Hey there-
Not that I approve of decorating bombs (although I imagine it's been done since they were developed), but I do have a sense that if you live in Israel (or probably anywhere in the Middle East), you know the bombs destroy more than buildings. My brother-in-law and his family live in Israel. There's a heightened awareness about everything there-- an unattended package on a bus immediately gets examined. My nieces and nephews know how to put on gas masks. It's a sad part of life. But I hope and pray they aren't decorating bombs.
I don't know, Laura. Goldman's post that I linked to made the point that these particular girls had been shielded by their parents from any mention of carnage on the Lebanese side. And Israeli media doesn't show such images, so the girls would not have picked them up from television. In my experience as a parent and early-ed teacher, even bright kids are not always quick to imagine consequences, especially if they're under stress or the consequences aren't readily visible. Their parents told them the Israeli bombs only hit buildings so that's most likely what they believe. If they do understand that people are killed by those shells, then the picture has even uglier implications so I feel that I'm giving the parents the benefit of the doubt.
I hope your b-i-l's family stays safe, along with Hombre's friend in Tel Aviv and his family. In an ideal world, kids wouldn't need to be anywhere near a bomb shelter or an artillery shell to begin with.
This is doing nothing for my ability not to burst into fits of vioent swearing and tears. Thanks for brining it to our attention and discussing it so coherently. This whole thing is just wrong. And we should be condemning both sides.
check the Guardian for a piece by David Clark (first line "Whatever else can be siad for or against..." sometimes that helps with the search). He makes a very interesting argument. (I get the paper version of the Guardian weekly and it was in this week's edition which you can probably pick up somewhere.)
Sad. Sad, sad, sad, sad, sad.
I agree with you Redneck Mother - the parents could have said no, nothing good will come of this - but the didn't, and so the cycle of violence continues.
A very good take on this...i had a lot of trouble with these pictures, but i think you nail it when you talk about the sanitizing of war. These kids are being taught to think about war as problem solving, effective, and just.
kcb-I defer to your experience. I'm not a mom (nor do I play one on TV) and while I work with the college-age population, it's not like I'm there to shape or inform their early-life perspectives on war, bombings, etc. It's a sad situation all the way around.
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