Tuesday, September 29, 2015
The Secret Lives of Parents
In the wake of the 1967 riots in Detroit, my dad and some of his friends made a series of ads in an effort to discourage people from arming themselves. Jennifer Plansker (pictured in this ad as the little girl), dug up one that features my dad, along with her mom and brother, Jeff.
In this post-Heller world in which arming ourselves to combat perceived threats is considered by some to be a civic duty, this effort may seem odd. At the time they made this ad, though, many Americans still thought that more guns did not equal safety. (That was then and is now true, of course, but it is not a very popular truth these days).
There is something thrilling to know that my dad and his friends used their talents (they were in advertising, after all, back in the Mad Men days) to address a serious social issue. I love the image of them working up the ideas, and then making it happen.
It didn't work, of course. Gun violence in Detroit increased and today it is horrific. The presence of guns in so many homes has only accelerated, not solved, that problem.
Still, they tried. And that is more than most people did, or do.
Comments:
Marian Starrett: Guns aren't going to be my boy's life!
Joey: Why do you always have to spoil everything?
Shane: A gun is a tool, Marian; no better or no worse than any other tool: an axe, a shovel or anything. A gun is as good or as bad as the man using it. Remember that.
Marian Starrett: We'd all be much better off if there wasn't a single gun left in this valley - including yours.
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Shane: I gotta be going on.
Joey: Why, Shane?
Shane: A man has to be what he is, Joey. Can't break the mould. I tried it and it didn't work for me.
Joey: We want you, Shane.
Shane: Joey, there's no living with... with a killing. There's no going back from one. Right or wrong, it's a brand. A brand sticks. There's no going back. Now you run on home to your mother, and tell her... tell her everything's all right. And there aren't any more guns in the valley.
Joey: Shane...
[Joey notices that Shane is wounded]
Joey: It's bloody! You're hurt!
Shane: [Shane starts to stroke Joey's hair ] I'm all right, Joey. You go home to your mother and father and grow up to be strong and straight. And, Joey... take care of them, both of them.
Joey: Yes, Shane.
[Shane rides off]
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Marian Starrett: Guns aren't going to be my boy's life!
Joey: Why do you always have to spoil everything?
Shane: A gun is a tool, Marian; no better or no worse than any other tool: an axe, a shovel or anything. A gun is as good or as bad as the man using it. Remember that.
Marian Starrett: We'd all be much better off if there wasn't a single gun left in this valley - including yours.
-----------------
Shane: I gotta be going on.
Joey: Why, Shane?
Shane: A man has to be what he is, Joey. Can't break the mould. I tried it and it didn't work for me.
Joey: We want you, Shane.
Shane: Joey, there's no living with... with a killing. There's no going back from one. Right or wrong, it's a brand. A brand sticks. There's no going back. Now you run on home to your mother, and tell her... tell her everything's all right. And there aren't any more guns in the valley.
Joey: Shane...
[Joey notices that Shane is wounded]
Joey: It's bloody! You're hurt!
Shane: [Shane starts to stroke Joey's hair ] I'm all right, Joey. You go home to your mother and father and grow up to be strong and straight. And, Joey... take care of them, both of them.
Joey: Yes, Shane.
[Shane rides off]
IPLG-- I know! It's kind of shocking.
WF-- I am so bad with movies… this must be another one I haven't seen. Sigh. Though I am pledged to watch "Cool Hand Luke" sometime in the next month.
WF-- I am so bad with movies… this must be another one I haven't seen. Sigh. Though I am pledged to watch "Cool Hand Luke" sometime in the next month.
Wait, wait wait!!!!!!... you're a criminal law expert, a leading light on sentencing reform and you've NEVER SEEN COOL HAND LUKE?!?!?!?! The greatest prison movie of all time?
This Sir, is an outrage!!
(An egg eating contest would have been something that happened in Waco, but not Edina, BTW)
Not having seen the movie Shane, or even understand the cultural reference is also cause for concern. Clearly we need to use our ski trip time more effectively.
This Sir, is an outrage!!
(An egg eating contest would have been something that happened in Waco, but not Edina, BTW)
Not having seen the movie Shane, or even understand the cultural reference is also cause for concern. Clearly we need to use our ski trip time more effectively.
Captain, Road Prison 36: You gonna get used to wearin' them chains afer a while, Luke. Don't you never stop listenin' to them clinking. 'Cause they gonna remind you of what I been saying. For your own good.
Luke: Wish you'd stop bein' so good to me, cap'n.
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Luke: Wish you'd stop bein' so good to me, cap'n.
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