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Showing posts from October, 2015

It Doesn't Matter...

My childhood was somewhat unique. Born in Iran during a vicious war with Iraq, guns and bombs were a daily reality.  My friends all ran around with toy guns, toy rifles, army shorts and hats, make-believe bombs and grenades and RPGs.  A number of older kids ran around with actual pistols. Before long I found myself in Texas, where part of my family lived.  Texas is a gun state; guns are wholly ingrained in the culture, in a way I've found rare even in the US, as guns are a part of daily life in a way which hasn't altered all that much since settlement of the country.  Kids in my class ran around with toy guns, toy rifles, cowboy chaps and hats, make-believe horses and shoot-outs and outlaws and sheriffs.  A number of older kids ran around with actual rifles. Throughout my childhood I begged for a toy gun.  Yet, no matter the intensity of my pleas, the fervour of my demands, the sincerity of my begging, my parents refused to allow me to own any toy guns or rifles.