America's Safety Catch: Reality Slaps BBC Around

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Dain Bramage

Dain Bramage

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There's a serious "does not compute" irony swirling around this BBC story. Just like those androids that can't handle paradox in Star Trek, I can picture smoke curling out the ears of the BBC higher-ups, as they receive copy from their man in deepest, darkest Missouri.

BBC Link
 
Interesting read. I don't personally leave my doors unlocked, and my neighbors get drunk and fight three to five times a week, but on the whole, our country doesn't see the amount of crime that other countries paint us as having. An armed society is a polite society.
 
Interesting opinion piece. Despite the reputation for crime in our cities, the fact is that the vast majority of violent crime is visited by criminals on criminals. We don't walk around in fear or in apprehension, no matter where we live. Our guns don't even take us over and cause us to become ruthless killing machines.

The thing that must really make the person throw a gasket is that where we have guns and even carry them in public, you're going to be even safer than in places like NYC, where legal carry by common citizens is unthinkably rare.
 
Walk around my University- I could show you some public drunkeness....
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Or walk around any other neighborhood and you could see evidence of criminal behavior -- but not to the extent that the Brits seem to be enduring.

With the exception of a few "wilding" incidents, there is no widespread evidence of feral children (especially of the 5 - 12 years old variety) or the "yobs" (13 - 25 years old) going around in packs and face-slapping folks randomly because they can get away with it, or of herds of them running amuck in a grocery store much like the scence from Police Academy I.

I do not think the police in the USA are that much better than the cops in Great Britain. However, they are not quite as hamstrung as their brothers on Airstrip One, who are reduced to handing out Anti-Social Behavior (ASB) citations and an invitation to appear in court three or more months hence to discuss the matter. I do not think the general citizenry of the USA is of a better caliber than the Brits, but they are certainly less constrained by the law in what they can do regarding defense of self and home when the front door is kicked in at 11:30PM.

While we are as a society catching up to the Brits in many ways regarding the coddling of criminals and the abandoning of decent citizens to the predations of our own version of the packs of feral youth/yobs, we are not yet at the point that has been reached on the other side of the Atlantic. My guesstimate is that it will never reach that level, given our cultural history of personal self defense

The great bright spot here is that in spite of the yammering of those opposed to gun ownership, there are very few amongst that crowd that adhere completely to the idea of just giving up, rolling over, and letting the criminals run wild. Even the most rabid anti-gunner will pick up the phone and plead for the police to come solve their delima du jur. And as we see by all the news reports, the average Ameriocan cop is still not yet willing to surrender use of the gun, tazer, ASP/billyclub or plain old fisticuffs when dealing with bad persons.

stay safe.

skidmark
 
was it just me or was the article doing some really weird turns back forth, kinda like the author had a mild form of ADD (no offense to the ADD gun owners of THR)...

I would also like to see some references cited, oh wait...:banghead: that would be real journalism not fear-mongering
 
It seemed like it might have been a transcript of a broadcast or something, it did seem to jump all over the place and had a pretty low word count.
 
Because links go down.
America's 'safety catch'
By Justin Webb
BBC North America editor, Missouri


Despite the fact there are more than 200 million guns in circulation, there is a certain tranquility and civility about American life.

Deepwater, Missouri has a motto: "A great lil' town nestled in the heartland."



Deepwater considers itself to be an exemplar of the best of American life. A place where outsiders - if they ever penetrated this far - would find home-cooked apple pie and friendly, warm, hard-working folk.

Among those folk, I have no doubt, is Ronald Long.

Last month Mr Long decided to install a satellite television system in his Deepwater home. His efforts to make a hole in the outside wall came to nothing because Mr Long did not possess a drill.

But he did have a .22 calibre gun.

He fired two shots from the inside of the bedroom.

The second killed his wife who was standing outside.

He will face no charges. The police accept it was an accident.

Gun control

To many foreigners - and to some Americans - the tolerance of guns in everyday American life is simply inexplicable.


"In Montana, we like our guns... most of us own two or three"
Brian Schweitzer, Governor of Montana



As a New York Times columnist put it recently:

"The nation is saturated with violence. Thousands upon thousands of murders are committed each year. There are more than 200 million guns in circulation."

Someone suggested a few days ago that the Democrats' presidential candidates might like to take up the issue of gun control.

Forget about it.

They were warned off - in colourful style - by a fellow Democrat, the Governor of Montana, Brian Schweitzer.

"In Montana, we like our guns", he said.

"Most of us own two or three guns. 'Gun control' is hitting what you shoot at. So I'd be a little careful about blowing smoke up our skirts."

Democrats would like to win in the Mountain West this November. Enough said.

Washington weapons ban

On the anniversary of the Virginia Tech shooting, all this will feel to some like a rather depressing, if predictable, American story. A story of an inability to get to grips with violence.



At the moment, there is an effort being made to overturn a ban on some types of weapon in Washington DC.

Among those dead against this plan - those who claim it would turn the nation's capital into the Wild West - is a lanky black man (he looks like a basketball player) called Anwan Glover.

Anwan peeled off articles of clothing for our cameras and revealed that he had been shot nine times.

One bullet is still lodged in an elbow.

His younger brother was shot and killed a few months ago.

Anwan was speaking to us in a back alley in north-east Washington. If you heard a gun shot in this neighbourhood you would not feel surprised.

'Gentler environment'

Why is it then that so many Americans - and foreigners who come here - feel that the place is so, well, safe?


"I have met incredulous British tourists who have been shocked to the core by the peacefulness of the place"




A British man I met in Colorado recently told me he used to live in Kent but he moved to the American state of New Jersey and will not go home because it is, as he put it, "a gentler environment for bringing the kids up."

This is New Jersey. Home of the Sopranos.

Brits arriving in New York, hoping to avoid being slaughtered on day one of their shopping mission to Manhattan are, by day two, beginning to wonder what all the fuss was about. By day three they have had had the scales lifted from their eyes.

I have met incredulous British tourists who have been shocked to the core by the peacefulness of the place, the lack of the violent undercurrent so ubiquitous in British cities, even British market towns.

"It seems so nice here," they quaver.

Well, it is!

Violent paradox

Ten or 20 years ago, it was a different story, but things have changed.

And this is Manhattan.

Wait till you get to London Texas, or Glasgow Montana, or Oxford Mississippi or Virgin Utah, for that matter, where every household is required by local ordinance to possess a gun.

Folks will have guns in all of these places and if you break into their homes they will probably kill you.

They will occasionally kill each other in anger or by mistake, but you never feel as unsafe as you can feel in south London.

It is a paradox. Along with the guns there is a tranquillity and civility about American life of which most British people can only dream.

Peace and serenity

What surprises the British tourists is that, in areas of the US that look and feel like suburban Britain, there is simply less crime and much less violent crime.

Doors are left unlocked, public telephones unbroken.

One reason - perhaps the overriding reason - is that there is no public drunkenness in polite America, simply none.

I have never seen a group of drunk young people in the entire six years I have lived here. I travel a lot and not always to the better parts of town.

It is an odd fact that a nation we associate - quite properly - with violence is also so serene, so unscarred by petty crime, so innocent of brawling.

Virginia Tech had the headlines in the last few days and reminded us of the violence for which the US is well known.

But most American lives were as peaceful on this anniversary as they are every day.
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NukemJim
 
I kinda feel bad that the British are so disapointed in our lack of violence.

Speaking of violence, brawling, and public drunkenness, British guys are ones i've always said i would go out of my way to avoid a fist fight with. Along with the Irish and hockey players, they just have too much training.

They will occasionally kill each other in anger or by mistake, but you never feel (unsafe)
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happens a couple times a day in my small town, what about yours?
 
First they gave up their guns, then they gave up their God. No Jesus, no peace, know Jesus, know peace.
 
With the exception of a few "wilding" incidents, there is no widespread evidence of feral children (especially of the 5 - 12 years old variety) or the "yobs" (13 - 25 years old) going around in packs and face-slapping folks
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They call it "happy slapping". Definition from the urban dictionary

The practice of slapping or punching somebody unsuspectedly and recording it with a camera phone.

In America we call this practice assault and I do believe you would get shot with a gun if you tried it.

- or -

happy slapping is the act of hitting/slapping someone wile recording it on a camera phone. Very popular with chavs, who think they are cool. If a chave ever happy slapps you, crack his mother****ing skull open and/or blow his head off with a shot gun. Be prepared if you see a chave with a camera phone, be ready to crack him in the jaw.
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And in case you're wondering what a "chav" is

Emerging British subculture which is quickly becoming an epidemic. Chavs can be found the length and breadth of the country, hanging around any junk food outlet, off licence or just hanging around the streets, where they pass the time by vandalising property, drinking cheap cider, shouting abuse at passers by and terrorising old people.

Appearance: Chavs have a strict dress code. Designer labels are everything, although knocked off/fake items are almost de-rigeur. Typically, the male chav will wear a Nickelson or Schott hooded top, baggy tracksuit trousers, white designer trainers, and a baseball cap by burberry or Nike. The female chav (chavette) will have peroxide blonde hair scrunched so tight into a pony tail with colourful scrunchies that her forehead stretches. She will wear a dark blue tracksuit with white stripes, an enormous puffa jacket, hoop earrings, and white trainers. Female chavs are forbidden from wearing socks, and all chavs must wear as much fake gold jewellery as they can fit on their bodies. Mobiles are an added status symbol, and when equipped, the chav must shout into it in the most anti-social way possible, using at least one expletive and the word "innit" per second. Every other word in between should be unrecognisable to non-chavs.

Cars: Typically the Vauxhall Nova, but could include Ford Escort/Orion, Vauxhall Astra, and for chavs with "bling", even a totally shagged 3 series BMW. Whatever the type of car, it must have a spoiler shaped plank of MDF nailed to the back, 20" alloy wheels which rub on the wheel arches over every bump, a badly fitted bodykit (extra points for being able to see EXACTLY where the car ends and bodykit starts), a lairy paint job with runs in it, exhaust pipes the size of the space shuttle's booster nozzles, and blue LED's on the washer jets. Neon undercar lighting is also desirable.

Attitude: The chav's attitude depends heavily on the number of mates backing him up. If he's on his own, he'll skulk along anonymously. In numbers, he'll challenge anyone to anything.
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PS: Here's a funny video of what happens when two chavs happy slap the wrong guy's girlfriend.

PPS: Hope this post isn't too low road...
 
First they gave up their guns, then they gave up their God. No Jesus, no peace, know Jesus, know peace.
Click to expand...
Scanr I'm not sure if your trying to imply a lack of Jesus or religion makes a person bad by default or that it is a cure for such things but that's how it seems to me.
 
With the exception of a few "wilding" incidents, there is no widespread evidence of feral children (especially of the 5 - 12 years old variety) or the "yobs" (13 - 25 years old) going around in packs and face-slapping folks randomly because they can get away with it, or of herds of them running amuck in a grocery store much like the scence from Police Academy I.
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In Cleveland last year, a 15 year old (out on probation for armed robbery) tried to rob a guy on his own front lawn. He got drilled for his trouble.

His mutant family and friends started a stink about his "suicide by citizen". They were horrified to have just about the ENTIRE community tell them what to kiss and when. There was virtually NO sympathy for poor Arthur Buford. The general consensus from EVERYBODY was, "Armed robbery's dangerous. You might want to rethink it as a career choice".

I like to tell that story to anti-gunners, especially Brits. The idea of somebody NOT putting his life in the hands of a previously convicted violent felon just sends them into a tizzy.
 
Scanr I'm not sure if your trying to imply a lack of Jesus or religion makes a person bad by default or that it is a cure for such things but that's how it seems to me.
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Hey, as long as you protect your 2nd Amendment rights, it'll never be anything more than a suggestion.

Armed agnosticism, indifference with the courage of its convictions! ;)
 
Attitude: The chav's attitude depends heavily on the number of mates backing him up. If he's on his own, he'll skulk along anonymously. In numbers, he'll challenge anyone to anything.
Click to expand...

Typical of a true coward. Where are the fathers of these miscreants?

That video was great. If only more people would stand up and fight back, the chav's would then only pick on the truly weak--themselves.
 
His mutant family and friends started a stink about his "suicide by citizen". They were horrified to have just about the ENTIRE community tell them what to kiss and when. There was virtually NO sympathy for poor Arthur Buford.
Click to expand...

The friends and relations of the kid promptly vandalized the victim's house, breaking every window. I'm a bit surprised they didn't torch it, since that would have vindicated the kid's actions that got him killed. :banghead:

That video was great. The punks deserved to get their butts kicked by that guy. Someone pulls that crap on me or a friend, it's on.
 
Folks will have guns in all of these places and if you break into their homes they will probably kill you.

They will occasionally kill each other in anger or by mistake, but you never feel as unsafe as you can feel in south London.

It is a paradox. Along with the guns there is a tranquillity and civility about American life of which most British people can only dream.
Click to expand...

No paradox. As Heinlein said, “An armed society is a polite society”.
 
Without a moral compass a person is given leeway to determine what is right to them.
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Don’t go there. You’re not the only ones with morals. Is it more righteous to live a moral life because you’re a coward and fear Hell, or to live a righteous life because you feel it is the right thing to do? Pharisees need an external moral compass because they lack an internal moral compass. I realize you can’t understand that. You really don’t want to have this discussion. It will not be like preaching to the choir, and the moderators will not let it continue. I wish they would close threads like this as soon as your kind starts condescending.
 
Why doesn't anyone ever include the rest of the Heinlein quote?

I rather like the full version...
An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life.
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