Thanks, Win. When my children were young I would not allow our son to accompany Hubby and some of his mates to go 'roo shooting on the weekend. 'Roo shooting involved standing in the back of a ute equipped with a spotlight while it bumped along over some farmers paddocks looking for kangaroos to stand still looking at the light.
When they spotted a mob they would open fire and afterwards they would dispatch any survivors with an axe handle.
I had several objections to this. One, they reckoned it would make a man of my little boy who would have been shattered by the brutality. Two, I didn't think bouncing around a paddock in the dark, with loaded guns at the ready, was very safe at all and three, the whole idea of the weekend was to drink lots of beer. You don't need to have a mensa IQ to think that this could be an accident waiting to happen.
The men thought I was most unreasonable for coddling our son but I put my foot down. Hubby went alone. He only went once.
This was long before Port Arthur. It worried me after this when that our son played with the sons of two or the men. Somewhere in each house was a shotgun and ammunition. One boy in particular was a bit wild and it was a worry each time they played together because I had no idea how secure the guns were or how safe the boys were.
The guns were legal because back then they didn't have to be licensed. When the stricter gun laws came in the men were incensed and reckoned they would bury their weapons in the back yard. I don't think they ever did.
I guess my point is that when sober these men were responsible enough, but when drunk that sense of responsibility falls away. Perhaps US beer is less intoxicating?
