KAREN I. writes:

I thought you might like to know that if their favorite toy of the moment is any indication, American boys have somehow successfully resisted the never-ending attempts to make them more feminine.

The hottest toys for boys this Christmas are Nerf guns. These are not little pistols, but big (sometimes huge), colorful guns that fire multiple soft Nerf bullets. According to their website, the number one best selling toy at WalMart.com is the Nerf Stampede ECS. At $39, the WalMart description boasts that the ECS can “unleash a storm of darts” and has a “tactical rail to deflect incoming fire while the pop-out bipod ensures blaster stability when a position is found they want to maintain.” Best of all, “your child is sure to dominate any battle he encounters.” The boys in my neighborhood can’t get enough of these Nerf guns. Many own several and boys with a big collection are envied by other boys. They can entertain themselves for hours with elaborate battles.

I tried to keep my son away from play guns when he was little, as I bought the politically correct idea that little boys should not play with guns at the time. By the time he was four, he was pretending a stick was a gun. This year, he will be getting the Nerf Stampede ECS for Christmas, along with every other boy on the block who doesn’t already have one, no doubt.

Laura writes:

It’s not everyday you find a $39 plastic gun with a “tactical rail to deflect incoming fire while the pop-out bipod ensures blaster stability when a position is found they want to maintain.” Sounds like a good deal.

— Comments —

Josh F. writes:

I have a little soldier too. Two actually… And two daughters.  I hope that they take pride and feel a sense of  duty in protecting their sisters and the General’s daughters. The  General will definitely see to it that they do. But the little soldier  did something stupid and I asked him if he was fixin’ to be cannon fodder? Of course, he didn’t know what I meant, but I certainly did.
Selling kids a growing cache of unrealistic “realistic” play guns is the stuff that can turn little wannabe soldiers into cannon fodder in  ambiguous and ill-defined wars for a self-annihilating “default  elite.” Sometimes I wonder if the “default elite” are gearing these young kids up with guns, war video games, spy stuff and the like so they’ll seek to be cannon fodder over there so as to
keep them from being soldiers right HERE. See, I don’t want my sons to think that the only soldiers are the ones fighting over there with  those big guns when we need another kind, a most important kind of  soldier, right here on the homefront.

Jenny writes:

My little boy loves Nerf guns. He’s five and has only two dart guns at the moment, but the neighbor boy who is almost 4 thinks the two guns are just the best. My husband and I were shopping at Target and happened upon a dart gun called the Berserker. It will be under the tree this year.

I have myself a little soldier. Two actually... And two daughters.  I  
so hope, like real soldiers, that they take pride and feel a sense of  
duty in protecting their sisters and the General's daughters. The  
General will definitely see to it that they do. But the little soldier  
did something stupid and I asked him if he was fixin' to be cannon  
fodder? Of course, he didn't know what I meant, but I certainly did.  
Selling kids a growing cache of unrealistic "realistic" play guns is  
the stuff that can turn little wannabe soldiers into cannon fodder in  
ambiguous and ill-defined wars for a self-annihilating "default  
elite." Sometimes I wonder if the "default elite"
are gearing these young kids up with guns, war video games, spy stuff  
and the like so they'll seek to be cannon fodder over there so as to  
keep them from being soldiers right HERE. See, I don't want my sons to  
think that the only soldiers are the ones fighting over there with  
those big guns when we need another kind, a most important kind of  
soldier, right here on the homefront.

I have myself a little soldier. Two actually... And two daughters.  I  
so hope, like real soldiers, that they take pride and feel a sense of  
duty in protecting their sisters and the General's daughters. The  
General will definitely see to it that they do. But the little soldier  
did something stupid and I asked him if he was fixin' to be cannon  
fodder? Of course, he didn't know what I meant, but I certainly did.  
Selling kids a growing cache of unrealistic "realistic" play guns is  
the stuff that can turn little wannabe soldiers into cannon fodder in  
ambiguous and ill-defined wars for a self-annihilating "default  
elite." Sometimes I wonder if the "default elite"
are gearing these young kids up with guns, war video games, spy stuff  
and the like so they'll seek to be cannon fodder over there so as to  
keep them from being soldiers right HERE. See, I don't want my sons to  
think that the only soldiers are the ones fighting over there with  
those big guns when we need another kind, a most important kind of  
soldier, right here on the homefront.

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