Letters To The Editor
Westfield Evening News
September 28, 2006
To The Editor,
We are writing to express our shock and
outrage at a picture published in the August 2nd edition of The
Westfield Evening News. The picture was one of several capturing
the activities at the Annual Night Out Against Crime event held the
night before. An eight year old local girl, smiling and with kitty cat
whiskers painted on her checks was aiming an M4 carbine machine gun
with the help of an officer from the Barnes 104th Fighter Wing Security
Force.”
There is absolutely no moral justification for
encouraging young children to handle such weapons. This picture was
disturbing to a number of people that we heard from and we were
surprised that there was no written reaction before this. At our most
recent meeting we all agreed that a response was overdue.
We are asking that any local group that is planning
a community event think carefully before inviting or accepting military
participation. Community events such as the Night Out Against Crime
have nothing to do with the military, let alone children handling
weapons of war. Yes, the 104th is an important part of our community,
but that doesn’t mean that every community event should be offered to
them as a public relations or recruitment opportunity.
Separately, we are expressing our concerns directly
to the 104th Security Force and we are asking that they review their
policies or guidelines for participation in community events and the
presentation of weapons to children. We recognize that there is no
practical way to shield children from the reality of warfare in the
world we live in, but we believe very strongly, once again, that there
is no moral defense for putting the implements of warfare into their
hands before they have even developed a concept of killing and
death that those weapons are made for.
Sincerely,
Members of The Waronoke Peace Action Group