No One Whittles Anymore

CDNBear

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Sep 24, 2006
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Everyone had a jack knife. When we weren't making whistles from the willow branches along the river, we were whittling strips from sticks we would pick up in the vacant lots. It was great fun - high culture for us prairie boys. But, sadly, no one whittles anymore.

Why? Maybe it's immigration? Them furners never whittled.
For starters, schools have banned pocket knives. Some cops treat them like concealed weapons, and finally, soccer moms worry the bubble wrap babies will get a boo boo.

Now people whittle with chainsaws:
One of my closest friends and hunting buddies does that for a living. We sometimes collaborate on projects, I provide the iron work.
 

SLM

The Velvet Hammer
Mar 5, 2011
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It would be nice if children were taught more about safe handling of everyday items, such as knives, that are also very useful tools. You know, instead of this 'prohibit everything' mindset that is so prevalent today.

Besides which that one kid with the eye patch served a role as a valuable lesson to the rest of us kids. :D
 

CDNBear

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Sep 24, 2006
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It would be nice if children were taught more about safe handling of everyday items, such as knives, that are also very useful tools. You know, instead of this 'prohibit everything' mindset that is so prevalent today.
My kids carry pocket knives, have hunting knives, and have been proficient with firearms, weapons and weapons safety since they were strong enough to lift them, respectively.

But I hate bubble wrap, and believe said tools serve a purpose in society.

Besides which that one kid with the eye patch served a role as a valuable lesson to the rest of us kids. :D
And lawn darts weeded out the poor genes.
 

SLM

The Velvet Hammer
Mar 5, 2011
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My kids carry pocket knives, have hunting knives, and have been proficient with firearms, weapons and weapons safety since they were strong enough to lift them, respectively.

But I hate bubble wrap, and believe said tools serve a purpose in society.

Of course they serve a purpose, a knife of all things, even if one doesn't hunt and fish. It should be a parents responsibility, Even just basic kitchen handling of knives is freaking scary to sometimes watch a kid who is helping out in the kitchen for the first time when they don't really know how to hold it and use it properly. 8O

And lawn darts weeded out the poor genes.
Darwin is having a difficult time handing out awards these days, thank you so much overprotective parents and medical science. :D
 

Tecumsehsbones

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Mar 18, 2013
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It would be nice if children were taught more about safe handling of everyday items, such as knives, that are also very useful tools. You know, instead of this 'prohibit everything' mindset that is so prevalent today.

Besides which that one kid with the eye patch served a role as a valuable lesson to the rest of us kids. :D
Kids today need stronger lessons to get through to them. Columbine, Red Lake, Sandy Hook, that sort of thing.
 

spaminator

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Oct 26, 2009
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Tecumsehsbones

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And once again, learn to using a paring knife=jumping off a cliff. :roll:
In a world of hysterical overreaction to everything, it's our sacred duty to teach kids to overreact hysterically.

Not that it's real difficult. The battle cry of the North American teenager is "My life is RUINED!"
 

SLM

The Velvet Hammer
Mar 5, 2011
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In a world of hysterical overreaction to everything, it's our sacred duty to teach kids to overreact hysterically.

Not that it's real difficult. The battle cry of the North American teenager is "My life is RUINED!"

I remember when hysterical meant funny.

Whatever, have at it, my eyes could use the good workout they'll get from all the rolling back and forth.

That has more to do with mental illness and how society ignores it, than children being raised with a healthy respect and skills to handle weapons.

Have people always been this collectively blind? I mean, sure a knife or a gun can harm someone, no doubt. So can a dog. So can a car. We give all this supposed attention to safety, which I guess now a days means prohibit and ban just about everything, but we only give the faintest lip service to how we expect kids to behave and treat one another. And then it blows up, often quite literally in someplace like the school library or cafeteria and everybody goes "Wow, how did this happen?"
 

CDNBear

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Sep 24, 2006
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Have people always been this collectively blind? I mean, sure a knife or a gun can harm someone, no doubt. So can a dog. So can a car. We give all this supposed attention to safety, which I guess now a days means prohibit and ban just about everything, but we only give the faintest lip service to how we expect kids to behave and treat one another. And then it blows up, often quite literally in someplace like the school library or cafeteria and everybody goes "Wow, how did this happen?"
Easy solutions, rarely are the right ones.
 

Tecumsehsbones

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Mar 18, 2013
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I remember when hysterical meant funny.
It still does. But the other, and predecessor, meaning is "excessively excited or irrational." It comes from the root word meaning "uterus." So the etymological meaning of "hysterical" would be "acting like a woman."

It wasn't a compliment.

Whatever, have at it, my eyes could use the good workout they'll get from all the rolling back and forth.
It's good that you're taking care of your ocular health. You'd miss 'em if they were gone.

Have people always been this collectively blind?
I can't think of a time or place when they weren't.

I mean, sure a knife or a gun can harm someone, no doubt. So can a dog. So can a car. We give all this supposed attention to safety, which I guess now a days means prohibit and ban just about everything, but we only give the faintest lip service to how we expect kids to behave and treat one another. And then it blows up, often quite literally in someplace like the school library or cafeteria and everybody goes "Wow, how did this happen?"
Lawmakers react to whoever's shrieking loudest at the moment. It's how they get re-elected. And since the person shrieking loudest is highly unlikely to be rational, and the sane people are mostly too busy to engage in the thankless task of trying to talk sense to cowards and crazy people, shrieking wins the day.

Yay, democracy.
 

Spade

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Nov 18, 2008
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I wonder if aliens are learning to whittle on cattle? Don't they know driftwood is so less messy. But, go figure, they're aliens.