Banning Rifles and Sabres

[nezneau]

hmm... I had not heard anything about the Rosie issue... but that seems to be a good indicator of the politically correct nature of media. It is entirely possible that a condition of corporate sponsorship of the activity could require that these elements be removed. It is even more possible that a major television broadcaster would have concerns and their removal as a condition for broadcast.

The biggest problem here is that even though these rifles and sabres are simulated, they present weapons a something to play with in the eyes of young viewers. To look at the recent cases involving toy manufacturers and guns, there seems to be quite a lot of legal precedent here. Enough so that KB Toys and Toy-R-Us stopped selling (in 1994) anything that realistically resembles a gun. On a more extreme level, lawmakers in New York City are currently debating a complete ban on ALL sales of toy guns (including air guns), not only to minors, but even to adults.

As far as those that viewed this and the notion that "when they were in High School they never paid attention to the band". None of these individuals had grown up in America. Also, the idea of guns in most western countries outside of america is taken VERY seriously. In most of these countries, toy guns of any sort have been banned for a number of years. So, it is quite shocking to see this for many people in an international audience.

Anyway, just some things to consider in promoting the activity to a wider audience.

[MikeD]

I should had expected that from Mike :)

Yes, you should always expect wiseness and truth from me.

[Sluggo]

I say keep them, and have the parents teach their kids about proper etiquette of handling real guns...or for that matter, teach themthat the weapons that the guards use are fake....EDUCATE is the key word here.

[ScribeToo]

Yes, you should always expect wiseness and truth from me.

LOL

"wiseness?"

Mike you kill me..

[RobH]

Yup, keep 'em!

And while we're at it, let's bring back "real" rifles - the ten pounders!

[lucas97]

It is even more possible that a major television broadcaster would have concerns and their removal as a condition for broadcast.

...like the Olympics did with the Cadets in 1996 during their closing ceremonies

performance. No rifles or sabres (mock weaponry) allowed. For the chance to

perform in front of 80,000 people live and over a billion worldwide on TV, I'd say

it was a worthwhile sacrifice.

[ScribeToo]

...like the Olympics did with the Cadets in 1996 during their closing ceremonies performance.  No rifles or sabres (mock weaponry) allowed.  For the chance to

perform in front of 80,000 people live and over a billion worldwide on TV, I'd say it was a worthwhile sacrifice.

and yet there are medal competitions for skeet shooting and (at least until this coming olympics) archery.

Good lord.. I hope no kids are watching!

Stefanie

Edited January 16, 2003 by ScribeToo

[deftguy]

I am sitting here after reading this and wondering to myself what else in my life is going to be watered down out of existance because of (and I am going to spell it out) political correctness.

My christmas this year sucked because everyone was afraid to say "Merry Christmas", something I have been hearing all of my life and what get's me into the holiday spirit. Happy holidays means obsolutely nothing to me.

I watched colorguard go from military, with a emphasis on "equipment work" to pagentry with and emphasis on dance.

Now we have someone proposing (for the sake of political correctness) that we eliminate weapons. Well ####, why don't we just get rid of drum corps all together since some are determined to turn it into something that it is not. Weapons are a intrical part of the colorguard's existence. Take the weapons away, and its not colorguard anymore. The comma's that Lisa mention I saw Logan High use in the Rose parade. It looked silly to me and is a poor substitute for a rifle. Perhaps for winterguard it is cool(like dance) but on the field it looks just plain silly, just like SCV bed posts they used in the early 80's.

I am not opposed to change. Change is healthy, invigorating, and freshens any activity or sport. What change should not do is completely obliderate something till it is unrecognizeable. That is what I am seeing to drum corps now.

If you eliminate the weapons, you might as well call the colorguard a dance team. Add any other instrumentation, you might as well call drum corps a marching band. A dog is a dog, and a duck is a duck.

What Scribe too says I agree with time two!

[SkyRail]

I once sat in front of the TV agahst as Julia Child took a knife, YES A KNIFE, and proceed to dice an onion with. My GOD, I thought to myself, what if an impressionable young child were watching this!!!

Being overly politically correct needs to become a capital crime in this country. Of course the same people that think it's a good idea to take a simulated rifle out of a teenagers hand would gladly drive them down to the abortion clinic to slaughter an unborn child. Am I right or what....

[skajerk]

Here's an easy fix...

Phase out rifles/sabres and phase in saxes. I can already hear the applause when someone drops a sax after doing a toss.

The thing I don't understand about Rosie, she was against BLAST, but what about Les Mis, The Scarlett Pimpernel, Miss Saigon, Okalhoma or countless other productions? No problems with those shows even though there were guns and/or swords? If you're going to protest the use of rifles/sabres, it should stand for all the shows that use them. IMO, of course.