feeding the narcissistic nature of those that are otherwise feeling powerless, with low self esteem and rage issues. It's making it be impossible to feel safe anywhere. Anyone with a grudge, too much to drink, anger issues, rejection issues, racism, bigotry...can just pull out their legally sanctioned weapon and act in a way that takes another's life, or destroy's another's health and well being. Children are murderers, without even meaning to be. It's horrific and totally out of control.
ReplyDeleteIf I were a Supreme Court Judge, I would think long and thoughtfully about allowing concealed carry permit holders anywhere in Washington, D.C. After all, that's where they work. Proof that gun supporting justices don't have the intelligence or judgment to be making thoughtful decisions... and that they're incredibly egotistical.
ReplyDeleteEveryone I know grew up learning how to handle guns safely and shoot at a very young age. No big deal. It is only a 'problem' in your imagination. Probably less than half even own a gun now, mostly those that still hunt. No doubt the documentary is promoting its own angle as all documentaries do, using shock factors from a heavily edited small subset of the actual reality. And promoted by three UK news orgs no less. Propaganda.
ReplyDelete3,000 children injured or killed...KILLED....every year in USA due to "accidental" shootings is not "a problem in our imagination".
DeleteSpeaking of old days, the NRA USED TO BE one of the most intelligent and safety-minded organizations in the country. Now? Good luck finding a member who isn't fanatical about pushing ownership and USE of a firearm.
DeleteAnd if there ARE any, they just haven't awakened to how far the organization has fallen.
8:56- Children that get injured or killed in any activity, accident, misfortune is a tragedy. Tragic accidents happen every day of all forms. Car Accidents, falls, bike accidents, drowning, accidental poisoning, the list of ways to die or be hurt in an accident of any kind including by a bulllet is endless. To people that grow up around guns, it is like teaching a kid how to swim so they don't drown.
Deleteblog.chron.com/gunblog/2006/08/yeager/
Delete“We lived in a three-room house across from the grade school,” Yeager told in his autobiography. “Roy and I slept in the family room on a studio couch that opened into a bed. By then we had a two-year-old sister, Doris Ann. Shortly before Christmas, when I was four-and-a-half and Roy was six, we were sitting on the floor in the family room playing with Dad’s 12-gauge shotgun. Roy found some shells and loaded the gun; he accidentally fired and the baby was killed. For our little family it was a time of terrible shock, loss and suffering. I suppose some parents would’ve locked away any guns following such a tragedy, but Dad didn’t. Shortly after the funeral, he sat down with Roy and me. ‘Boys,’ he said, ‘I want to show you how to safely handle firearms.’ I’m sure Roy carried this heartbreak with him until his own early death… at 41. He and I never discussed it, nor did my parents. Years later, (my wife) Glennis asked my mother about the accident, but she just didn’t want to talk about it. That’s the Yeager way; we keep our hurts to ourselves.”
www.vpc.org/nrainfo/chapter2.html
9:21. The difference between guns and your other examples of "activities' that cause accidents and deaths? There is one use for a gun. To kill.
DeleteStacey Dooley Investigates Series 1 1of6 Kids with Guns
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFiumblIg3w
Thanks for the link -- It's really interesting
DeleteThat is why you aren't a supreme court judge. The law isn't about feelings or personal views.
ReplyDeletewww.rawstory.com/rs/2014/08/02/my-parents-open-carry-kids-book-portrays-day-in-the-life-of-typical-gun-nut-family/
ReplyDelete"My Parents Open Carry tells the story of “13-year-old Brenna Strong along with her mom, Bea, and her dad, Richard [spending] a typical Saturday running errands and having fun together,” according to the book’s official site. However, “[w]hat’s not so typical is that Brenna’s parents lawfully open carry handguns for self-defense.”
The book’s authors, Brian Jeffs and Nathan Nephew, claim that they were inspired to write the book because they “looked for pro-gun children’s books and couldn’t find any. Our goal was to provide a wholesome family book that reflects the views of the majority of the American people, i.e., that self-defense is a basic natural right and that firearms provide the most efficient means for that defense.”"
The 9 year old girl shooting the heads of Barbie dolls (while the dolls are strapped up with zip ties) is particularly disturbing. It does not appear to be learning self defense, but more like the grooming of a serial killer. How many perps look like a Barbie doll? And why would you need to kill someone you have already strapped up so they can't escape?
ReplyDeleteActually, yes it is, 8:59. It's a matter of interpretation, and that's exactly where feelings and personal views come in.
ReplyDelete11:51- literally speaking you are incorrect, the true intent is based on their legal minds interpretation of the law- not their personal political views or feelings, not that thats always the case. Feel free to research all the questions and answers regarding that very subject matter for any of the hearings of any of the sitting supremes.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to watch the whole thing. If it's anything like I imagine, it must glorify the need to "start them young" when it comes to guns. Something I'll never understand, and no one can change my mind.
ReplyDeleteWe're moving further out to the burbs in a couple months. We live in a city, and there are a dozen "Bait, Gun, Ammo, and Tackle" shops in a mile radius from where we now live. Gun shows galore, and people selling rifles and automatic weapons from the trunks of their cars in mall parking lots. The closest place to "fish" is within a half hour, the closest place to "hunt" is beyond a ten mile radius. Why are these stores always so busy? Do hunters drive over ten miles back to the city, then over ten miles back when they run out of ammunition?
if the decision was based on the interpretation of the law, they wouldn't need to have 9 judges.
ReplyDeleteSad, sad documentary. I couldn't believe how many people were shooting guns without ear protection. Unfortunately, the people you want to be convinced that kids shouldn't have guns will watch this and think, "Yeah, that's ok. Nothing wrong there. They're emphasizing safety. What's the problem?" The rest of us are mortified. I say this as someone who was married to firearms expert, nationally ranked skeet shooter, and Army officer. He taught our girls how to shoot when they were old enough. He thinks this current ammosexual mentality is nuts and dangerous.
ReplyDeleteThe frenetic gun cancer in our culture makes me feel like I'm living in a third world country. What is America now, the Banana Republic?
ReplyDeleteWhen a Republicunt gets shot and killed in DC, something will be done. Not before.
ReplyDeleteI feel so bad for the parents whose son was accidentally killed. But, to be fair, it would have still happened even if an adult were with him. That was terribly unfortunate accident. I hope they're suing the ass off the gun manufacturer.
ReplyDeleteHoly G-d! As a District resident, I may never leave the house again!
ReplyDelete