[Leica] IMG: Tina's "Tea Party" reunion propaganda photo

[jayanand at gmail.com (Jayanand Govindaraj)]

Larry,
I disagree with you completely. My view is simple - any "civilized"
human being who feels the need to own a gun (or any weapon of minor
mass destruction) to show his/her macho credentials, and get his self
respect into order, is not civilized but a barbarian. Fine
instruments, indeed, what a cop out! A Leica is a far simpler way of
reaching the same goal...(-: Taught to shoot at ten years, and you
consider it "normal" - even if you are just busy exterminating animals
instead of human beings - this is just unbelievable to the vast
majority of humans on Earth. Those "military types" are far more
trained and responsible, as well as safer for everyone than than the
general public with cupboards full of guns, mostly unlicensed.

Tina's photo is brilliant, and to a person like me who is not used to
guns at all, except in the hands of the police/armed forces, is spine
chilling in the extreme.

I know you will come back at me with some slanging comments on India,
as you normally do, but what India is does not change the reality of
what the USA is. Remember that.

Cheers
Jayanand

On Sat, Oct 19, 2013 at 1:24 AM,  <lrzeitlin at aol.com> wrote:
> Don't over react to guns. They are common in rural America. There are far
> more guns in the US than there are Leicas, Nikon, Canons, and all other 
> fine
> cameras combined. The gun culture is alive and well not only in the south
> but in the North West, the mid-Atlantic states and in New England. The next
> time you take a drive on a cross country highway stop in at a Cabella's or 
> a
> Bass Pro sporting goods store. You will see enough guns on display to arm a
> regiment and enough ammunition to stock a medium sized rebellion. Schools
> are even closed during deer hunting season in much of Pennsylvania. A
> successful hunt is the key to a well fed holiday season. New York City even
> hosted the Bannerman warehouse until it moved up the Hudson to Pollopel
> Island. Bannerman and family were merchants who bought up most of the
> military surplus from the Civil War, the Spanish-American war and WW I. 
> Most
> of the world's rebellions until the outbreak of WW 2 used Bannerman 
> supplied
> weapons. My father even had a Sears Roebuck sized catalog of Bannerman's
> arms available for resale.
>
> When I was a boy the country was much less urban than it is now. In rural
> communities gun ownership was accepted as a fact of life. Most families
> owned at least two guns, a shotgun for hunting and a 22 cal. rifle for the
> kids to plink around with. Most high schools had rifle teams, usually
> subsidized by the Army. Indeed an armed population was considered the key 
> to
> national defense. What enemy would attack a country with a well armed
> citizenry? The NRA, rather than being dedicated to supporting the Second
> Amendment, was an advocate of teaching marksmanship in schools.
>
> I currently own three guns, a shotgun, a rifle, and a handgun. My favorite
> is a Browning semi-automatic 22 rifle, also John Browning's favorite gun. 
> It
> is beautiful, a true work of art. I bought it on sight 40 years ago. I
> lusted after that gun more than I ever lusted after a Leica camera. It has
> appreciated in price more than twenty times the price I paid.
> <http://www.basspro.com/Browning-SemiAuto-Grade-I-22-LR-Rifle/product/102
> 17873/>
>
> I was taught to shoot as a ten year old at a YMCA camp by a German doctor
> who had served as in infantryman under the Kaiser during WW I. At one time 
> I
> was even capable of shooting a bullet through the center of a cigarette, 
> end
> on, at 50 ft. I shake too much now and my vision isn't what it used to be.
>
> The prevalence of arms has a low correlation with gun murder rates. Vermont
> and New Hampshire are the U.S. states with the highest per capita gun
> ownership, minimum regulatory requirements, and also the lowest rates of 
> gun
> homicides. What really disturbs me is traveling through Europe and the
> Middle East and seeing all those young military types in airports and
> wandering the streets with fully armed large magazine assault rifles slung
> over their backs. How responsible are they? You guys who are appalled at
> seeing weapons, think about that.
>
> Now about Tina's picture of a "Tea Party" family reunion. This may be a
> minority opinion but I think it is a poorly composed, unsharp, snapshot of 
> a
> family at a dinner table with one person handing a gun to another. Just a
> bad picture. Peter is right is stating that prudent gun handling practices
> are being violated. The is no indication that it is a "Tea Party" meeting 
> at
> all. Even Tina's  original title on her web site does not identify it as
> such. This picture is far below Tina's usual standard and I suspect was
> titled and posted only to evoke comment. And you can see. It did.
>
> Larry Z
>
>
>
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