A new survey reveals that young people believe being called a “snowflake” could be damaging to their mental health.
A new survey by insurance firm Aviva found that 72 percent of 16 to 24-year-olds believe the term “snowflake” is unfairly applied to millennials.
74 percent of respondents took it a step farther, arguing that they believe the use of the label could have a negative effect on young people’s mental health.
The study was born out of interest in the term “snowflake generation” which was originally used to describe young people who thought they were unique or special. Some suggest it was popularized by a line in the 1996 novel Fight Club and its 1999 film adaptation: “you are not special, you are not a beautiful and unique snowflake.”
The word’s meaning eventually evolved to mean “overly-sensitive.” It is often used to describe college students who claim that they are offended by controversial or even mundane ideas.
Chuck Palahniuk, the author of Fight Club, has embraced the rise in popularity of the term. “There is a kind of new Victorianism,” he said. “Every generation gets offended by different things but my friends who teach in high school tell me that their students are very easily offended.”
Dr. Doug Wright argues that because young people are more likely to experience mental health issues than older generations, they are especially susceptible to damage as a result of usage of the “snowflake” label.
“Our findings suggest that young adults are more likely to be experiencing mental health problems, so using a phrase which criticizes this age group could add to this issue,” he said. “Any term used disparagingly to a segment of the population is inherently negative.”
“While young adults in particular appear to take offence to the ‘snowflake’ label, the majority of adults agree that the term is unfair and unhelpful, so it’s important that people consider how such labels are used, and the cumulative effect they could have on their recipients,” he finished.
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All I can say is tell it to the Youngsters in the Armed Forces. They are doing a great job under huge pressure. I can not be prouder of them!
Grumpy
I am willing to bet that a 44-40 round would really hit from this rifle.
What will that extra long barrel to be able to provide space for all of the powder to burn off with no leakage. That a pistol would have.
I like the rear sight also. As usually the the rear sight is the weak point of Winchester Lever Actions.
Now I have either owned, borrowed or shot most of the varieties of this very Germanic Rifle over the years now. So what I have found out about them is the following.
They are fun to shoot. So of course they are Illegal to own here in the Sunshine State.
They are very well built rifle. Even if they are a bit over engineered but heys it’s a German design.
They are pretty heavy. I am very happy that I did not have one in the Army!
But to be fair they do make a great pattern down range.
My Only real grip is that they are very expensive!
It is estimated that fewer than 400 HK41s were produced and even fewer imported into the U.S. for civilian consumption.
Today, HK41s can sell for anywhere between $3,000 and $6,000 depending on the condition and the economy at the time.
An original 1966 model with the push-pin hole in the receiver can sell for around $9,000. These are very scarce because most of them were used as hosts for full-auto conversions prior to the May 1986 machine gun ban.
A full-automatic converted HK41/HKG3 can sell for over $20,000.
Variants
There are two models of the HK41:
HK41A2: Fixed stock and semi-auto “SE” trigger group.
HK41A3: Retractable 1-position stock and semi-auto “SE” trigger group.
Versions of the HK41
1962 HK G3 semi-automatic receiver.
(1962): There are 3 different date stamps from this year in the United States, all with differences. By far the most desirable, and also the rarest, are the 3/62. These models are identical to the G3 Automatic Rifle except for having a swing-down semi-auto “SE” grip assembly.
It was literally able to be converted to a full-auto G3 by changing the trigger group and bolt, no need to change the location of the push pin or any of the other features. They were all marked G3. This is why it is the most desirable of all semi-automatic G3s, and they are also incredibly rare with less than 3 known to exist in the United States (known as Santa Fe “swing downs”) still in semi-automatic form. Most were registered as full-auto hosts.
Their value as full auto hosts is no more or less than any other G3, it is their value as a semi-automatic which is extremely high in comparison to other G3s, having sold on Gunbroker for over $20,000 on two occasions, matching the prices of full automatic G3s. It might be one of the only examples of a fully automatic transferrable that is valued the same whether or not it is in the registry. 7/62 is the second most common date from 1962, and like the March labeled guns was marked G3. However, the push pin hole was moved so that a full automatic trigger pack could NOT be installed without major machine work. They were stamped G3. The most common of 1962s are the 11/62, which is identical to the 7/62 except that part of the batch were labeled HK41s. They had the altered location of the push-pin hole, therefore requiring substantial work to turn into a fully automatic G3. There is a mix of G3 and HK41 markings among these date stamps. H&K changed their name to “HK41” in an attempt to stay ahead of West-German Laws which prohibited civilian ownership of the G3 Automatic Rifle.
(Early 1966): Unlike the 1962 Semi-Auto G3s, these 1966 models had the “push-pin” hole in the correct place and thus could be quickly converted to an automatic by replacing the grip assembly with a full-auto “SEF” trigger group. These had a magnesium phosphate parkerized finish, matching hardwood furniture (stock and forearm grip) and were date stamped “6/66”. Even though these versions have the push-pin hole in the receiver, they were grandfathered in as approved firearms after the passage of the Gun Control Act of 1968.
1966 model HK41 receiver.
(1966–1973): These models have strips of metal welded into the receiver and matching cuts made in the “SE” trigger group to only allow the insertion of an “SE” trigger group. These versions still had the a functional “flapper” magazine release and the push-pin hole. These rifles had a matte black finish with a matching black stock and forearm grip, and were date stamped “11/66”. Very few of the 1966 models got into the U.S. However, between 1967 and 1974, none of these models were imported into the U.S, in part due to the Gun Control Act of 1968.
(1974): These models had the locking-pin tabs eliminated on the front end of the grip assembly, and the corresponding locking-pin hole (“push-pin” hole) and bushing at the base of the receiver had a “U”-shaped piece of metal inserted to prevent the attachment of a full-auto “SEF” trigger group. This makes the “flapper” magazine-release paddle between the trigger guard and magazine well inoperative, making the redundant release button on the right-hand side of the receiver the only way to eject the magazine. It also had the cocking-lever endcap altered to prohibit the mounting of most models of the HK G3 bayonet and had the snap rings on the barrel removed so that it couldn’t fire rifle grenades. These were painted black with a semi-gloss finish and were date stamped “1/74”.
1974 model HK41 receiver.
United States Importers
Golden State Arms Co., Santa Fe Division [Pasadena, CA] — From 1962 to 1966.
Security Arms Company (SACO) [Arlington, VA] — From 1974 to 1975.
Heckler & Koch [Arlington, VA] — Took over the US import business themselves in 1976
HK91 Variants
There are four models of the HK91:
HK91A2: Fixed stock and semi-auto “SE” or “0-1” trigger group.
HK91A3: Retractable 1-position stock and semi-auto “SE” or “0-1” trigger group.
HK91A4: Fixed stock, semi-auto “SE” or “0-1” trigger group and Select Polygonal Bore.
HK91A5: Retractable 1-position stock, semi-auto “SE” or “0-1” trigger group and Select Polygonal Bore.
There were only 50 HK91s imported in 1974. For these, H&K dropped the month from the date code and replaced it with the number “19” in order to completely spell out the year of manufacture. Since they were built on surplus HK41 receivers, the end result was “19/74”.
For the 1975 models, they stamped the year without the “/” in the middle. The reasons why Heckler & Koch renamed the HK41 in 1974 are unclear.
Part of their reasoning could have been that they wanted to change the perception of the rifle as being a semi-automatic sporting rifle instead of a paramilitary rifle.
Furthermore, gun laws that were adopted in West Germany around that time prohibited the civilian ownership of paramilitary rifles. (As a side note, HK41s that were sold in West Germany came without flash suppressors because they were prohibited under the West German gun laws).
As a result, Heckler & Koch modified the weapon with a plate welded inside the receiver to prevent the mounting of a full-auto “SEF” fire control group and re-designated the rifle as the Heckler & Koch HK91.[1][2]
Late pattern HK41s and HK91s are virtually identical in appearance (except for the receiver markings and the retaining hole of the cocking tube end cap) and all their parts are interchangeable. The last few HK91s that were delivered to the U.S. in 1989 were blocked by customs after
President George H. W. Bush issued an Executive Order banning the importation of “non-sporting” rifles. These were slightly modified, to remove “non-sporting” features like the flash suppressor, and the receivers re-stamped as the HK911, forming a transitional model between the HK91 and the HK SR9.
Greek-made HK91 copy with optional PSG-1 grip, bipod and 30-round magazine.
The HK91 is rather valuable in the United States firearm market since it was banned from further importation by executive order in 1989. Only 48,817 HK91s were imported into the U.S. prior to 1989.
The retail price for an HK91 in the late 1970s was roughly $380 for the standard A2 models and $50 more for the A3 version. Prior to 1979, H&K did limited production runs of HK91s with polygonal rifle barrels. These were only $10 more than their standard counterparts.
Today, original HK91s often fetch over $3500. The early 50 1974 “SACO” imports that are in good condition and have the old style “SF” marked grip frame housings can bring a premium and are very desirable among H&K collectors.
So are the 1988 and 1989 “Chantilly” models, which have the same satin semi-gloss black finish as the later HK SR9s.
Licensed copies of the G3 and HK-91 were produced in Greece by Hellenic Arms Industry or “EBO”, using factory tooling purchased from Heckler & Koch.
A small number of these HK-91 clones, which are functionally and aesthetically identical to the German-made rifles, were imported into America by Springfield Armory, Inc. and sold under the designation SAR-8.These rifles, which ceased being imported in 1994, are not to be confused with later Springfield-made SAR-8 model rifles which feature cast aluminum receivers and are considered of markedly lower quality, being valued at far less than the original Greek models.
As of today, HK-91 clones are available, such as the PTR-91 (Formerly JLD), which are built on the tooling used by arms-maker FMP to make the receivers of the Portuguese military’s versions of the G3, the M/961 and M/963.
Heckler & Koch’s receiver tooling was sold to the American company Ohio Rapid Fire, which was in the process of setting up to produce receivers until the passing of the company owner, Todd Grove. Ohio Rapid Fire has since closed its doors in 2010. https://youtu.be/EU2HxW3eMXc https://youtu.be/SLz4A_6XgzA
What I think that this is a highly customized speed gun. Its also obvious that somebody has put a lot of time, money & effort into this puppy!
Here is a pretty fair Youtube about PPC Guns. Grumpy
I found these Pictures over the ages. Now I know that the War casts a long shadow even today. For example the fight over Confederate Statues.
Now I will pass on this issue since it is too close to home for me. No, my family did not ride with Mr. Lincoln. But that is besides the point.
I think that both sides fought hard for their ideals. We may disagree on them as is our right to do so. But they were Americans and they should be honored for making America what it is.
In America, Memorial Day is typically said to mark the “unofficial beginning of summer,” so in the day off, the grills come out and the girls start to take a few things off. But there’s plenty of time for that, isn’t there? I like to look back at the men who made it possible, or so at least runs the trope. Is it that simple in fact? Maybe, maybe not. War isn’t crystal clear, it’s always a sandstorm and truth always gets lost to some extent in the whirlwind. Often, “good” people in turn are victimized by it, sometimes becoming “bad.” All of this is a major theme in The Red War.
In keeping with this theme, and to look back a the men who got swept up in it, fighting and dying for their nations and what seemed so very right to them, I present to you these five movies which I think are worth your time.
The Lost Battalion (2001)
I’ve said over and over again that World War I was completely without glory. There were no flag raisings on Iwo Jima, no exultant crowds in liberated towns, cheering the GIs on. There was no heroic crossing of the Delaware, or glorious riches and empire waiting at the end of the harrowing ordeal. What there was was mud, trenchfoot, poison gas, and nothing but a bloody trench to be won. And at the end of it all? No riches awaited, only another terrible conflict. World War I was a tragedy not just in loss of life, but maybe even more in the human mind – the loss of faith, the forever shattered dreams of progress.
World War I is often sadly overlooked in favor of the Second World War for cinematic coloration, but The Lost Battalion, starring NYPD Blue’s Rick Schroder in the role of Major Charles Whittlesey, commander of a battalion in the 77th Infantry Division, captures this gloom well. It is from the admittedly overdone American doughboy perspective, but what we see is an authentic World War I feeling, and it is based on a true story.
In the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in the final days of the war, an American battalion gets separated and lost from the main line of a combined Franco-American attack. As they consider surrender an unacceptable dishonor, the battalion is forced to hold off relentless German assaults over several days. Ammunition and supplies dwindle and the dead mount. Humiliatingly and despairingly, the battalion is pounded by their own artillery.
Finally, “the lost battalion” is found. Whittlesey isn’t interested in platitudes. He just wants to move to the back of the line with his men.
If you want to see some action, you’ll like The Lost Battalion, but the true strength of this underrated movie is in the bond that develops between the men, the New York humor (the battalion is a New York unit, with a few unfortunate souls that wind up in it from other states), and the horrific experience of this horrific war, the war which destroyed the hopes and dreams of mankind. This point is hammered home in that the real life Whittlesey, who was given the Medal of Honor for his exploits and was once a promising Harvard-educated attorney, committed suicide in 1921. His body was never found.
The Vietnam War may rival the First World War in terms of its sheer misery to the soldiers. Steaming, insect-ridden, muddy jungles, rice paddies, and ambushes, endless ambushes, awaited the men who were sent there. Also like the First World War, there seemed little glory to be won, at least it seems that way looking back on it – bragging rights over a rice paddy? Unlike the First World War, the country was in the midst of a great social and cultural upheaval, and Vietnam veterans were treated poorly when they came back home.
In 1965, the story was a little bit different. The terrible nature of this war and the indecisiveness of the American strategy hadn’t presented themselves yet. It’s here, in the Battle of Ia Drang, that We Were Soldiers takes place. After attacks on an American base, Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore and his battalion are sent out to eliminate the attackers. Helicopter warfare is seen making a major presence for the first time, as they are lifted into the Ia Drang valley. What follows is a harrowing multi-day ordeal where the battalion is surrounded and hammered by North Vietnamese forces who know their country well and use it to their advantage.
The similarities with TheLost Battalion don’t end there. Hal Moore calls in the big firepower – this time in the form of planes – but one of the bombs gets way too close, and several of his own men are roasted. One has skin falling off his face and arms.
Unlike The Lost Battalion, air power is sufficiently advanced now to eventually end the ordeal, but the defended ground is recaptured by the North Vietnamese. It’s just a small sample of a long war to come where enemies would appear from nowhere, and patches of ground would shift as suddenly and whimsically as the winds. It’s notable that the real Hal Moore (recently died this February) wrote a book about his experiences in Ia Drang. It’s linked with the movie below.
Full Metal Jacket is very much unlike the preceding two movies. While they are more classically “heroic,” this movie examines the realities of everyday life as a soldier. Battle is dramatic and sucks up attention, but most of a soldier’s life isn’t spent fighting, but training and trying to live normally, yet inevitably failing at some point. Military conditions never permit a civilian existence. Of course, Full Metal Jacket doesn’t fail to display combat scenes, as you’ll see below. The twist is that it examines them more from a psychological perspective than the other two movies. Full Metal Jacket has two overall parts. The first is the most famous. Here, you see the training to become a Marine. Men are stripped of their civilian identities, almost literally, and are made into new men, US Marines. A more sinister interpretation, which the movie doesn’t attempt to refute, is that men are dehumanized and reprogrammed as if they were robots, killing machines. For one, the reprogramming goes horribly wrong, “Private Pyle,” whose bumbling ways quickly land him at the bottom of the social hierarchy and earn him the ire of the gunnery sergeant. He eventually suffers from severe derangement, killing the gunney and himself.
The second part covers the surviving Marines in Vietnam. One of them, “Joker,” now a correspondent for Stars and Stripes, reunites with his friend from training, “Cowboy.” The joyful reunion is cut short soon, as the Tet Offensive begins. Three years have passed since the war began in 1965 with events like the Ia Drang valley. It was the Tet Offensive that permanently shifted the public’s perception of the Vietnam War, even though it devastated hostile Vietnamese forces tactically. Strategically, it persuaded the American public to turn against the war.
At the Battle of Hue, Stars and Stripes documents the deaths of many marines. At the movie’s climax, “Cowboy,” in command of the squad after the deaths of officers and sergeants, leads the men to confront a sniper. The power of the lone sniper is demonstrated as more men go down, including Cowboy. After an ordeal, Joker confronts the sniper, only for his M16 to jam (a common occurrence in the Vietnam war). He’s saved by his comrade, a newbie to combat, who guns her down, shouting jubilantly “we got the sniper!” This joy is sung at the end of the movie with the Mickey Mouse March, the men feeling they’ve proven themselves in combat.
Lone Survivor (2013)
Lone Survivor takes place in July, 2005. The conflict in Afghanistan has been raging for nearly four years, but the mountainous terrain and the tribal warriors of that country make it as difficult to tame for America as it had been for conquerors going all the way back to Alexander the Great and beyond. The Taliban are no longer governing, but they have by no means been conquered.
It’s up to SEAL Team 10 to root them out and prevent them from coming back to power. A high level Taliban target, Ahmad Shah, has been identified, and a four man fire team, consisting of Lieutenant Michael Murphy (who was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for deliberately exposing himself to enemy fire to make the call on a satellite phone), Marcus Luttrell, Danny Dietz, and Matthew “Axe” Axelson are sent in to reconnoiter the area to confirm Shah’s location in Operation Red Wings. The mission goes horribly wrong when they’re spotted in their hiding place by goat herders. After an intense debate, the goat herders are let go, and the team retreats. Soon afterward, they come under a furious assault.
Numerous facts about the mission, notably the number of attackers, are exaggerated in the movie (and book) Lone Survivor as compared to the real Operation Red Wings, but the power of the movie isn’t in its details or combat scenes (though those are good), but in the grit of the Navy SEALs that not only survive, but fight on fiercely through their terrible wounds. These modern Spartans are trained to fight until they physically are no longer able to. If you’re not dead, you can’t quit, and Marcus Luttrell didn’t. In so doing, he lived to fight again, and tell the story of his fallen comrades, to ensure their glory.
Lone Survivor will put a boot to your ass and make you wonder why you’ve been stuck in idleness and indolence for so long. I can’t say that it wasn’t something that I didn’t notice when writing the climax of part 2 of The Red War, where the protagonist, Hector Turenne, enters into katabasis to earn his masculinity in combat.
As a note, The Lion of Sabray is the story of Mohammad Gulab, who saved Marcus Luttrell’s life. Proceeds from the book go directly to supporting him and his family. I hope you’ll consider hearing his story too.
Glory (1989)
In 1863, it was clear to both sides that the Civil War wasn’t going to be the short cakewalk that they assumed in 1861. The South wasn’t going to come to its senses so easily, it would need to be conquered. The Yankees wouldn’t be licked so easily, they would need to bleed so badly that they couldn’t physically fight anymore. Glory tells the story of an innovation – the raising of a regiment of negro soldiers, the 54th Massachusetts, commanded by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw. That this was done in Massachusetts isn’t surprising, the people there didn’t have any doubts about the war, unlike those say, in Maryland or North Carolina. Under white officers, black soldiers are recruited, despite the promises of instant execution for anyone involved in the enterprise should they be captured by the enemy.
Glory is famous for rocketing the career of Denzel Washington, who won an Academy Award for his performance as Silas Tripp.
The regiment begins to win respect for its exploits in combat. Eventually it is given a mission to take Fort Wagner, a heavily defended and strategic location. The casualties are horrendous. Colonel Shaw is killed along with many other officers, as is Tripp. The fort was never taken.
There are some factual inaccuracies. The real Shaw wasn’t so enthusiastic about assaulting the fort as he eagerly volunteers to do in Glory, but the movie demonstrates Civil War combat in all its cumbersome and terrifying fury and also the at the time unexpected courage even of men who are disdained by their country.
Memorial Day is a commemoration, a memory of courage which may be more necessary than desired, and Glory hammers that point home.
I can not believe that Somebody spent some serious money on this Item! It just goes to show. That It takes all Kind!
THE REICH FIT
Adolf Hitler’s underpants have been sold for £5,000 at an auction in the US
The infamous leader left his pants in the laundry after staying at an Austrian hotel in 1938
By Charlie Parker
24th September 2017, 10:55 am
Updated: 24th September 2017, 8:09 p
THE ‘pristine’ underpants of fearsome führer Adolf Hitler have sold for £5,000 at an auction in the US.
The brutal dictator’s briefs, which have a ‘surprisingly large’ 39-inch waist and are initialled ‘A.H.’, were left behind in a suite at the luxury Parkhotel Graz in Austria after he stayed there in April 1938.
Just the Reich fit… The pants were embroidered with Hitler’s initials
The country had been annexed by Nazi Germany less than a month before Hitler and his henchmen’s stay.
Auctioneer Bill Panagopulos said he believed the underwear was sent to the hotel’s laundry department and were only returned after Hitler and his entourage had check
The seller was the grandson of the hotel’s owners at the time. (Personal opinion of Grumpy.The only smart person in this affair)
Bill, who owns Alexander Historical Auctions in Chesapeake City, Maryland, where the 19-inch long white linen shorts sold for $6,737 (£4,991) to a private buyer, said they were in ‘pristine’ condition.
He added: “People tend to either buy fearsome Hitler memorabilia, or things that make him look like a buffoon. such as this.
“To minimise a monster, you make people laugh at him. We’ve sold underwear belonging to Eva Braun, who was Hitler’s wife, before, but never any belonging to Hitler himself. I think this is the first pair to come to market.
“They were retained in the family who owned the hotel, which is very prestigious, for almost 80 years, and when we got them they were wrapped in tissue paper in a box. They were as clean as if they had just come back from the cleaners.
The label inside reveals Hitler wore ‘Schüler’ undercrackers
“It’s a fascinating thing. It’s as close as you can get to Adolf Hitler, literally.”
Bill, 58, who ruled out selling the shorts to any member of the political far right before the auction, added: “I imagine the buyer would probably frame the shorts. It would be the most talked about relic in the house.”
Hitler stayed in the hotel a week before Germany’s annexation of Austria was put to the Austrian people for ratification – 99.7% supported the move – and Bill believes Hitler was touring the country ahead of the vote.
The item’s description read: “A monogrammed pair of Adolf Hitler’s striped white linen under shorts. The shorts are surprisingly large – 19-inches long, with a waist of about 39 inches.
