The Scorpion Rules!

So does Prowler.

Even though I am old enough to qualify for a senior's discount at Denny's, I played laser tag yesterday. For the first time. Three games. I loved it. I'm sore today in spots. I was a maniac. My game pack had the name Scorpion on the front of the plastic electronic vest (if you have a vested interest in knowing this GROAN). And Prowler on another. And Erector on the third. (Well, I don't really remember the third name, but a guy can dream.) It was a blast. It did, however, give me pause to reflect. Does it, or games like it, encourage violence? No, I don't think so. Just the opposite, I suggest. I took delight in pulling the trigger at my wife and my daughter and all the teenagers running aroundf in the black-light environment. We laughed...especially at an adept "takeout." Admittedly, a few of the kids who humorously skulked in a corner and plugged away like snipers displayed a worrisome demeanor. I'l give you that. But overall my conclusion is that it no more encourages violence than Cowboys and Indians did for us in the Fifties. I suspect laser tag exorcises violence; gets it out of one's system in a harmless manner. Maybe scores of academics dispute this, but I'm just giving you one man's empirical conclusions.

Question: Has Cowboys and Indians become Agricultural Farmhands and Native American Warriors? Just asking.

Now go home and waterproof your child.