Having recently become a convert to the use of firearms, and having become quite politicized on the issue, makes me remember a curious television show I saw several months ago. . .
The show was, of all things, Little House on the Prarie (there was nothing else on! I swear!). The episode concerns Merlin Olsen's character, who has recently moved to a fairly large town to run a warehouse. Now in this town is a group of young malcontents, who start robbing his warehouse. In part to stop the thefts, Merlin becomes a deputy in the town. He catches one of the young thiefs, the leader of the gang, red-handed, and effectively breaks up the gang. Our young thug then decides he's going to rob the bank with a gun. When one of his pals asks what he'll do if the bank manager, who himself has a gun, tries to resist, the thug answers that he'll kill him.
Cut to Merlin, who is informed that the youngster is attempting to rob the bank. We then see the thug and the bank manager facing off, each with a gun. The manager tells the kid to drop the gun and give himself up. The kid refuses, looking scared, and insists that the manager hand over the money. Soon after, the manager shoots the kid dead. Now we cut to the funeral for the kid, where the manager comes up to Merlin and laments his decision. "That boy wouldn't have shot anybody," he says. "From now on, I'll leave the criminals to you." Merlin looks down on the manager with disdain, and says "That's a little late, don't you think? The boy is dead."
Amazing, isn't it? That a show produced by Little Joe himself would echo that same, insulting sentiment that the average citizen has no business defending himself or his property against criminals. That job is for the police. Also shown is another incredible, but I believe persistent, belief. Somehow, it is the responsibility of the attacked to divine the intentions of the attacker. It isn't enough that a criminal has chosen to victimize you. You now have to figure out if he/she "really" means to do you harm. The manager may have been staring down the barrel of a gun, but he should have realized that the poor, unfortunate kid holding the gun was in fact harmless.
And so it goes. . .
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"Those who would sacrifice liberty in the name of security, deserve neither liberty nor security."
The show was, of all things, Little House on the Prarie (there was nothing else on! I swear!). The episode concerns Merlin Olsen's character, who has recently moved to a fairly large town to run a warehouse. Now in this town is a group of young malcontents, who start robbing his warehouse. In part to stop the thefts, Merlin becomes a deputy in the town. He catches one of the young thiefs, the leader of the gang, red-handed, and effectively breaks up the gang. Our young thug then decides he's going to rob the bank with a gun. When one of his pals asks what he'll do if the bank manager, who himself has a gun, tries to resist, the thug answers that he'll kill him.
Cut to Merlin, who is informed that the youngster is attempting to rob the bank. We then see the thug and the bank manager facing off, each with a gun. The manager tells the kid to drop the gun and give himself up. The kid refuses, looking scared, and insists that the manager hand over the money. Soon after, the manager shoots the kid dead. Now we cut to the funeral for the kid, where the manager comes up to Merlin and laments his decision. "That boy wouldn't have shot anybody," he says. "From now on, I'll leave the criminals to you." Merlin looks down on the manager with disdain, and says "That's a little late, don't you think? The boy is dead."
Amazing, isn't it? That a show produced by Little Joe himself would echo that same, insulting sentiment that the average citizen has no business defending himself or his property against criminals. That job is for the police. Also shown is another incredible, but I believe persistent, belief. Somehow, it is the responsibility of the attacked to divine the intentions of the attacker. It isn't enough that a criminal has chosen to victimize you. You now have to figure out if he/she "really" means to do you harm. The manager may have been staring down the barrel of a gun, but he should have realized that the poor, unfortunate kid holding the gun was in fact harmless.
And so it goes. . .
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"Those who would sacrifice liberty in the name of security, deserve neither liberty nor security."