Gippeto wrote:
Firearm safety is not a joke, nor is it a subject of humor. I don't understand the "lol" and the smiley.
![Confused :?](./images/smilies/icon_e_confused.png)
Is it simply immaturity?? Trying to be "cool"??
I think that you're taking the matter entirely too lightly, and it would be best if you either START taking it VERY seriously, or take up another hobby.
Before someone (likely yourself) gets hurt.
My .02
I laughed when I saw the video; I simply find stupidity amusing. Maturity be damned.
Especially after the guy off camera tells him not to look down the barrel. stupid is as stupid does.
And remember, Gippeto, sometimes accidents happen when you are following all the safety precautions anyways. When you are launching projectiles out of any device, the potential for grievous bodily harm or death is always present. Precautions are only there to help minimize that risk.
When I was building my stirrup pump, my dremel tool's grinding stone got chipped, the tool slipped in my hand, and my hand got cut. I laughed afterwords, mostly because It was only a minor injury; Laughter is a natural human response to release stress after any traumatic situation. It's a proven scientific fact.
If people couldn't laugh at the occasional tragedy, humanity would probably still be living in caves banging rocks together. We can't progress without risk, and we cant take risks without being able to find the humor in the perils involved with that risk. Sure, you may say it's immature, but honestly, maybe you're taking it too seriously. After all, you weren't there to wag your finger at the kid and say, "No, no, don't do that... You'll shoot your eye out!" Maybe he'd be better off if you were, but you weren't, so all a person can do is either laugh at their stupidity or sigh in disbelief.
Honestly, did the people involved at Trinity give much thought to safety when they developed the a-bomb? You might think so, but knowing what we know nowadays about nuclear fission, they did some pretty stupid things to make Fat Man and Little Boy a reality.
All that aside, I agree that firearms safety is a big deal, but we can't control who gets involved with a firearm, or if they're competent enough to handle them. People can be absent minded, and accidents happen. Sometimes it's unavoidable, but almost always preventable.
It's not a matter of maturity, it's all in the perception of the individual.
All this assumes Gun Freak has learned his lesson regarding pneumatics. If you have to block the barrel from now on, use a barrel plug or something other than your finger. Common sense, man.