[weegee]

Many of these young people would give up their knives if they knew everyone else would.

It isn't just knives. Street weapons in England are comprised of a whole lot of home fabricated nastiness from boards with protruding nails on up...

[WayneS]

THE Alf Hitchcock????

[Spok]

A whole generation of Brits has been head-screwed by their culture, and all the government can do is try to keep sharp objects out of their hands. The UK has turned into a huge insane asylum.

[Billthedrill]

Many of these young people would give up their knives if they knew everyone else would. But when that can't be guaranteed, which kid is going to be the first to volunteer to walk unarmed?

Must...resist...comment...

"Knife culture." "Gun culture." The easiest way to understand these terms is to realize that individuals using them almost never know what they are talking about.

[BreezyDog]

I frequently carry this exact knife clipped inside my pocket.

Benchmade Elishewitz Carbon Fiber Knife, Combo-Edge & BC1 Coating, Rose Wood Handle-$135.00

The only person I've stabbed with it is myself. Accidentally of course. It was my first and hopefully last ambulance ride. I primarily use it to open packages. Which is how I had the accident.

[wolfcreek]

I keep a couple of these 4 inch razor scrappers in my truck as part of my job. One in each hand and a little know-how could be mighty dangerous.

[Anitius Severinus Boethius]

Poor Rowenna Davis. The answer to her question is found in her own article. She just doesn't recognize it.

Their policy of getting young people to talk to stabbing victims rests on the belief that kids respond to education and are capable of empathy, something that the Conservative policy of locking anyone up caught carrying a knife doesn't seem to appreciate.

But what poor Rowenna doesn't understand is that neither policy works.

First, we need to identify the fact that not everyone who carries a knife has criminal intent. In fact in her own article she points out that 85% of kids polled claim to carry it for self-defense. If even half of them were telling the truth, that means that 40%+ of kids carry knives to protect themselves.

So the policy of outlawing knives fails because it does not support the Natural Right of self-defense.

But the second point is where Rowenna falls completely short of logic. These kids, in fact, will not "respond to education" and are not "capable of empathy".

The British culture has shown them that there is no morality (so therefore empathy is a pointless exercise) and that Government will not be consistant in it's application of force (imprisoning those defending themselves while letting violent criminals out for holidays).

This behavior by the British Government is known as inconsistant negative reinforcement and is studied by the Behavioralist branch of psychology. It tends to produce neurosis and psychosis in people at a much higher rate than any other form of reinforcement of reward or punishment.

In short, look back to Burgess "A Clockwork Orange" for a prophetic look at what Britain has been become.

[Carry_Okie]

I propose that the only food available in Great Britain be oatmeal. That way people won't need knives.

Problem solved.

[Travis McGee]

When you know just how bad a stab wound can be, you want to keep a knife close to your chest to have some credible threat of self-defence against others. This has been recognised by the government's own newly appointed lead on knife crime, Alf Hitchcock, who has said that 85% of young people who carry blades do so because they fear for their personal safety.

Thank you Minister Obvious.

[Donald Rumsfeld Fan]

...... newly appointed lead on knife crime, Alf Hitchcock, who has said that 85% of young people who carry blades do so because they fear for their personal safety.

[PeterFinn]

It’s stories like this that make it diffcult for me to acknowledge that the same United Kingdom once ruled nearly half the world. These pitiful wretches who inherited the mantle of Nelson can’t even rule their own country, let alone take charge for anyone else.