Lee Harvey Oswald's BB gun

[SleazyRider]

I know the New York Times is held in a position of high regard here at THR, so check out this recent article that seems to imply that Lee Harvey Oswald's bloodlust began with a BB gun during his childhood in the Bronx:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/21/n...-tale-and-the-kennedy-assassination.html?_r=0

BB guns, of course, are strictly prohibited in New York City, along with slingshots, bottle rockets, and high fructose corn syrup. You can't be too careful, you know.

 

[plmitch]

Interesting story

 

[kerreckt]

I knew it! It always starts with a BB gun and ends up with murder. There are some things that never change.

 

[ThorinNNY]

Well, if I recall correctly, there were far better ways for a kid to satisfy their bloodlust in 1950`s NYC than fool around with a BB gun.All Oswald would have had to do was join a street gang and he could learn how to use a switchblade knife, lead pipe, zip gun, brass knuckles, bicycle chains, broken bottles etc to spill enough of some else`s blood to satisfy his alleged blood lust, at least for a while.
But Oswald didn`t join any gangs, now did he?
On the other hand , Oswald could easily have been exposed to leftist, communist ideology in the Bronx at that time. I believe Oswald was motivated by ideology and killing would have been merely a means to an end, not an end in itself.

 

[Midwest]

Interesting, thanks for posting it.

 

[Mp7]

Interesting read.

 

[kBob]

Anyone no how much of LHO's upbringing was by his mother alone or without a father?

The single parent issue seems a lot more important than a BB gun to me, as does the refusal, during or immediately after the Korean War for gosh sake, to salute the flag.

If LHO was a latch key young teen while in NYC at the time I have to wonder why he wasn't in a gang. I studied under Blomberg (big on anomie theory) that did the studies of NYC teen gangs of the 1950's and early 1960's and the LHO described here sounds like an excellent candidate for recruitment by one gang or another. Wonder if he was just to out of it and weird even for them.

-kBob

 

[ThorinNNY]

KBob
Yes, Oswald was a latch key kid. His father died before he was born. His mother saw to it he was fed, clothed and sheltered but she was selfabsobed and gave him little, if any, guidance,affection or support . He had older brothers, but they never bothered with Lee Harvey.
He was a truant, spent a lot of time reading in a library when he should have been at school. Apparently he didn`t like other people enough to bother joining a gang or thought very much of any other social group.

 

[LubeckTech]

They overlooked the real beginning of his "blood lust" which was the slingshot. It lead to the BB gun that lead to the building in Dallas. What will Mayor Bloomberg do to save us from elastic and stones??

 

[cslinger]

We always need some mythical talisman that brings forth the curse of crazy. Problem is some folks are simply murderous, crazy lunatics. Hell being bottle fed or having a gas stove warm up their Mac and cheese is just as likely to be the cause.

I love how if you are shooting (bullets, pellets, arrows, bb's) whatever you are surely preparing to kill.

When I shoot (bullets, pellets, arrows or bb's) it is more yoga and breathing and clearing my mind then training to kill anything. He'll the way I shoot combined with my mindset I am more likely to hurt your feelings then anything else. Ok except with a bow. I am a danger to myself and others with those things. Just stay in front of me and you should be fine. . A man's gotta know his limitations.

 

[Beagle-zebub]

If LHO was a latch key young teen while in NYC at the time I have to wonder why he wasn't in a gang. I studied under Blomberg (big on anomie theory) that did the studies of NYC teen gangs of the 1950's and early 1960's and the LHO described here sounds like an excellent candidate for recruitment by one gang or another. Wonder if he was just to out of it and weird even for them.

I recall seeing a documentary in which his brother explained that LHO lived to be the odd-man-out. He joined the Marines as a communist, distributed pro-Castro propaganda in South Florida, and when he finally got to live in the Soviet Union, supposedly found that he was just another person and decided to leave.

 

[Jim NE]

Oh, I thought maybe Oswald's childhood BB gun was up for auction or something. Not that I'd want it. It reminds me of when I saw John Lennon's Dobro for sale at a music store 20 years ago. It was $9000. I didn't want that, either.

 

[TimboKhan]

Dudes, this is an interesting discussion and all, but I am going to close it.

Why, you ask? Simple: This just isn't a THR topic. I understand that at one point Oswald had a BB gun, but the topic in terms of THR sort of begins and ends right there.