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| Guns
and Militaria International Fair |
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Probably the oldest collection was the Russian knives that dated back hundreds of years, displaying the intricate hand-carved artistic detail the region was renowned for in its day. As I picked the knives up to examine the magnificence of the craftsmanship, I wondered how something so beautiful could be used in such horrific ways. I wondered if the knife in my hand had been responsible for the slaying of another person. I felt a sense of empowerment holding the knife, a sense similar to what an assailant must experience as they become one with the weapon. Then a wretched feeling engulfed me as I mentally replayed the grotesque beheading of Nick Berg, the American civilian in Iraq, which had me throwing up and off my food for days.
Unfortunately, as we were reminded on 9/11, the world will always have future Hitlers in the making. That is the foundation of why I believe in peace through strength now, which is a far cry from my “peace man” days during my late teens…I had such a naïve misunderstanding of humanity. War is a tragedy, but not preventing the spreading of intolerance is even more tragic as we learnt, a few too many million people too late, in WWII. I quickly put the knife down as the reality of what I was holding encompassed me. I wandered on to the next stand as I pondered the magnitude of how much the world had changed in the 250 years since the knife’s creation.
The booths were abundant with Nazi uniforms, medals, and paraphernalia. Why? Were these people celebrating Nazi Germany????????? Why do people collect Nazi memorabilia and dress up in Nazi clothing? Here were some of the responses from those I asked at the show. “We want to remember and learn from the mistakes of history.” Learning from our mistakes is, after all, an essential part of strategizing for our future; history does repeat itself. “Because the government made it illegal to keep Nazi memorabilia, which made the memorabilia far more interesting” (that does make a point against Prohibition and other policies, that make “forbidden fruit” more enticing). One of the more playful responses about dressing up in Nazi clothing for history lessons at schools, etc., was also that girls are drawn to “bad boys.” Well, that theory does not hold true with this girl who likes and promotes the genuine, good guys.
The small replica, hand-painted toy soldiers that carried life-like equipment clearly showed the evolution of warfare and technology in one brief overview. The shelves held everything from replica planes the military once flew to the communications equipment G.I Joe carried in the theater and how it evolved over the past century. Soldiers’ uniforms from around the world were displayed, real war time bazookas were available for purchase, and motorbikes with machine guns could be viewed.
So I learnt much about human nature and war throughout the day. No matter your philosophy on guns, weapons, and war, a walk through history is essential for the next level of understanding on the complex creatures called “humans.” Walk with compassion in your heart, and please remind yourself that everyone is someone’s Mum, Dad, sister, or brother and treat them with reverence accordingly. Protect innocent victims of those who feel that the bond of brotherhood of man is purely conditional on religion, race, or creed. Tolerance needs to be unconditional and peace achieved through strength which is essentially the Bush Doctrine that people completely misunderstand and misrepresent. End TOLERATION Toleration is the best religion. - Victor Hugo |
