Am I The Only One Unnerved By Tonight's Episode of 'Extreme Home Makeover'?

First rule of gun safety (from the NRA): "ALWAYS keep the gun pointed in a safe direction."

Makes sense, right?

So I'm watching "Extreme Home Makeover" this evening on my local ABC affiliate. And the "design team" is going to build a new home for a man and his family in Massachusetts. The back-story is that the dad, on his way to the hospital to meet his wife, who is there in labor and about to give birth, is nearly killed in a horrible automobile accident. The same day the wife gives birth to a beautiful little girl, the dad nearly dies and is lying in an ER bed. Not expected to live. Miraculously, he survives but can't talk, has severe brain damage, confined to a chair, etc. Flash forward two years; he can talk, walks some, still generally confined to chair, but cannot live in his own home with wife and kids because hallway is too narrow and room floors are at different heighths. He has tripped, fallen and been injured more than once. He's living with his parents, while his wife pretty much raises three small children on her own.

Pretty heady story, right? So anyway, the team is going to build a new house. If you ever catch this show each week, a big deal is always made about "demolition." For this episode, being in Massachusetts, they bring out some "Minuteman" re-enactors.

And what do the Minutemen do? They load their muskets and start shooting at the house!!!!

Glass breaking as projectiles fly into the soon-to-be-demolished home. A wreath on the front door is pulverized. Windows have holes in them. Two or three barrages later, they bring out the giant backhoes. And all I can do is sit there with my mouth hanging open, thinking, WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY THINKING SHOOTING AT THE HOUSE?

Now I realize they probably were using frangible ammo (of course, not that the Minutemen had such a thing "back in the day"). Still, while the logical, reasonable, rational side of me is pretty sure they didn't use old fashioned "ball ammo" on the house, the NRA Certified Instructor in me wonders who the hell told them it was okay to broadcast shooting at a house, in a neighborhood, where hundreds of neighbors are watching? With everyone cheering.

How about this: Would it be okay to fire competition rifles at the house? Would the anti self defense types that populate Massachusetts be okay with that? Would the police?

Most importantly, I really want to believe that the geniuses at ABC parked a big-ass backstop behind the house to "catch" any projectiles that made it through the house. Don't you?

Are you holding your breath waiting for an answer? No, me neither. Thus endeth the rant.