Social Programming - Why Are Guns Toys For Children?

I was just about to start my laundry when I was overwhelmed by a question. Why are guns toys for children?

Sometimes this happens - Where I’ll be “swallowed up” by a question running in my mind. I think of a question, and then I explore all perspectives around said question. I go up and down, all around the question to explore the depths of why this thing exists. Whether it be a concept, a dynamic, a standard… Anything. I question everything. I wish all the time that I could write these questions down and pick them apart on paper, or the computer, but sometimes when these questions arise, I’m not within proximity of a handy-dandy notebook, and other times I’m limited in my capacity to get these things out.

Sometimes the questions come and go quickly, other times they spin around my ol noggin for hours. Sometimes they are hard-hitting and intensely thought-provoking. Sometimes they are lukewarm at best. I’m not sure what category this question falls under, but I think it’s pretty general, and worth exploring on a collective level. That’s why I’m sharing.

Anywho, today’s question came after seeing a post online. I saw a post where a woman shared her experience with her son’s school. They had to “confiscate a weapon” from her kindergarten son. Come to find out, it was a teeny tiny assault rifle toy. About the size of an adult finger. It was written with a comedic perspective, but it left me wondering why we do this. Why do we give our children toy guns to play with? When did this start, and what message does this send? Why mainly boys? And why is no one questioning this?

For as long as I can remember, boys have played with guns. It’s their “thing.” Some girls I’m sure are into it, but from a statistical perspective, boys are statistically more drawn to toy guns. 76% of the time, to be exact. That’s “strikingly” close to the 82% of men who sign up for the military, and in the military, 75% of the time, assault rifles are used. Hold that thought.

Did you know that from the late 1800s onward, toy manufacturers built toy guns based on military firearms? Manufacturers often created simplified or colorful versions for children, but the design inspiration came directly from military weapons. Did you also know that the military works with Hollywood all the time on movies? Granting them access to bases, using real equipment, and giving them permission to use “certain symbols?” Then toy companies license the imagery and create products such as action figures with military-style gear, toy rifles modeled after on-screen weapons, and accessories that mirror real-life tactical equipment. Some toys are even labeled with U.S. Army logos and Navy SEAL branding.. How interesting! That’s quite the connection between military, media, and toys.

I’m sure you can pick up where my mind went with this one. Back to the thought. Are these toys being given to our children as a precursor to shaping their future to (hopefully) become military personnel?

Second Thought - Let’s go deeper.

Let’s play pretend here… All imaginary play. It’s only fitting because we’re talking about toys here.

Let’s imagine a world where a government strategically places toys in the hands of children as a way to intentionally manipulate their minds. Just for pretend, let’s imagine these people running our government have some of the smartest, brightest, and most creative researchers at their fingertips. Imagine these researchers understand the human mind and the subconscious.

Do you think they would understand that the most influential time in a person’s brain development happens from birth to age seven? Do you think they would understand that between birth and age two builds the foundation (emotional wiring, safety, attachment), and between ages three to seven, beliefs are being shaped, personality patterns are being developed, as well as the shaping of their identity? So if a little boy was playing with his favorite gun, or playing his favorite video game where guns are being used to kill people, what kind of wiring does that create?

I know this topic has been beaten to death already, but it deserves to be investigated further. Little girls are given babies, kitchen sets, and cleaning objects, while boys are given guns. Come on now. Those two things alone are HUGE elephants in the room. Why do we still play into this if we understand people are intentionally using subliminal messages to program our kids?

I’m not saying every boy who has a gun as a toy as a child ends up going into the military or killing people, but it’s the thought of it alone. Why are we teaching our children to play with guns? Do we not understand the purpose of these objects and the incredible harm they do to us every day? I’m not anti-gun, but I am anti-mind-fuckery, and this is mind fuckery if I’ve ever seen it.

Third Thought - Going deeper.

When we have a favorite toy that we play with over and over again throughout our childhood, it isn’t so much about the toy. It’s about what the toy offers us emotionally. As kids, we are one big ball of emotions and very little, if any, executive functioning.

Typically, when we play as children, all sorts of chemicals are going off at the same time, and as kids, we don’t always know the difference between the real happy chemicals like oxytocin and the bad happy chemicals like adrenaline (I know adrenaline isn’t always bad - I’m talking about adrenaline connected to fight or flight response and/or fear). This may be far-fetched to some of you, but that’s the point of going deeper.

The brain strengthens the circuits that are used most often, so if a child repeatedly plays with a toy gun, it builds neural pathways around action–reaction play, targeting, aiming, planning movements, storylines involving danger or heroism, power dynamics, and fight/flight situations such as murdering an animal or human. Some of these things aren’t inherently “bad.” Some of them could be beneficial. Others, extremely detrimental.

As we talked about emotions, this could also hardwire the child to become a savior or hero (we all know how that story goes into adulthood), to seek out environments where they can attain control (we also know how that goes), and in extreme cases, seek out the actual act. If not illegally, then they can legally carry it out by joining the military. Killing innocent people for target practice is socially accepted then. The early wiring could also build the nervous system to constantly reach for action-reaction situations, and because we are human and our bodies are constantly seeking out more of those wonderful chemicals, each time we have an action-reaction situation, the hype becomes less and less until we do something bigger and bolder. Especially if you are wired for fight or flight.

Again, I know this is extreme, and not the case with all people, but at the end of the day, do we need guns as toys? Do we need social programming to tell us what toys to give to our kids? Are we accepting these things just to fit into the standard of our society? Is there something we need to prove by giving our children what all the other kids are playing with? At what point do we ask if this is actually healthy, and what we gain by doing it.

If you need any more clarification, just peruse the cover photo of this blog. Do you see any other subliminal messaging here? How does it make you feel? These are both children holding guns. Maybe we should talk about the cultural standards around them, shall we? Maybe another day.

I’m not here to tell anyone what to do or not to do, other than think deeper. Ask questions. See where your heart sits around a subject outside of the “oh, it’s just for fun!” or “they’re just kids” comments. There are real issues affecting real people’s lives around this topic, and I do think those people deserve us to look a little deeper into the social programming around guns, and if the production of toy guns is supporting a safer world for our children, or creating an illusion of what safety truly looks and feels like.