http://kokosbolla.livejournal.com/ ([identity profile] kokosbolla.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] vintageads2008-03-19 06:05 pm
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[identity profile] bolddeciever.livejournal.com 2008-03-19 10:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Frankly, I'm no NRA gun nut, but everything in that ad makes a ton of sense to me.

[identity profile] glass-houses.livejournal.com 2008-03-19 10:42 pm (UTC)(link)
Pardon me, but what the hell in this ad makes any sense to you? Please, I'm awaiting your answer, because I'm truly baffled.

[identity profile] thomasirvin.livejournal.com 2008-03-20 12:15 am (UTC)(link)
You didn't ask me, but I'll offer a suggestion of how the ad may make sense to some people: People that grow up in a more rural environment don't just observe nature, they put it to use, the same way we use computers or cars. They maintain it, they interact with it, they respect it, they get pissed off at it, et cetera. And when you grow up with that sort of attitude about nature, you think it's your right to take from it what you want. That could mean cutting down natural vegetation to grow crops, or it could mean killing animals to eat. It's not even something folks think about a whole lot--they feel if they own the land (or have permission from the landowner) and they take care of the land and respect the land, they can do with it what they want. And that includes killing animals for sport, food, or population control.

Throughout the history of this sort of land/nature use, kids have always been indoctrinated into the ways of the land from an early age. That includes driving farm equipment long before they are authorized to drive a car, operating machinery like chain saws long before "city folk" would deem it safe, and using guns at remarkably young ages.

That's not my world, but I've been around it enough to have a sense of it. And that Winchester ad does a good job of capturing that world.

[identity profile] glass-houses.livejournal.com 2008-03-20 12:57 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you for your explanation.

[identity profile] nosyparker.livejournal.com 2008-03-20 04:33 am (UTC)(link)
That is (or was) my world, and I think you explained it pretty well. And FWIW I thought the ad was remarkably sensible, if a touch on the corny side.

[identity profile] shawnndan.livejournal.com 2008-03-20 11:54 am (UTC)(link)
Seconded. As long as a rifle is used under supervision and with training in safety, there's nothing wrong with a teenager having the responsibility of owning and using one. Teaching a kid to hunt teaches self reliance and boosts their confidence.

[identity profile] bolddeciever.livejournal.com 2008-03-20 12:37 am (UTC)(link)
Not if you're going to ask it in a way so inflamatory that I can't imagine I'd actually be listened to...

[identity profile] kateorman.livejournal.com 2008-03-20 03:42 am (UTC)(link)
The ad's emphasis on training and safety are admirable. OTOH, the greater access to firearms for rural youngsters inevitably means more firearms injuries and fatalities (http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-1775929/Gun-violence-and-children-factors.html), alongside any benefits. According to the ad, the wife's concern is the boy's young age, not guns or hunting. She probably wouldn't want junior taking flying lessons just yet, either. :-)

(There's something slightly creepy about the idea that "he might not have the chance later", by which I assume the ad means sonny might be down the mine or away at school or something, but suggests that ol' dad may not be long for this world. :-)

P.S. Thank you for engaging civilly.

[identity profile] bolddeciever.livejournal.com 2008-03-20 04:27 am (UTC)(link)
Well, yes, if you assume that the ad is advocating giving the kid a gun that he can get out and play with any time he wants. But I don't think that's what the ad is saying. First, it specifically contains language about kids growing up thinking of guns as toys. Second, I did grow up in a household that had guns for hunting, and in that culture (and this comes both of my own experience and from other hunting families I knew), you're a lot less likely to habe guns lying around where kids are getting into them than in the suburban "I have a pistol by the bed to protect my house" crap. Yes, we were taught to use guns from a pretty young age, but we sure as hell didn't get to have them out when Dad wasn't immediately supervising. And assuming, as this ad implies, that there is already a hunter in the house, there are other guns in the house, presumably also stored safely and seperate from ammunition, so getting another one, and treating it as a firearm should properly be treated, isn't adding to that danger, and, arguably, the opportunity to train the kid in proper firearm safety and procedures is going to make the kid less likely to find Dad's gun and play cowboys and indians with it.
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