Telegraph | Opinion | We tried appeasement once before...: "A neighbour of mine refuses to let her boy play with 'militaristic' toys. So when a friend gave the l'il tyke a plastic sword and shield, mom mulled it over and then took away the former and allowed him to keep the latter. And for a while, on my drive down to town, I'd pass Junior in the yard playing with his shield, mastering the art of cowering more effectively against unseen blows."