Pointing Guns
Entry posted by caldrail
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On my way to the sports center I passed a billboard announcing the latest headline from our local rag - Man Accused of Pointing Gun At Policeman. Well I can understand his frustration, but its more evidence of the steady creep of gun culture here in Britain.
Following the Dunblane Massacre, the government effectively banned the private ownership of guns, aside from shotguns but you still need to justify that ownership to the authorities. The sort of massacres we see played out in America are very rare here, and Dunblane provoked a knee-jerk reaction. That too is understandable, but all the government achieved was to create a black market of discarded weapons. Thats why the british police declared amnesties regularly.
Swindon hardly seems the epicentre of gun crime though, comparing it to events in London and Birmingham. A recent petrol station robbery involved someone waving what appeared to be a firearm, and during one amnesty, one young gentleman calmly walked down to the nearest police station to hand over his Bren light machine gun. I remember back in the seventies a policeman showing me the photographs of the weapons made in a cellar just up the hill from where I lived (for no illegal purpose, it was someones hobby, and he hadn't realised it was illegal to do so).
It seems as civilisation is crumbling around me, until I watch Vinnie Jone's Toughest Cops. yes, its the usual expose of hardmen in uniform, with hard stares from the presenter into the camera and no nonsense commentary. The two programs I've seen describe the activities of policemen of special units in Columbia and El Salvador, neither the most law-abiding nations of the world. The dangers these paramilitary men face on a daily business was self evident, and I guess I can excuse the slightly macho male-orientated approach, showing one officer telling the camera crew that he leaves the safety catch off in order to gain vital split seconds in a confrontation, or the close ups of a woman nicknamed Nikita, a police sniper. Chicks with guns. I can imagine the teenage fantasies going on in bedrooms.
The reality of course is that these places really are dangerous. Although every policeman interviewed said pretty much the same thing - that they felt they had to do something to deter this level of violent crime - the truth is they also said they enjoyed it. The addiction to adrenaline is insidious. Its also a very inherent part of human psychology, and ultimately the reason why the gangsters continue to face off against law enforcement when they know that there's a good chance they'll lose. The program didn't spare you from a close up of the aftermath of a robbery in a roadside cafe either, with two workmen lying crumpled over the furniture in a pools of blood. So far, this doesn't happen in Swindon, so I guess the next time a young copper eager to make an impression starts throwing his weight around, I'll just grin and bear it. So far, he isn't going to pull a gun on me.
Advert of the Week
At a local hotel there's going to be a Psychic Fair, with clairvoyants, faith healers, etc etc. Obviously telepathy is a bit too difficult, or the advert wouldn't have been necessary. Telekinesis might also prove incapable of getting me there without any physical effort of my own, and as for hypnotism so far I've shown not the slightest inclination to turn up. Or act like a chicken.
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