There's no denying that boys have an unique and intense energy. I experience it when Max eats a piece of bread and then tells me the shape of his bites look like a gun or when he tells me he's taking his gun (thumb up and forefinger pointed) with him to make sure no bad guys are out there — these are moments that I feel I had nothing to do with. I certainly didn't teach him about guns or expose him to them. Somehow he's figured out the gun thing and feels ready to aim, point, and shoot it. I think there's nothing a pacifist such as myself can do other than just wait for him to out grow it. I worry that if I try to suppress his interests in guns, swords etc I'll just encourage his intrigue. I know from my own experience that each time my parents tried to tell me something was bad or that I shouldn't do "x" I wanted to do it more — so I'm thinking that he should just shoot his finger gun until his heart is content and then hope he'll grow up to be a conscientious objector.