“This is a positive step that will stop children from taking up real arms when they grow up. Militancy and war has promoted a brutal culture of violence in our society that is impacting children.” – Abdul Shaheed in Afghanistan bans toy guns to curb culture of violence [at theguardian.com]
OMG, they have liberals there, too?!
Ah yes, the quote of the day to the quote of the day.
The arrogance of the statist knows no bounds. And ‘injured in the eye’? Is that like ‘you’ll shoot your eye out’?
Are we sure the guardian didn’t fall for a duffleblog article?
Remember soviet intervention there back in the 70s? It was (on paper) in support of a moderately sized communist party that made political gains.
“OMG, they have liberals there, too?!”
I’m sure they do. But at least they seem to have the sense to generally either ignore them or, of they get too annoying, either stone them or shell them. That’s where our immediate ancestors failed.
Punishment for plastic guns responsible for eye injuries on the other side of the planet, with a bartering economy….Laughable. Once again action through the lens of a democratic culture applied to a tribal country, we can claim progress.
They have real ones, why would they want toy ones?? I’m sure no one will be “saved”.
“The government wants to reduce the influence of such toys on impressionable young minds, with many observers drawing a connection between juvenile war games and adult violence.”
But confiscating children’s property that they bought will influence those children far more than toys and playing.
It looks like we won the war in Afghanistan. The culture war.
“..This is a positive step that will stop children from taking up”
We all know they are just trolling us, right? I mean we can have the conversations and all, but just so we’re all on the same page… trolls.
Well, that’s Afghanistan solved, then. We did it! Good work, everybody! Why don’t we all take tomorrow off and have a long weekend?
Given the history of Afghanistan, I’d say that neither the plastic toy guns, nor the development of plastic itself, are responsible for the violence therein.
Their problems are rooted in developments of over 1,000 years ago.
And to think, for a thousand years before that, Afganistan was actually a Buddhist country. Maybe the pendulum is due to swing back soon?
From Agnosticism to Zoroastrianism, just pick something. Anything that doesn’t involve lopping off the heads of those who decided differently, is probably fine.
Honestly, the only proper solution to avoid having ones head lopped of, is to arm oneself properly, and/or behave in such a manner than noone feels particularly compelled go through the hassle of lopping it off. Sure beats the heck out of pretending some Obummer is going to care one iota about whether your head stays attached or not.
Well, some people are just unreasonable like that and will only offer others two options for peace and security: the peace of the grave or the security of the slave.
I choose a third unoffered option: peace and security through noninvolvement and keeping and bearing arms.
“behave in such a manner than no one feels particularly compelled go through the hassle of lopping it off.”
Sometimes merely existing is the reason. I do wholly agree on acting in a professional manner as the standard.
Here’s a “good” use for toy guns
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ou4WG7HhFZM
That was a hilarious movie.
And then there is this on the front page of Drudge today:
http://www.vocativ.com/news/214441/isis-champions-child-soldiers-in-new-video/
better take away all those rocks too……and the knifes…anything metal…etc…
Don’t forget about the toy suicide vests and toy IEDs… We all know those little scamps love to play with their Mattel, My First Jihad, IEDs.
Nah they probably teach ied building with the real deal, but with empty propane tanks.
Looks to me like this is a laughable extension of the Statist meme in the West.
You don’t “really need” to defend yourself; the Government will protect you. You don’t need to prepare the marshal skills that might enable you to protect your village, family or yourself. You just need to be loyal to the Government who will supply highly trained troops to protect you.
And, of course, you don’t need to keep or bear arms individually; spend your money wisely on fertilizer for your poppy fields.
Wherever we look – Mexico, Central and South America, Africa, Middle-East, Asia – there are always plenty of arms for: the hapless military protecting “legitimate” government; the semi-organized insurgents, Muslim or other; cartels; individual criminals. There is also a shortage of guns in the hands of peaceable individuals to protect themselves.
Naturally, part of the problem is poverty. If $250 is the price of an AK-47 vs. the cost-of-living for 2 months for a family, it’s hard to build an arsenal let alone the ammunition to practice and mount an effective self-defense. But, we in the West have plenty of money to subsidize individuals and villages that simply want to earn a living. This problem COULD be solved.
The greater problem is the Western Statist policy. Even we, in the US, with a 2A as a cornerstone of our political philosophy, don’t get it. The US government pursues the same policy as all the European kings of the 18th century. “Legitimate” power is vested in the monarch; the peasantry must be disarmed in order that order may be maintained by government.
Even American conservatives and gun-rights advocates are caught-up in the Statist mentality. We are so worried about sending guns to the “wrong” kind of people that we send no arms at all. So, we wanted to disarm individual Kurds, Yazidis, Christians, Sunnis and Shias in Iraq so the “legitimate” government in Bagdad could maintain order. How did that work-out? The vacumb of power was filled by ISIS; the Shia military would not move-in to fill the vacuum in defense of non-Shia tribes. Now, the only force willing to oppose ISIS comes from Iran!
In Syria our fearful-leaders in Washington deluded themselves that they could vet the “good” insurgents and distinguish them from the “bad” insurgents. By the time we decided which few-dozen were “good” ISIS had taken over. Arguably, we might have been better off just dumping AK-47s from the sky and letting everybody grab one. Then, at least, they would all be killing one-another and the “good” insurgents (IF ANY) could have had a sporting chance.
If we really believe that sovereignty is properly vested in the people of a nation then we ought to be the “arsenal of democracy” to the common man, his wife and children. We don’t do this family any good by withholding arms from him and letting criminals, Jihadis and governments out-gun him.
I’m young, but I still remember hearing about us shipping arms there in the 80’s to fight communism. Then in 2002 I have friends and family coming home from the sand talking about shot down helicopters using those same weapons. Maybe we should have just left them alone then… but I know I don’t agree with sending full auto weapons my tax dollars paid for to Syria when I can’t even buy one here without permission from the king who says I don’t need one, because GUNS.
Absolutely awesome comment!
Guns in the hands of the people, are NEVER the problem. Just yesterday on this site, there was a story of a nutcase thinking he was a secret agent with 1200 guns and 2 million rounds of ammo. Dying peacefully without harming a soul.
Everyone should have guns. The more the merrier. The whole notion that “we” should in any way, shape or form serve as arbiters of who should have the “right” (in that case it would be a privilege), is simply nonsense. People who are literally locked up for a real (Biblical/Koranic or something saner than current progressive) crime…. maybe they should be disarmed for the duration of their prison sentence. But the Afghans don’t seem to have much of a tradition for locking people up, preferring more permanent solutions, so over there, even that isn’t really a concern.
The quality of a country’s government, is probably better measured by the difference in military capability between it’s individual citizens and it’s standing army/police, than by any other metric. America anno Jefferson was wonderful. For all our CCW peashooters, America anno now scores far, far below Afghanistan. Something we really ought to fix before we sit around pretending our progressive Dystopia is somehow superior to their more traditional, and relatively better armed, ways.
Toy guns don’t “cause” violence. People who have decided to use violence and brought up to use violence to solve problems use violence to solve problems. Playing with toy guns is not “violent.”
Providing a way for Afghans to obtain justice and understand the benefits of tolerance and freedom, would go a lot further to reduce violence than to take away children’s toys.
Afghan government bans toy guns. Afghan police confiscate toy guns. Afghan kids bored and aimless.Taliban arms and trains bored kids. Kids no longer aimless.How’s that gonna work out for ya?
The thousands of years old sling shot has put many an isreal soldiers eye out. The Arab children are very accurate with them.
Once again it is not the object, it is the person wielding the object that is the problem. The “democrats” in Afghanistan have learned from democrats here. Blame the object don’t hold the person responsible.
These kids will make their own guns just like I did as a kid.
The Israeli’s I think banned Arab kids from possessing sling shots. The result was lots of 10 year Olds in Jewish jails. Not a good PR move.
Yes, because Afghan kids are way too stupid to pick up sticks that resemble guns and continue playing war games. They couldn’t possibly be as creative as western kids. And so the soft racism of the Left continues unabated.
Meanwhile, the Taliban continues with business as usual. I’m sure they are having a good laugh at all the kids being “disarmed.” But the Progressives are sleeping contentedly in their beds, knowing that they have created a better world with this one brilliant policy.
In an area where loyalty is to the local warlord and can be bought with guns, drugs, and money, I really wish them luck with this.
Wow! Next thing you know they’ll outlaw the national sport, Buzkashi – the dead goat polo as too brutal because it MUST be teaching kids that goats aren’t people too.
What was that joke about goats and girlfriends, or was that the goat girlfriend:). When the terrorists meet Allah and they receive their virgins, I hope the virgins are big sweaty dudes or that they only speak “baah”
Wow, who knew the Agram 2000 was popular enough to be a toy
A big first step would be to outlaw or reform Islam.
Nothing like the example set by the “Last Prohet of Allah”, Muhammad, of rape, pillage, plunder, and converting, subjugating and cutting off the heads of those unwilling to convert as an inspiration to bloody minded people for the last 1400 years up to and including ISIS.
But the problem being of the commandment within Islam to kill anyone that changes the meaning of the Koran or that converts from Islam to another religion or that becomes an athiest and denies the existence of Allah. Hard to be a reformer when you’re dead.
ISIS, frozen in time to the worst parts of the Old Testament. Islam, the greatest commandmentry is not love one another, it’s “I kill you!”.
Yet I haven’t had a single Islamist, ISIS or not, do me a lick of harm, ever. Not one of these supposedly horrible people have taken one red cent of my income, ever. Neither have any of them ever banned me from buying nor carrying any gun I may have desired, just in case one of them should break bad and decide to come strolling down my driveway looking to rape and pillage me…….
OTOH, the guys who whine the loudest about how “baaaaad” the Scary Muslim Virgins are, have done all of the above. And continue to do so. With ever increasing vigor.
So, who is the real problem we need to ban or reform, again?
Well, we were talking about Afghanistan; and then the various Koran inspired mass shootings here in the US. Maj. Hasan on Fort Hood, the attempted mass shooting in Waco, the mass shooting at the Marine Recruitment center, the Boston Bombers, various other Islam based attacks, the various mass shootings around the world in europe, australia and the mid-east and of course what started this whole police state assault on our freedoms, 9/11 and the Trade Towers terrorist attacks.
But this does not mean that there isn’t a multiple front attack on our freedoms, here in the US. As you mention, the greatest threat to our freedoms in this country isn’t from some Koranic inspired blood letting based on the actions and words of Mohammad; ultimately, the greatest threat is from the Abomination (Patriot) Act and the NDAA.
The kids are being injured while celebrating Islam, and it’s the toys that get banned? Oh, that’s rich!
C’mon — this is a Monty Python sketch, right?
I was on patrol in Habbaniyah several years ago when a little sh!t pointed a fake AK very similar to the one in the picture at me and the Marines I was with. I took it away from him and handed it to one of the Iraqi police officers scratching his butt nearby.
Some habits should be broken early.
Is that… a wrist watch? My God, these poor people are living in the stone age!
Just think-thousands of Afghans without the Apple Watch. What an opportunity!
When I first opened this post I thought it would be about toy guns being mistaken for real guns by our troops, causing innocent children being shot??
“I got you Ahmed! Call the hit or I shoot your other eye.”
Dan & Robert, would prefer to see items about similar prohibitions in the US .
fark.com and thisistrue.com routinely mention public school teachers and principals that sanction students (usually elementary or kindergarten ones) for drawing or mimicking a gun with their hands. In virtually every report, school officials have astoundingly over-reacted. I seem to recall one where a teacher believed a child’s sandwich that the parent provided was shaped like a gun leading to the child’s suspension. Here’s one from 2014 http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/04/us/ohio-boy-suspended-finger-gun/
Folks on this site may choose to contact school boards members (or vote them out of office) for this type of silliness.
GGO –
TTAG has covered that when it pops up on the radar.
The Pop-Tart ‘gun’ very extensively…
Why do they need toy guns? Don’t they have real ones to play with?
Didn’t you know? Afghanistan is a war zone because kids grow up in a culture of violence! The geopolitical issues are irrelevant!
Now they will get real ones.
What they play with toy guns? I figured by the time they were old enough to hold a real AK they used it. Whats the bottom age for using an AK in the 3rd world about 8?
Hopefully they shoot this one when they get real guns to replace the toys…
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