Posted on 01/01/2005 1:43:36 PM PST by TERMINATTOR
It appears the Brits have climbed the Cliffs of Insanity and taken a collective nosedive into the River of Outright Absurdity. My friend, author Michael Z. Williamson, and I used to laugh about Britain, their unreasonable ban on armed self defense and their hysterical attempts to further correct the problems caused by said ban by implementing yet more stringent and bizarre restraints on people's rights. Mike was born in the UK. I used to kid him about the future of Great Britain. I used to tell him that soon, sharp implements will be banned, and people will be forced to purchase pre-cut food rather than risk the chance of some unstable chef losing control and hacking some unsuspecting Brits to pieces with a knife. These were jokes. I didn't really think it would ever happen.
I was wrong.
The UK's home secretary David Blunkett has announced a slew of measures that are meant to address the rising knife violence in not-so-Great Britain. Yeah - right on the heels of their wildly "successful" gun ban (pay no attention to the fact that there's a gun crime happening every hour in the UK), Mr. Blunkett has announced that shops will be banned from selling knives to people under 18 years of age, and that he would like to see a stiff, five-year jail sentence on any poor bloke caught in possession of a knife. God forbid a 16 year old decides he wants to cook sliced turkey for dinner! He'll be out of luck in Blunkett's Britain. Sorry, chum. You're going to have to rip the meat into chunks with your hands.
Why is this happening? Well you see, guns are, for the most part, banned. And even though gun crime in Britain has risen dramatically since the 1997 ban on self defense, so have other types of violent crimes, including knifings. As a matter of fact, a spate of recent stabbings has prompted the families of the victims to demand justice in the form of stiffer penalties for mere possession of these horrid sharp objects. Because believe it or not, knives are so prevalent in Merrie Olde England, that every two weeks, "someone loses their life as a result of being stabbed."
Apparently it's not enough that victims are prohibited from defending themselves, get punished for mere ownership of a firearm or a similar method of defense, such as a stun gun. Now, they won't even be able to purchase a kitchen implement of their choice without some emotionalist hack screeching that they're a danger to society and must be imprisoned for wanting to hack apart a side of beef for dinner.
What is going on over there?
Well, crime is out of control, and the government - instead of using logic and common sense to deal with criminals - is bowing to the reactionary histrionics of emotionally overwrought victims families and attempting to ban the offending object rather than address the source of the problem - the criminals. But if you're thinking that their extremist reaction to crime comes from genuine goodness and authentic attempts to lower crime in Britain, you might want to think again.
In a recent report, England's top lawyer - Attorney-General Lord Goldsmith - was quoted as saying that criminal's rights need to be protected as well as victims. (emphasis added) Apparently, the esteemed legislator believes that everyone has the right to live their lives free of violence - even those who make violence their life's choice! Who cares if victims of criminals spend time in jail for daring to protect their homes and their families! Apparently in Goldsmith's eyes, the lives of those who choose to violently victimize others...
...to stab, shoot, rape and assault them...
...are worth just as much as the victims. Therefore, it's apparently advisable, in Goldsmith's eyes, for a woman to simply spread her legs and wait for her rapist to finish rather than fight back, because - God forbid! - her attacker's right to rape and sodomize her in a safe environment could be compromised!
No, it's not fallible, human overreaction that is causing the Brits to attempt to control and outright ban every implement that may be used to cause harm. I'm convinced that their society has become so impossibly savage, that they can no longer tell the difference between right and wrong, justice and injustice, victim and criminal. Their warped sense of socialism tells them that we're all the same - that our lives are all equal - regardless of the choices we make or the lives we lead. That's why in their twisted world, it's important to protect the rights of violent thugs and disarm the righteous victims. That's why they think so little of life, liberty and property - because those concepts can only truly exist in a just society - a justice that the UK has lost.
They are beyond help. We can no longer ask the question, "How can we help them? How can we make them see?" The question we should be asking ourselves is, "How can we ensure that we do not become like them?" My answer is this: only by safeguarding the sacred concepts of life, liberty and property can we ensure that our sense of justice never becomes skewed by the savages in three-piece suits and jack boots who claim authority over us. Only by never giving up an iota - by fighting until our knuckles are bloodied - by never allowing ourselves or our leaders to forget those sacred principles, can we hope to preserve them. Only by fighting against the incremental destruction of our basic rights, can we hope to avoid becoming another Britain.
Because once a society forgets justice...
As soon as government leaders mar the line between right and wrong...
The path will be clear for them to enslave the sheep who have allowed them to do so.
Nicki is a US Army veteran, who spent nearly four years in Frankfurt, Germany on active duty at the American Forces Network. She is a former radio DJ and news anchor and a Featured Writer and Newslinks Director for Keepandbeararms.com. She is also a former contributing editor to the National Rifle Association's newest monthly magazine, Women's Outlook and she is currently the contributing editor to Concealed Carry Magazine and writes occasionally for the Libertarian Party. She resides in Virginia with her family. We are also proud to have Nicki as regular contributor to Armed Females of America and to speak for Armed Females on our position against gun control and freedom issues.
Singing in the rain, singing in the rain...
Oops - Anthony Burgess, rather.
Pointed stick? Oh, oh, oh. We want to learn how to defend ourselves against pointed sticks, do we? Getting all high and mighty, eh? Fresh fruit not good enough for you eh? Well I'll tell you something my lad. When you're walking home tonight and some great homicidal maniac comes after you with a bunch of loganberries, don't come crying to me!
I hate you.
let them implode in their own pudding!
Weird timing for this article. I'm not sure if it is old or not, but certainly David Blunkett was kicked out of office earlier in December (he had an affair with a married woman and hurried along a visa for the nanny of their illegitimate child).
As to banning the selling of blades over four inches in length to minors - I'm not too concerned with this. We don't let them vote, we don't let them drink, etc. You don't get full rights till you reach the age of majority and in the UK that is 18. We have real problems at the moment with kids stabbing each other (I am a govenor of a school here and can vouch for this).... I am going to wait to see the actual wording of the legislation before I criticise this one too much.
Now he couldn't even say: "Watson, better bring your pointed stick along".
http://www.viceland.com/issues/v11n11/htdocs/anarchy.php
Dear Yanks,
How many people have you heard of who got "ashtrayed" (breaking an ashtray over somebody's head) or "canned" (ripping up a can of lager and rubbing it over somebody's face a hundred times until their face looks like a crossword)? Probably not that many, because you've never lived in Wigan, North England, where the only guns you can buy are air pistols that can barely kill mice at point-blank rangeunless you get them converted (pictured here).
Casual violence is a lot more popular in Britain than in America because guns are so much harder to buy. British people are so in awe of American culture and all the amazing guns they see in Hollywood that they are making weapons out of the cupboard beneath their mother's sink or out of the stationery cupboard at school.
Well as anybody that has seen the movie "Shaun of the Dead" can tell you, the cricket bat can be a very dangerous weapon, especially when you're fighting off legions of the undead.
"What if someone attacks you with a pointed stick?"
You are allowed (currently) to protect yourself with a pencil.
Nicely done, gentlemen.
Well, let's not forget that common window panes can be broken into a half-dozen or more long, sharp blades. It's time we faced the necesity of banning window glass, and bottles too for that matter. Why it wouldn't be impossible for a determined criminal to kill you with a can top so maybe we ought to outlaw can openers too....
Armed teachers, staff, and any other adult who wishes to be, ought to solve that knife problem. It's done wonders for Israeli schools. After a few of those punks got blown away, I'm sure things would settle right down. The remaining students, would probably become a lot more attentive in class too. ;)
Banning knife sales to minors, will only stop the good kids from buying them. The ones with criminal intentions will ignore the "ban", and buy them on the street, or steal them. This article is at the top of the list at AF.com, so I'd guess it's for Dec., or January.
" I wonder when Britain will outlaw lead fishing sinkers."
We already know that PETA wants to get rid of fishing. So, I'm sure it's only a matter of time.
"Let the law-abiding people arm and protect themselves from the anti-social predators amongst us and the problem will rapidly subside."
But knives kill people, semaj. What on Earth are you thinking? :)
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