"The Toy That Kills" article - 1950

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Luke_of_Mass
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Re: "The Toy That Kills" article - 1950

Post by Luke_of_Mass »

Ends don't justify the means, a war crime is a war crime, no matter the motive. Geneva convention doesn't have a provision that allows for atomic/nuclear warfare or attack on civilians to prevent additional violence. Gotta call a spade a spade. War crime, literally in the letter of the law.
Knee-deep in the hoopla...
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HLangston
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Re: "The Toy That Kills" article - 1950

Post by HLangston »

What an alarmist article! I laughed while reading it. Even back then, we had self-righteous Karen's who had to dictate their ridiculous rules to the Nation.

I was one of those "thoughtless youngsters" who carried a switchblade. I was 13 years old in 1969 when I saw it in a cutlery store in Milan, Italy.

MY MOM BOUGHT IT FOR ME!

I still have it. It's been a struggle, but I've managed not to stab anybody with that dangerous toy.
Herb
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HLangston
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Re: "The Toy That Kills" article - 1950

Post by HLangston »

button_man wrote: Mon Dec 28, 2020 1:37 pm If a kid saved his Xmas and birthday money, and got an allowance (or was paid for doing chores), plus picking up soda and beer bottles for the deposit, and maybe did a little horse-trading of baseball cards and other kid stuff..... yeah, I can see a kid coming up with $8 over six months or so.... a kid who really has his heart set on that very special pig-sticker will find a way to scrape together the necessary cash....
Before I got my first switchblade, I bought a 9" Italian manual opener at a pawn shop in 1966 when I was 10 years old. It cost me $4.50.

My parents weren't rich, but I got $1.00/week for allowance, and I could earn more doing chores around the house.

I was an artist (still am) and when I was 12, I was earning money by pinstriping cars and motorcycle. That's how I paid for my first Rizzuto.
Herb
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Peiper
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Re: "The Toy That Kills" article - 1950

Post by Peiper »

Thanks for your interesting thoughts and replies. As I said, it is interesting and a good addition to my switchblade collection.
I am posting one of the ads from the magazine. I thought you guys might need a good laugh. Take care.
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whippersnapper
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Re: "The Toy That Kills" article - 1950

Post by whippersnapper »

Lol, my wife and I worked for Frigidaire for a long time. Until they decided to move most of the production to Mexico and just about killed our small town.
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Peiper
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Re: "The Toy That Kills" article - 1950

Post by Peiper »

LOL, I am doing good if my girlfriend can cook a "TV diner" in the microwave without burning it.
button_man
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Re: "The Toy That Kills" article - 1950

Post by button_man »

Chris51P wrote: Mon Dec 28, 2020 5:06 pm You left out selling shirt hangers back to the cleaners. We recycled before it was cool.


My folks grew up in families of very modest means, during the Great Depression. They tended to save things like baling twine (my dad grew up on a farm); scraps of lumber; wire; and cardboard boxes.... such things were used frequently around the home, and the mindset of "resources are scarce; don't waste anything" was imprinted on them from an early age. Thus, wire hangers were always saved. We lived in a rural area and had stuff cleaned at a cleaner's maybe a couple times a year; everything else was washed at home. Supply was therefore limited and there were always uses for hangers -- everything from probing a clogged drain to wiring up the mower assembly under the lawn tractor. Believe me, people who grew up in the 1930s were extremely familiar with the concept of recycling.....
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Chris51P
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Re: "The Toy That Kills" article - 1950

Post by Chris51P »

button_man wrote: Sat Jan 23, 2021 2:38 pm
Chris51P wrote: Mon Dec 28, 2020 5:06 pm You left out selling shirt hangers back to the cleaners. We recycled before it was cool.


My folks grew up in families of very modest means, during the Great Depression. They tended to save things like baling twine (my dad grew up on a farm); scraps of lumber; wire; and cardboard boxes.... such things were used frequently around the home, and the mindset of "resources are scarce; don't waste anything" was imprinted on them from an early age. Thus, wire hangers were always saved. We lived in a rural area and had stuff cleaned at a cleaner's maybe a couple times a year; everything else was washed at home. Supply was therefore limited and there were always uses for hangers -- everything from probing a clogged drain to wiring up the mower assembly under the lawn tractor. Believe me, people who grew up in the 1930s were extremely familiar with the concept of recycling.....
Amen button_man. I'd say with no reservation that many if not most baby boomers grew up learning how to make the most of any situation. Especially on how to earn some extra walking around money.
Dave. B
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Re: "The Toy That Kills" article - 1950

Post by Dave. B »

I see the times haven't changed all that much with political hacks creating a "crisis" to ban an object some suburban busybody of a housewife didn't like.
In 1958 it was auto knives, now it is firearms.What the hell ever happened to the Land of the Free? Now we're the land of the freebie.
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jim d,
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Re: "The Toy That Kills" article - 1950

Post by jim d, »

Amen from me as well button_man. My parents lived through the depression and I'm a "boomer". As a kid growing up it was natural (at least it was for me) to focus on the things I didn't have, like switchblades. One big thing I did have but didn't really appreciate at the time was loving parents who instilled in me what is now disdainfully called by some as "traditional values", including resourcefulness.

Jim
button_man
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Re: "The Toy That Kills" article - 1950

Post by button_man »

When I was a young adult, it was easy (as it always is, for the young) to pick apart and sneer at the mundane, boring, old-fashioned values and practices that were prevalent at that time. As a kid, you don't really appreciate concepts like tradition, stability, community, and respect. And now, such nebulous ideals are under fierce and constant attack. Screaming mobs burn courthouses and police cars while smiling mayors and governors nod their approval; meanwhile, the media maintain a relentless drumbeat of propaganda informing us that the USA is inherently flawed and evil. It all sickens me. What I'm ashamed of right now is not "systemic" anything; but rather the spineless passivity of our elected officials who should be standing up to this cancer, but are instead meekly remaining quiet.

Yes, there were overblown campaigns in the 1950s against switchblade knives, horror-themed comic books, and "reefer madness". But behind it all was a sincere attempt to make our country a better and safer place.... an attempt made by folks who had just been through a terrible war that made clear the hideous effects of authoritarianism. It's a national tragedy that the sacrifice made by millions is now spat upon by their "woke" great-grandchildren, who caper with glee at the thought of destroying our courthouses, libraries, and other bedrock repositories of our culture.

All too easy to ridicule the over-wrought campaigns against switchblades and other boogeymen of the 1950s.... but those boring 1950s suburbs also gave us decent, clean, safe places in which to raise families. Even during the tumultuous period of the mid-60s through mid-70s, the authorities tried to maintain a baseline of law and order. But now, socialists and other fellow-travelers in high places are actively working toward the destruction of all that we once held dear; and when I look at magazines from my childhood, it seems that we have lost a lot more than we have gained.

How ironic that Senator Joseph McCarthy was not actually wrong...... he was just early.
sammy the blade
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Re: "The Toy That Kills" article - 1950

Post by sammy the blade »

I'm afraid that it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better, if it ever does.
2024 candidate for president
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TRYKER
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Re: "The Toy That Kills" article - 1950

Post by TRYKER »

i think a lot of the blame should be put on the teachers. maybe this no schools thing could help the youngins get back on track to a better AMERICA
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Fishtail Picklock
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Re: "The Toy That Kills" article - 1950

Post by Fishtail Picklock »

TRYKER wrote: Sun Jan 24, 2021 2:58 pm i think a lot of the blame should be put on the teachers. maybe this no schools thing could help the youngins get back on track to a better AMERICA
If they're not being fed a lot of the Leftist crapola, it very well may.
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Billyfish
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Re: "The Toy That Kills" article - 1950

Post by Billyfish »

It's not teaching anymore mates, it's 'grooming'.
Orwell warned us...
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