This little gem is of my neighbors Mike (with the gun) and Billy. They were our neighbors at Subic Bay Naval Base in The Philippines. My guess is that I took the picture sometime in 1979.
I have a whole series of these pictures of us doing action poses with the gun. Our friend Jimmy and Billy’s brother Chris were also involved.
Mike’s shirt, you’ll notice, reads, “Iran is a four letter word.” No doubt it’s back in style in certain circles. He also had one with a nuclear explosion that said, “Made in America. Tested in Japan. Use it in Iran.”
Everyone, including me, wanted those shirts back then even though we didn’t have a clue what Iran was all about or why eight-year-olds should be wearing shirts advocating mass death for an entire nation.
Fortunately, my parents had the good sense to not let me have one.
I wonder if we’ll soon be seeing such shirts adorning today’s youngsters.
James Brush is a teacher and writer who lives in Austin, TX. He tries to get outside as much as possible.
Wow. The we’re-gonna-get-you mentality has been in place for a long time. Well before this administration. Glad those shirts never showed up in any of my hand-me-down bags of clothes while growing up. Or now, for that matter.
I have been seeing similar shirts of late. I am not sure whether I should be troubled by them or not.