Mailing a buddy of mine in Afghanistan

[JunkyII]

I hope you're kidding.

Yes I am...normally kids being around ment we weren't going to see contact that day

[Shifty]

Yes I am...normally kids being around ment we weren't going to see contact that day

There were incidents where the guys would hand out candy to the Iraqi children that came around during their patrols. Sometimes young adult Iraqi males would take the candy from the children even to the point of knocking them down or striking them. The guys figured if a fella needed a Jolly Rancher that bad the wrist rocket was the fastest way to serve it to him so he'd leave the little kids alone..

[Penguin]

Why not just stand between the dude and the kids?  It would seem like that would be deterrent enough, seeing as you are armed, and, well, dangerous.  Shooting people with Jolly Ranchers seems like a way to provoke them further, but maybe there's something I'm not understanding about what happened (likely).

-Penguin

[Shifty]

Why not just stand between the dude and the kids?  It would seem like that would be deterrent enough, seeing as you are armed, and, well, dangerous.  Shooting people with Jolly Ranchers seems like a way to provoke them further, but maybe there's something I'm not understanding about what happened (likely).

-Penguin

There's a lot you don't understand. 

[Penguin]

Insulting me gets us nowhere, and I never said that I understood you fully.  Please explain where I went wrong.

-Penguin

[Shifty]

I didn't insult you I just stated a fact. For all your pontificating and intellectual posing you're just a kid who still depends on your parents. You're not even ready to make your own way in the world much less comment on how people in high stress and life threatening environments conduct themselves. I don't need to explain anything to you besides you're too self important to even attempt to reason with. You've probably never been in a simple fight much less had to operate in a place like Iraq during the height of the insurgency. So no explanation to you is in order, nor is your view on how to handle the situation of any interest to me.

[JunkyII]

Insulting me gets us nowhere, and I never said that I understood you fully.  Please explain where I went wrong.

-Penguin

If a guy is beating a kid in front of you, it's probably going to be better if we leave then he beats him to death....intimidation is a weapon used by our enemies on the people of the countries we fight in, not by us.

[Penguin]

If a guy is beating a kid in front of you, it's probably going to be better if we leave then he beats him to death....intimidation is a weapon used by our enemies on the people of the countries we fight in, not by us.

Oh, so the guys jump the kids while you aren't looking or have moved on.  Gotcha.  Now I see how that wrist rocket helps- it's an ironic alternative to to pepper spray or the butt of a gun.

I didn't insult you I just stated a fact. For all your pontificating and intellectual posing you're just a kid who still depends on your parents. You're not even ready to make your own way in the world much less comment on how people in high stress and life threatening environments conduct themselves. I don't need to explain anything to you besides you're too self important to even attempt to reason with. You've probably never been in a simple fight much less had to operate in a place like Iraq during the height of the insurgency. So no explanation to you is in order, nor is your view on how to handle the situation of any interest to me.

Saying so is stating a fact, however, if you intend it that way then pot, meet kettle.  Look around, neither of us know or will know very much outside of the areas that we study.  Furthermore, by your logic saying "You're fat" to a fat person is perfectly okay.  As for fights, I'm no Rocky, but I've fought.  Does that make me capable of understanding everything about fighting?  No.  However, when I read the story I thought that the soldiers were just driving along plinking people, so it seemed rather strange.

-Penguin

[Shifty]

Furthermore, by your logic saying "You're fat" to a fat person is perfectly okay.

Yep.. Looks better everytime I read it.

[Dichotomy]

Look around, neither of us know or will know very much outside of the areas that we study. 
-Penguin

Peng,

Shifty does, in fact, know of what he speaks.  Take a step back and learn some things from what he's trying to tell you little bro. 

[Penguin]

That's what I'm trying to do.  He won't let me.  I tried to make it clear that I wanted to know more about what happened.  Once I did find out, I agreed and still do agree with him about how a slingshot filled with Jolly Ranchers is an innovative way to keep little kids safe from violence; however, what I got from the OP was that U.S. soldiers were doing Jolly Rancher drive-by's on hapless pedestrians.  That's not what happened, though, so we're arguing about nothing here.

-Penguin