You know... I chuckled too when I first read the story because it's certainly fodder for many jokes. After thinking about it for awhile, though, I started to see it as kinda sad. Not necessarily sad because this specific kid mutilated himself, but sad because it represents a void in many kids' upbringing.
I, like most of you, learned about guns at an early age. I have a lot of good memories of sitting with my Dad when I was very young as he cleaned his gun after a day of shooting. You know how kids are... "What's that?", "What's that for?", "Why do you do that?" These questions I would ask over and over but Dad always answered them patiently. As I got older, the lessons continued with talks about gun safety and ethical hunting. Because Dad was also a Veteran, he told stories about the guns he used in the service and what it means for Americans to have the freedom to keep and bear arms. I understood the manual of arms for my Dad's guns before I was able to ride a bike. The safe and disciplined handling of firearms... it was just a normal part of my upbringing.
I'm sad because too many kids today don't have a chance to learn the lessons we did. They don't have a Dad or Grandpa that can teach them how to handle a gun safely. Sure, we have the NRA and other hunter outreach groups offering kid's camps and such but there are still far too many young boys and girls growing up without learning the lessons that so enthralled me when I listened to my Dad.
This kid just needed a Dad like mine.
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