This is how naive I am:
My husband is in there cleaning his guns and he calls the manufacturer of one of them to see about a part. The manufacturer informs him that they no longer build that particular gun because (get this) they just got a large contract with an Asian country (that they wouldn't name). My antenna immediately went up. I asked my husband, "Do you mean to tell me that an American company can supply guns to a foreign nation and it's <i>legal</i>?" He said, with no concern, "Of course." After I stopped sputtering I said, "So what happens if this gunmaker sells arms to an Asian country that just happens to use them to injure or kill American troops?" He replied, "They'll get the guns from somewhere - what's the difference?" Or words to that effect.
So I'm completely outraged. Larry doesn't seem to think this is a big deal and that American companies should be able to sell their wares to any country that will pay for them. I say that if I were President, I'd put a ban on that sh*t immediately. Now I fully understand that our own government supplies arms to foreign nations. And I understand that many American servicemen/women have been killed with American-made weapons. I can't explain my outrage any better than that - it's this innate feeling that for the government to regulate arms sales to foreign nations is one thing but for an American company to supply them is something else.
Am I being crazy and overreacting? Someone explain this to me so I can understand. But I'll warn you in advance - Larry's already tried the "So what?" approach and it's not helping.
My husband is in there cleaning his guns and he calls the manufacturer of one of them to see about a part. The manufacturer informs him that they no longer build that particular gun because (get this) they just got a large contract with an Asian country (that they wouldn't name). My antenna immediately went up. I asked my husband, "Do you mean to tell me that an American company can supply guns to a foreign nation and it's <i>legal</i>?" He said, with no concern, "Of course." After I stopped sputtering I said, "So what happens if this gunmaker sells arms to an Asian country that just happens to use them to injure or kill American troops?" He replied, "They'll get the guns from somewhere - what's the difference?" Or words to that effect.
So I'm completely outraged. Larry doesn't seem to think this is a big deal and that American companies should be able to sell their wares to any country that will pay for them. I say that if I were President, I'd put a ban on that sh*t immediately. Now I fully understand that our own government supplies arms to foreign nations. And I understand that many American servicemen/women have been killed with American-made weapons. I can't explain my outrage any better than that - it's this innate feeling that for the government to regulate arms sales to foreign nations is one thing but for an American company to supply them is something else.
Am I being crazy and overreacting? Someone explain this to me so I can understand. But I'll warn you in advance - Larry's already tried the "So what?" approach and it's not helping.