On 02-14-97 RICK MCBROOM wrote to ELAINE NAIMAN... 
 
 RM> I've got a radio 
 RM> dub of "If I Had A Rocket Launcher", and I love that song! 
 
        Except that it's intensely illogical. For one thing, a 
        rocket launcher, unless you are highly trained in how to 
        use one, is worse than useless; it becomes a highly 
        dangerous lump of metal. People who know how to use them 
        don't call them "rocket launchers" but rather by their 
        proper names like LAW, TA4, Dragon, or, as would be the 
        most likely thing to become available to some 
        well-meaning Canadian urban pseudo-comsymp with an 
        earring and a natural fibre Oxfam shirt like Cockburn, 
        hanging out in some hotspot like Mozambique in the early 
        1980's, just a plain simple RPG (rocket propelled 
        grenade).  But being a singer and not someone trained in 
        the use of modern weaponry it is very likely that if Mr. 
        Cockburn, whose eyesight ain't too hot BTW (I mention 
        this because most armies will not allow people with bad 
        eyesight to operate "rocket launchers," especially the 
        real nifty ones that can take out choppers and tanks), 
        actually got his wish and got his mitts on a "rocket 
        launcher" he would be likely to: 
 
        a. miss whatever he was aiming at, considering that the 
        trajectory of the weapon is not a straight line but an 
        arc and requires a good deal of practice in addition to 
        training to learn how to use. Simply "having a rocket 
        launcher" doesn't really do you any good unless you have 
        enough ammo to train with, the manuals, plus someone to 
        train you and a really good firing range with a variety 
        of targets - houses, tracked vehicles, industrial 
        installations and preferably some remote controlled 
        moving targets as well. 
 
        b. inflict considerable damage when firing the weapon to 
        whomever had the misfortune to be standing near him, 
        especially behind him, since each different "rocket 
        launcher" has a different backblast area (i.e. the area 
        behind a "rocket launcher" which will be flooded with 
        intense flame and other destructiveness when the weapon is 
        fired). 
 
        So, even though Mr. Bruce might be filled with healthy 
        righteous indignation causing him to want to have a 
        "rocket launcher" in the first place, such people are 
        usually a liability rather than an assett to have on your 
        side in an armed struggle. Usually it's best to frag 'em 
        ("oh, gee sorry, I thought I had the safety on when I 
        tripped over that tree branch that I didn't see") at the 
        commencement of hostilities and chalk it up to the 
        general mayhem of a fire fight than to risk the damage 
        such people can inflict to your side, however 
        well-intentioned they may be. 
 
        "Wish I had a rocket launcher" my patootie. Harumph. No 
        wonder socialism's a lost cause. With friends like that 
        who needs enemas? 
 
                                Cheers, 
                                Kenneth 
                                (a socialist who knows 
                                how to use "rocket launchers") 
 
--- 
 * OFFLINE 1.58 * Honey,just one more message...I really MEAN it thi