A katana is an awesome weapon if one is set upon by several people with murderous intent providing one is happy to have a pool of gore at the conclusion but I have no idea how to use one with restraint. I have several, (one a 14th century blade) and I have done a little kendo too but in Britain's crime conditions they would be one of the last things I'd think of grabbing if there were a disturbance.
The police have a tricky path to tread. Too many stops and they build up resentments that ultimately work against efficient policing, too few and they are accused of dereliction of duty. Providing stops and questioning are done with respect only the obstreperous can complain.
It must be tedious to be a minority and be constantly stopped though. It's easy for those of us who don't suffer that to take a high view.
Bob who? Dylan picked up by NJ police
There was a case in Seattle some years ago where the police shot and killed a man who was on a rampage with a katana. It was hailed as a tragedy, and I guess it was, but really, the police didn't have much choice. Swords are rarely seen in daily life any more and when they are they're usually part of someone's or some museum's collection. It's easy to forget how dangerous they are. There's only one use for a sword: killing people.
When you can do nothing what can you do?
On Top Chef, one of the chefs went around asking the others if anyone had a sword. He was slicing open coconuts, and I have to imagine a machete is the best tool for that. The other chefs thought that contestant was crazy, of course.
But, yeah. Swords are for looking pretty on a wall, or killing people. If you want a multi-purpose blade, get a machete.
There's a good chance the college kid with the katana is going to be charged with something for killing this guy in his backyard. The police were obviously already involved in tracking him down, so calling them probably would have resulted in a prompt response. Intentionally confronting the suspect by going outside to deal with him (while carrying a sword?) makes it harder to use self-defense as an automatic defense. AFAIK, the thief was unarmed, so the use of deadly force can certainly be called into question. But, of course, you are generally justified in shooting an intruder in your home, so who knows?
It has to get annoying that black people walking around white neighborhoods are automatically suspected of being up to no good. Just as teenagers congregating anywhere are, or Middle Easterners trying to get on planes. If there is a car being torn apart in a search on I-95, chances are very high the driver is black. It gets very old if you are innocent, I would imagine.
But, yeah. Swords are for looking pretty on a wall, or killing people. If you want a multi-purpose blade, get a machete.
There's a good chance the college kid with the katana is going to be charged with something for killing this guy in his backyard. The police were obviously already involved in tracking him down, so calling them probably would have resulted in a prompt response. Intentionally confronting the suspect by going outside to deal with him (while carrying a sword?) makes it harder to use self-defense as an automatic defense. AFAIK, the thief was unarmed, so the use of deadly force can certainly be called into question. But, of course, you are generally justified in shooting an intruder in your home, so who knows?
It has to get annoying that black people walking around white neighborhoods are automatically suspected of being up to no good. Just as teenagers congregating anywhere are, or Middle Easterners trying to get on planes. If there is a car being torn apart in a search on I-95, chances are very high the driver is black. It gets very old if you are innocent, I would imagine.
Had a bit of a scare today. As I pulled out of the garage, I saw a stranger walking down the street. A white man, unkempt and what Tolkien might have called ill-favored. He walked slowly looking and he watched me drive away. I was concerned especially because I was only driving Lufu to school and would be back shortly to stay home alone. And then it struck me that the fellow matched the sketchy description of the man who put a brick throug my window some years ago and then I got really nervous.
I didn't call police. Didn't seem to be enough cause. When I got home the house was fine and the man gone. There are roofers working across the street so I figure I'll be all right. But it have me all the wrong vibes it did.
I didn't call police. Didn't seem to be enough cause. When I got home the house was fine and the man gone. There are roofers working across the street so I figure I'll be all right. But it have me all the wrong vibes it did.
If there was anything that depressed him more than his own cynicism, it was that quite often it still wasn't as cynical as real life.
Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
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Primula Baggins
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If you see him around your house again, I think you should call the police.
Self-defense experts often make a point that we should listen to our instincts—if a situation feels iffy, we should act to avoid it rather than worry about whether doing so might offend someone or make us look silly. The example I remember is crossing a street to avoid a group of young men when you're walking alone at night.
Self-defense experts often make a point that we should listen to our instincts—if a situation feels iffy, we should act to avoid it rather than worry about whether doing so might offend someone or make us look silly. The example I remember is crossing a street to avoid a group of young men when you're walking alone at night.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
The thing that stopped me from calling the cops was that he did not seemed to be looking at the houses as if casing them.
But when I got home, after seeing the roofers across the street, I drove into the garage, left the door open, listened carefully, and then checked, with the garage still open, that the back door was not forced.
Once burned...
But when I got home, after seeing the roofers across the street, I drove into the garage, left the door open, listened carefully, and then checked, with the garage still open, that the back door was not forced.
Once burned...
If there was anything that depressed him more than his own cynicism, it was that quite often it still wasn't as cynical as real life.
Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!