Teaching Fascism To Kids -- The Rise Of The Blue-Shirts »

Posted By jaspersneed 5 months, 4 weeks ago in News

IMPERIAL, Calif. — Ten minutes into arrant mayhem in this town near the Mexican border, and the gunman, a disgruntled Iraq war veteran, has already taken out two people, one slumped in his desk, the other covered in blood on the floor.

The responding officers — eight teenage boys and girls, the youngest 14 — face tripwire, a thin cloud of poisonous gas and loud shots — BAM! BAM! — fired from behind a flimsy wall. They move quickly, pellet guns drawn and masks affixed.

“United States Border Patrol! Put your hands up!” screams one in a voice cracking with adolescent determination as the suspect is subdued.

It is all quite a step up from the square knot.

Read Full Story at nytimes.com »

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jaspersneed

Born and raised in New Jersey,
Living in California,
Final resting place yet to be determined

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  • 89%
    jaspersneed5 months, 4 weeks ago

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    This is where we are now headed -- straight back to 1930's Germany. Creating obedient and unquestioning servants to the State is much easier if you can get 'em while they're young. Every government knows that.

    I'd be interested to know what Obama would say if this bit of news were brought to his attention and he was directly asked his thoughts on the matter.

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  • 88%
    tadair9195 months, 4 weeks ago

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    teenage boys being taught to propegate a police-state.

    fantastic.

    “I like shooting them,” Cathy said. “I like the sound they make. It gets me excited.”

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  • 33%
    jimdoze5 months, 4 weeks ago

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    Better that the kids should be vegetating in front of a video game or hanging out on a street corner, right?

    Next up on the NY Times hit list... Pop Warner Football.
    No doubt the Times will find some Pop Warner coaches who have had trouble with sexual misconduct with kids. It's a big country, they're out there somewhere.
    Then they will offer up the notion of "excessive discipline" that football requires... picture what a coach would do if a pulling guard stopped in the middle of a play to ask the quarterback why he was supposed to block the defensive end.
    Then we'll be offered up the notion of the brutalization of our little cream puffs as the coach repeatedly practices the "sheer brutality" of a good hard tackle.

    Oh well... the Times needs to fill up space somehow. They're certainly not selling enough in the way of ads.

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  • 90%
    scott42615 months, 4 weeks ago

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    As someone who was a Boy Scout and who reached the rank of Eagle, this story offends me personally. Such "training" - if you can call it that - has no place in the scouts. Period.

    Explorers is supposed to be training for advanced life skills. IMO, this crosses the line. To be 18 and in the military is one thing, to be 14 and in these kind of exercises is quite another....

    God, this infuriates me!

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  • 83%
    Jaydee405 months, 4 weeks ago

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    They call it 1984 II, the next generation.

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    • 17%
      jonmaverick5 months, 4 weeks ago

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      “I like shooting them,” Cathy said. “I like the sound they make. It gets me excited.”
      -
      -
      Me too, Cathy. Me too.

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      • 14%
        jonmaverick5 months, 4 weeks ago

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        Thank you Boy Scouts of America. For being the only ones with balls enough to teach our children what to do when some scumbag points a gun at them. BAM!BAM! Was that a double-tap? Way to go Billy!
        -
        Mammas don't let your cowboys grow up to be babies.

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      • 89%
        NoWayMan5 months, 4 weeks ago

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        remember when all the obama haters said we should be scared of some inner city kids who were merely step dancing and singing a song praising obama? (they had no weapons)

        remember when the obama haters were trying to convince us that americorps funding would lead to armed teenaged armies roaming the streets? (totally ridiculous)

        are they okay with this?

        I'm all for proper firearms training. but this wannabe hero crap is going to get one of these kids killed.

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      • 25%
        KISA452a5 months, 3 weeks ago

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        A private organization doing things with kids according to parent's agreemnt vs gvt with Barry's plans. Sorry if you dont' see the difference...

        If you trust Barry, his plans are fine. If you odn't like him, you probably dont' like his plans. If you like/trust BSA or you like "personal choice", you probably don't disagree with this.

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      • 100%
        Radiofreeeuropa5 months, 3 weeks ago

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        Remember Hitler Youth?

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      • 0%
        Georgia505 months, 3 weeks ago

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        Why can't these kids do something more constructive like join a gang in Chicago or DC and do drive shootings? Then liberals can sit around and whine about how unfortunate they are and how their environment caused them to be violent.

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        • 100%
          Natureboy5 months, 3 weeks ago

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          The flip side -

          In Shiprock, Arizona, a Navaho res and one of the poorest areas in the nation, Gino Antonio is working with at-risk teens.

          Gino takes the youths, and they go out to the hogans of elders who are having troubles taking care of themselves. The young folks replace the broken windows, fix the cracks in the walls, and generally take care of the deferred maintenance for the elders during that day. In the evening, the elders repay them by teaching them Navaho traditions and lore, much of which would arguably be lost without a program such as this.

          Thus, the cultural knowledge is preserved, the gulf between young and olds is mended, the young people gain a sense of identity and self-worth.

          As contrary as I am, and as much fun as it is to lambast and ridicule the follies of the fascists, I must confess that it is not the most productive use of one's energies. At the end of the day, one has only negated the negative, leaving nothing. Far better to find something good, and sane, and decent to do and just go forth and do it, as Gino does.

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          • 100%
            ForrestPhelps5 months, 3 weeks ago

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            I'm posting a repeat of an above post here, for informational purposes.

            My advice to anyone concerned about law enforcement Explorer posts is this: find one or two or three in your area,

            http://www.learningforlife.org/exploring/index.htm...
            (and they have a "Enter your zip code here" bit)

            Call one and ask to "check them out". Tell them you have a son/daughter/niece/grandchild interested and you wanted to learn more.

            ************

            I agree the article was a bit disturbing, but I'd need more information before I condemned an entire program that had its roots in Boy Scouting.

            Yes, there is a reason the BSA separated itself from Explorer posts run by Law Enforcement (and Fire Departments), but when it occurred (and I was, at the time, an Explorer Post Advisor), it was more along the lines of separating out "career oriented" groups since the BSA wanted a less restrictive co-ed program - ie, one not tied to specific careers. There was also the whole "God" issue, since by law, a Police Department sponsoring a youth group can't legally require a belief in "God" as a central tenet of their group, and the BSA still wants the ability to do that.

            Please, anyone who has any further questions or concerns, feel free to send me a private message and I'll do what I can. I'm not an official BSA spokesperson, but I'm very much involved with them and I can direct any questions or concerns to someone who could help.

            Thanks.

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            • 100%
              ameliog5 months, 3 weeks ago

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              Good Germans. teach 'em while they're young that a gun will take care of your problems.

              paramilitary adolescents - this country is off the path. :(

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              • Neutral
                jordan115 months, 3 weeks ago

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                Oh no, no, no. This is not acceptable!

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