My kids don't really do gun play yet, but recently there was some discussion in our local group about how natural it is- that boys will make guns out of sticks and dolls if they don't have the actual toys.
I call bullshit.
It is not human nature to play with guns. It is not part of our being or a boy's natural being. According to this website, the first gun was in China in 1232. It wasn't until much later, hundreds of years later that guns made it to the rest of the world and until the industrial revolution era that they became more commonplace of a tool and part of military repitoir. So what did boys play with before that? If it was part of nature, an intrinsic part of their being, then they would have been playing "Bang Bang You're Dead", right?
It's not that simple. What is part of human nature is to imitate roles in our society, especially roles that are held in high regard. In earlier times that would have been the warrior (think knives, swords, clubs), the hunter, the shamen/priest/wizard......anyone that displays power and gains respect. Our times and nature are no different.
The problem isn't necessarily what the weapon of choice is but rather what the kids are learning about its power and use. Gun are now mostly used for military application, law enforcement, and crime. Rarely does entertainment (movies, tv) show self defense, hunting, or museum quality collecting/art. Gun play isn't about providing the family or community with food or even about protecting each other FROM harm- it is about harming other people.
I was watching Monk and Bones on netflix and it occurred to me: we glorify and respect the bad guys. We honor and give power to their genius. They almost outsmart the good guys or it wouldn't be a show. 99% of bad guys are not super evil geniuses but anyone watching wouldn't know that. On the shows often they are funny, attractive, and really smart. Their victims are not. What message does this send us? It is not reality. In fact, most bad guys are desperate people and not very bright and yet many of them get away with all sorts of crime before if ever getting caught, walking away when they do after a little time or fine. It's not reality we are seeing but children, how believe in Santa and the Tooth Fairy, think it is. The see it, they play it, they respect it because we do. That is problem.
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I'm not sure what the message here is intended to be, but at least some of it I disagree with a lot.
ReplyDeleteGuns are mostly used for sport and food. Especially guns in the hands of people who aren't scared of them and have been taught how to use them as a tool.
That's why I've had Lily out shooting, and will be sure that all the kids are proficient shooters. That's also why I tell them to not point the toys at each other when they are pretending they are real guns, but really, kids are smart enough to know a toy is a toy - especially when they see me practicing actual gun safety.
I am not saying guns are bad, or even gun play. I am saying that I disagree with saying that it is natural. What I am saying is that our cultural is glorifying bad guys and that imitating that is a problem.
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