Slings and arrows

I have been waiting for the first report of some stupid kid hurting someone with a slingshot; I'll explain, after you read this, from the KOMO4-TV website in Seattle, today:

4-Year-Old Injured After Someone Slung Rocks At Cars In Redmond
April 6, 2005

REDMOND - Someone is targeting drivers on the Eastside.

Two cars driving northbound along Avondale Road in Redmond had their windows busted out by flying rocks Tuesday evening around 6 o'clock. A 4-year-old boy in one of the cars suffered minor cuts to his face from flying glass.

Redmond police say due to the damage to the side windows and the speed at which the rocks crashed into them, they are investigating the possibility that wrist rockets -- basically a high-end sling shot -- were used.

They also believe it was a random act, but are hoping people either saw someone with those wrist rockets around the area, or have other information helpful to the case.

If so, please call the Redmond Police tip line at 425-556-2581.
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Now, to answer the question, Why were you waiting, Diane?...

Maybe a week ago I started seeing this ad on television for Starburst candy. In the ad, one male is shooting a piece of candy at another male, using a slingshot. When the candy hits the target's face, he falls down, stunned. An older man runs up from behind, sees the candy stuck to the target's cheek, grabs it, and runs off.

Okay, aside from the fact that the ad is stupid and dull, shall we talk about the lethality of slingshots?

At that range, a slingshot could be as lethal or maiming as a gun. Think Starburst would ever show their candy being shot from a 9mm handgun into someone's mouth, missing the target, and sticking harmlessly to his cheek? I think not.

This is an example of phony violence creating a danger. In violent films, like Martin Scorsese's TAXI DRIVER, the power of the gun was demonstrated in sickening detail. If the camera had stayed on the bodies as they were shot so people could watch a human life twitch away in those few involuntary contractions that follow death, it would have been even more accurate and sobering.

These "humorous" demonstrations of violence are far more dangerous than graphic gunplay. What this ad has done is to perpetuate a dangerous stereotype: that slingshots are kid's toys and are harmless. I can't count the number of boys I know who broke windows and killed small animals with slingshots. And let's not even talk about David and Goliath!

The "wrist rocket" mentioned in the news story above is a highly stabilized slingshot with lots of torque and excellent aiming potential. It's like a hybrid, the mating of a slingshot and a crossbow. It is not a toy. It is a weapon. It is more dangerous than a b-b gun, probably on par with a .22 rifle.

Bobby Kennedy was killed by an assassin carrying a .22 caliber handgun.

My brother's eye was shot out in childhood by a b-b gun. We were all standing there watching it happen, no parents at home. The screaming, the writhing, the depth of agony he suffered--I've never seen anything like it since. I never want to see anything like it again.

Toy weapons are NOT TOYS. Showing a person shooting a slingshot directly into the face of another person is beyond irresponsible.

The laws of physics, coupled with simple components found in nature, can create a lethal object. Does anyone remember, 10 or 20 years ago, the kids who were dropping regular ol' rocks from an overpass above a freeway here? One person was killed when one of the rocks went through his windshield as he sped by at 60mph. The rock blew up his brain.

It would not surprise me one bit to discover that the little morons who are shooting out these moving car windows were inspired by that Starburst commercial. I'm not blaming television for the bad behavior of children, but I am saying, straight out, that Starburst should be held responsible for its deliberate misrepresentation of the power of the slingshot in its advertising.

If and when it comes down to some parent deciding to sue Starburst because his/her kid accidentally killed someone with a slingshot after seeing that ad, I won't be surprised or sympathetic.

There's no excuse for it.