From: timothy.smith1@att.net
Date: Mon Feb 13 2006 - 10:20:21 PST
Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do when they come for you?
For Americans, the best way to ensure such a buckshot attack on private ownership does not succeed (and there have been and will be future attacks on our hobby) is to cultivate public support for the private ownership of HMV's.
In order to accomplish this we need to get our vehicles to public events and display them in a historical context. It is not enough that we ensure we tack the word "historic" onto the phrase "military vehicle." These two thoughts need to be inextricably linked by deeds.
For example:
HMV owner #1 drives his HMV in the local parade completely kitted out with all the gear, guns, etc.
HMV owner #2 drives his HMV to the town's Veteran's Day celebration (provided there IS one) and sets up a small, well balanced historical display around it. By well balanced, I mean that there is at least as much attention given to displaying the more mundane items as there is to weapons. Remember, the popular view is that weapons are "bad."
Now, there's nothing wrong with what either HMV owner did, but which is better? Well, in my humble opinion, HMV owner #2 has done a better job. Why? Because his vehicle is being shown in a historical context. And at the end of the day, FEWER people will be going home saying, there's some guy in (insert your town here) who owns a really dangerous military vehicle and he has lots of guns on it!
This is not to say that we should hide our HMV's from view if we aren't in a position to display them in a historical context but we need to help the casual observer of our HMV's make that connection to the preservation and appreciation of history. Some suggestions for this would be; make sure your HMV or HMV display always prominantly (and properly) displays your nation's flag or colors. Surround your vehicle with the music of the era (guaranteed to sooth the savages). Try not to engage in political commentary; i.e. first and foremost, be an HMV collector/restorer (hobbyists get more sympathy than hobbyists with political agendas). And one other suggestion...
This last suggestion is gonna generate a lot of discussion but I'm going to throw it out there for discussion..
The wearing of military uniforms when in and around our HMV's has its place especially in living history displays and reenactments. So let's just whittle this down to parades and local displays. From the standpoint of smoothing easily ruffled feathers and gaining popular support for the private ownership of HMV's we cannot afford to go around looking like some kind of MILITIA. (On the topic as being perceived as some kind of kooky militia types, imagine how I felt when, for the third year in a row, our parade officials announced our group as "Alamo Military" when in fact we were to have been announced as "Alamo Military Vehicle Preservation Association." By the way, I have told the parade organizers we would NOT be returning to the local parade if this was not resolved!) So, it might be more appropriate to invest in a mannequin for that military uniform (a small expense compared to our HMV's!) and attend your local display, neatly dressed in some of our fine MVPA clothing (which you will look better in This is all I have for now...food for thought.
TJ
if you are in shape (read that, ROUND....hey, round is a shape!), like me!.
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