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Additional Text for the 10/28/04 Alumni Sandstorm 
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>>From: John Browne Jr. ('61)

Re: Gun, etc. Control
To Pappy: I wonder if that rifle my grand-dad called his
".30 Army" was an M-1... he was real proud to have it, but
he never took it hunting. He was my firearms instructor;
and he presented me with my first shotgun, at 14. The only
gun I own is his old single-shot Remington .22... It seems
like, when there was a culture that wasn't saturated by
heroic media images of violence, and also included more
mentorship opportunities, things were easier to sort out.
Lots of young people have way more "autonomy" (or are they
simply neglected?) these days, with a single parent 
(or both parental units) in the work force, peripatetic
snowbird grandparents, weaker cultural ties, a face full
of advertising & diversions from the time they can focus
their eyes, etc. They also come into a dichotomized
culture that doesn't have that old WWII model of
solidarity ("Victory gardens", self-sufficiency,
sacrifice, etc) which was our milieu; but, rather they
have an aftermath of unresolved issues around things as
diverse as immigration, civil rights, foreign wars (their
justification or castigation), and a shrinking resource
base, simmered in a sea of "information". 

While I agree with your position that, in order to
maintain and protect a Right we had better be vigilant, I
feel compelled to add that there are responsibilities to
consider beyond simply "live and let live", with regard to
the rest of the citizenry (including the 'wannabes').
There are issues of History and Justice involved; and some
of those issues might be better resolved if the parties
involved were not armed- both for mutual assurances and
for the examples that are offered. For example, I don't
see Any reason for routine police presence in the schools;
but if they're there, they shouldn't be visibly armed. It
sends the wrong message, ie "Might makes Right". Hey, I
could go on, but it's a half-hour before sunrise, so I'm
not gonna burden either of us no mo' today... nor our
esteemed editor (who is, hopefully, still pulling down
some ZZZZzzzzs).   ^..^      

-John Browne Jr. ('61) ~ Vachon Island, WA
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