If we just give the kids guns we will all be safe!

“Put him on his face and put a knee in his back,” a Border Patrol agent explained.

“I guarantee that he’ll shut up.”

Above is a quote from a Boarder Patrol agent who was teaching 14 year old kids how to track and apprehend potential illegal boarder crossers as part of The Explorers program, a coeducational affiliate of the Boy Scouts of America. This program's goal is to train young people in skills used to confront terrorism, illegal immigration and escalating border violence including the use of guns, poisonous gas, and intimidation. All under the guise that they are teaching kids discipline and preparing them for future jobs in our post 9/11 world. They are even supposed to learn how to apprehend and deal with terrorists (who in the article below are described as often wearing traditional Arab dress). The kids are subject to all kinds of forms of violence that they are then supposed to be able to deal with.

While I agree that sometimes it can be very empowering for teenagers to be trained in skills that are applicable to future job prospects, this program really gives me the chills. They are not only exposing children to a lot of violence, but they are actually training them to be violent. The kids are told that they are not supposed to use these skills outside of the training environment, but if I know teenagers at all, the chance that they will not try to apply these skills in their daily life or even attempt some sort of actual apprehension of boarder crossers or potential terrorists is ridiculous. Additionally, they are only supposed to take kids from 14-21, but then admitted in the article that sometimes they take younger kids, which they say just means 13 and a half, but you know that when they are not being interviewed by the NYT they probably take kids even younger then that. Finally, they dress up the theoretical terrorists in their drills in traditional Arab garb? Seriously? Cause what we need to do is teach our kids how to be violent and then build in a good amount of stereotyping too. Oh and then hope that they will be the ones who "protect" us from all that is evil in the world in the future. WTF????

NYT Article