The American Coup

[Martin Naef]

Jay Vaughan wrote:
>> "Weapon" and "fun" shouldn't really be used in the same sentence, even
>> if I can understand the fascination.
> 
> Its only a weapon if its used as such.  Until then its a firearm.

Well, yes, it's true that people kill, not guns. But this fascination of 
shooting as a sunday afternoon hobby reminds me a bit of how "cool" a 
precision bomb blowing up a building looks on CNN - until you think two 
steps further and imagine the people inside. It's the attitude of 
approaching the weapon as a toy, when it's in fact something that has 
been designed (and is regularly used) to kill a human.

I am the first to admit that I too feel a certain attraction to 
firearms, but having been trained to use an assault rifle certainly 
triggered a few thoughts. I wasn't particularly sad that I had to leave 
mine back when I left Switzerland...

Martin