Re: Soothing angst part Deux

From: Jack Lee (milveh@dslextreme.com)
Date: Tue Feb 14 2006 - 08:57:16 PST


You wanna talk public awareness? In the Peoples Republik of Kalifornia,
ignominious home of Ubonics, where we have a 4th rate, third world education
system in K-12, kids often guessed my Ferret was probably from WWI and they
had no clear distinction between WWI and WWII. Fewer kids still, knew who
bombed Pearl Harbor. And the Normandy invasion...blank looks followed by,
huh? Or that's where the US invaded the country of Normandy. We are not
talking 5 year olds either, I'm talking junior high and high school. A 6th
grade kid in India probably knows more than our average high school
graduate!

Jack

----- Original Message -----
From: <
timothy.smith1@att.net>
To: "Military Vehicles Mailing List" <mil-veh@mil-veh.org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2006 8:10 AM
Subject: [MV] Soothing angst part Deux

> Well, I am aware that we history-minded types regularly assume that folks
> still
> recognize our vehicles for what they actually are, when in fact many folks
> now
> approach (by way of an example) a WWII US half-track and not only are they
> unable to identify it, they don't even know who's side it fought for! I
> know
> this sounds strange but it's true. Just spend a little time displaying
> your MV
> on the fringes, (unlike museums and living history events where the
> already
> history-minded tend to congregate) and you will hear young fathers proudly
> telling their young sons that what they're looking at is a (insert any
> incredibly stupid thing here). So, for the benefit of the uneducated or
> misinformed we curators of privately owned historical MVs have to start
> doing a
> better job when presenting our vehicles to the public. Otherwise, some
> numbskull is likely to lump us in with some of the kooky militia nut-jobs
> we
> read about in the news. And perception is reality, brother.
>
> The MVPA owes this kind of thing to the membership. We all know how to
> display
> our vehicles, but we often times just don't make the extra effort. I'm as
> guilty as the next guy but I also know that quality in displays doesn't
> necessarily equate to quantity. Displays can be economical or extreme but
> MV's
> MUST be viewed in context. If one goes to a museum, one already has an
> appreciation for history. But our privately owned vehicles are rarely
> displayed
> in that arena, making it all the more important for us to offer and show
> the
> historical perspective of our vehicles. The public is paranoid right now;
> frightened of absolutely EVERYTHING! Display your armored vehicle without
> a
> historical context, they are as likely to come away from looking at a
> privately
> owned half-track thinking, WOW, there's a lot of heavily armed and armored
> kooks
> out there and we have to disarm and disarmor them for our own
> safety!...regardless of how well you explain yourself. And I think we all
> know
> how kooky we can look at times. This is where being dressed in MVPA
> clothing is
> the tie-breaker. It gives us, as individuals, credibility.
>
> Yeh, MVPA should agree upon and offer up some simple display guidelines.
> For
> example, I have a guideline for our parade expeditions. It involves
> vehicle-mounted weapons. And it goes something like this. Display your
> vehicle
> mounted weapon (covered or uncovered) in a stowed position (i.e. limbered)
> facing directly forward or rearward but in no case shall it be pointed
> toward
> the crowds along the route. Further, we do not handle these weapons in
> any way.
> Do not touch or lean on the weapons.
>
> Weapons shall not be loaded or have the appearance of being loaded.
> Visitors to the vehicles shall not be permitted to manipulate or handle
> weapons. Unfortunately this rule also includes veterans, who we
> acknowledge have earned the right to handle weapons but who do not have
> the right to injure the public perception of our hobby. Arrangements can
> always be made for this to happen privately.
>
> I only organize my group's participation in the parade. I have no
> authority over other group members because each owner is the captain of
> his own ship. I do hold sway over the group by explaining the 'whys' of
> these guidlines. They're a sensible lot.
>
> But the variety of guidlines we agree upon may change depending upon what
> we are doing. Certainly if it is a private display (say, for a Veteran's
> organization) we relax things a bit but for public stuff we are always on
> our guard against misperception.
>
> TJ
>
>
> -------------- Original message ----------------------
> From: "Darrell Ramsell" <
daram@comcast.net>
>> TJ
>>
>> These are some very nice ideas. I wonder if the MVPA would consider
>> adding a
>> section to their website on "How to display your vehicle, Do's and
>> Don'ts".
>> I think this would be very helpful.
>>
>> Darrell
>
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