From: thorick@sybase.com (Thorick Chow)
Newsgroups: rec.martial-arts
Subject: Re: (what should I carry ?)
Date: 9 Oct 92 17:37:07 GMT
Organization: Sybase, Inc.

In article <MARY.92Oct1095823@martinique.Cayman.COM> mary@Cayman.COM (Mary Malmros) writes:
>
>In article <23956@sybase.sybase.com> thorick@sybase.com (Thorick Chow) writes:
>
>   sheeshh.. wasn't like we were flying to Boston or something
>   (where possession of a 'super soaker' is apparently against the law)...
>
>
>Thorick, I really thought better of you.  A few months ago some 
>snot-nosed little pissant got into a rant about how super soakers 
>are illegal in Boston and next thing you know they'll be telling 
>you what color Jockeys to wear.

You mean I can't wear pink ?   :-)

>  This is about what one would 
>expect from some fool who never read anything but the National
>Enquirer, but I did think better of you.  If you check your facts
>you will find that Super Soakers are not and never have been illegal
>to possess or carry in Boston.  
>

Well, you're right.  I didn't bother trying to check the 'facts',
so I owe all of the offended a big apology !

Asided from my own gullibility, I suppose the sad thing is that
I would believe that a ridiculous 'law' like that could even
be TRUE !   
THis kind of thinking IS getting trendy...

witness the S.F. proposed law to ban the possesion of beepers by 
minors (which happily didn't pass)..

or hysteria and misinformation that helped pass the CA
'Assault Weapon Ban'...

>Of course, if it was your purpose to throw some gasoline on the 
>NRA fire, I suppose you will have succeeded admirably.
>

Well, I realize that to many the NRA seems like a bunch of nutty
extremists (how do *I* know ?  I used to think so too !)...
but consider this (shades of REM)...

Like us Martial Artists, many NRA members are people who like 'us', 
do not relish violence but do enjoy
perfecting their skills with weapons (firearms in this case), 
are interested in the history of such weapons (like us), enjoy sanctioned
competitions to test and refine their skills (like us), and some are
interested in self-defense (like us)...
Now try to consider a societal attitude in which the Martial Arts
become blamed for serious injuries and death from non-firearm
related incidents.. consider repercussions in which people begin
to cry out for the banning of the teaching and practice of Martial Arts
for the 'good' of society (after all, if you're a 'good' person, why
do you want to learn things which are primarily meant to hurt people ?)
Those of us who practice MA for reasons other than just 'hurting people'
would probably get very defensive as increasing numbers of laws
restrict what we 'decent' people can do..  "Kyokushinkai ?  BAN it, it's
obviously primarily meant just
for killing"  "Tai Chi ?  oh yeah, that's the gentleman's MA..  but
get a permit first :-)"  I know such a scenario is hard to imagine)...
well, in my own fumbling way, this is my small attempt to try to
explain the 'NRA fire'..  which by the way, you shouldn't believe
ALL the stuff about the NRA that you read in the newspapers or
editorials either (though I'm just as guilty of gullibility it seems)...
>

peace and love (as we said in the 60's)

thorick


--
"We must be careful not to discourage our 12-year-olds by making them   
 waste the best years of their lives on preparing for examinations.  If
 we do not stifle their interest in science, one of them has a chance to
 be the new Heisenberg..."              - Freeman Dyson