REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

London terror attacks

POSTED BY: CITIZEN
UPDATED: Saturday, July 30, 2005 11:41
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Monday, July 25, 2005 11:10 AM

HKCAVALIER


Quote:

Originally posted by BarnStormer:
I assume your joking HK.



'Fraid not, BS. What's funny about it? So to your mind, running from the cops makes you a suspected terrorist. Such a "fool" deserves death. God forbid you should ever find yourself afraid of a cop, BarnStormer.

Your position doesn't make any sense, least of all common. On the one hand we are "all responsible for our own actions," but that somehow doesn't include the police. They are exempt in your view from agency. "If the guy is dead, it's his own doing." WTF? First off, what kind of cowardly phrasology is that? If? Seven bullets in the head says he's dead. Killed by a policeman. Wrongfully. I'm not hanging anything on the officers. "PC spin?" The man's only crimes were his location, the color of his skin and his fear of the police, on the strength of which, he was gunned down. Where's the spin? It's what I would call "brutal but true." To my mind, it takes a whole lot of spin to blame an innocent man shot seven times in the back of the head for his own death!

And for the sake of clarity, I am not blaming the police, they are not to blame, they were simply following procedure to the best of their ability. Their ability fell below the required mark. I'm not surprised. I feel terrible for them. As I've said before, what we're requiring of them is beyond human capacity to execute.

"Guns don't kill people, people--who aren't terrorists and yet run from the cops are too stupid to live and--kill themselves."

Quote:

Simple common sense says that if your not a terrorist, it might be very bad for your continued good health to act exactly as a terrorist would during a time of terrorist homicide bombings in you immediate area.

If the guy is dead, it's his own doing. He was apparently a fool. I feel badly for the officers involved in his death, they must feel awful even if it was justified. And for his family of course.

Brutal but true. We are all responsible for our own actions. Putting a PC spin on this to hang it on the law inforcement officers in London is just a bunch of Crap.


Am I a Lion?... No, I think I'ma tellin' the truth.

BarnStormer



HKCavalier

Hey, hey, hey, don't be mean. We don't have to be mean, because, remember, no matter where you go, there you are.

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Monday, July 25, 2005 11:21 AM

HKCAVALIER


Quote:

Originally posted by chrisisall:
Quote:

Originally posted by HKCavalier:
And don't ever do anything the slightest bit illegal, so you never have any reason to run from the cops, because all crimes have become punishable by death if you don't submit quietly.


Yep.

Welcome to the human race Chrisisall



Too...much...irony...must...

Chrisisall, what are you talking about here? Is this really what the human race has come to? So Rodney King should count himself lucky?

HKCavalier

Hey, hey, hey, don't be mean. We don't have to be mean, because, remember, no matter where you go, there you are.

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Monday, July 25, 2005 12:16 PM

CITIZEN


Quote:

original post by BarnStormer:
I assume your joking HK. Simple common sense says that if your not a terrorist, it might be very bad for your continued good health to act exactly as a terrorist would during a time of terrorist homicide bombings in you immediate area.



Because acting afraid all the time, and changing the way we would normally act is in no way giving the terrorists, or who ever, what they want, and would in no way move our society towards an Orwelian one.

Quote:

original post by BarnStormer:
If the guy is dead, it's his own doing. He was apparently a fool. I feel badly for the officers involved in his death, they must feel awful even if it was justified. And for his family of course.



A hypothetical. What if he ran because he had stolen goods, or was a shop lifter? Such a person would likely run from the police, does their crime merit a death sentence?

A woman drove me to drink and I didn't even have the decency to thank her.
--W.C. Fields

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Monday, July 25, 2005 12:23 PM

CHRISISALL


I was quoting Snake Plisskin from Escape From LA.

I meant in a cynical way thet you should sometimes expect things to go completely rotten, and worry less about right and wrong, and more about survival.
My martial art background is all about harmony, and sometimes the most harmonious thing you can do is nothing, be still.
And I don't think it's about where we've come to, it's about where we've always been. We just have to try and make the best of it right now.

Rodney King was lucky, lucky that the cops beating him weren't MORE near-psychotic than they were.

Riding the waves, good and bad Chrisisall

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Monday, July 25, 2005 12:26 PM

CITIZEN


I posted early that Jean Charles de Menezes Visa may have ran out, this now appears to not be the case:

Quote:

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said he understood that the 27-year-old was in the country legally, following speculation that he may have fled because his visa had expired.

http://www.itn.co.uk/news/1280151.html

A woman drove me to drink and I didn't even have the decency to thank her.
--W.C. Fields

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Monday, July 25, 2005 12:32 PM

CHRISISALL


Quote:

Originally posted by citizen:
What if he ran because he had stolen goods, or was a shop lifter? Such a person would likely run from the police, does their crime merit a death sentence?

At this particular moment, yes. The same way jumping off a cliff with a sheer 500 foot drop would. It's not about what we want, it's about what can and will happen. It's self defence time. Just know the score, and do what's necessary to protect your life, if that means postphoning your criminal activities for a while, so be it.

Sounding far from left here, but not really Chrisisall

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Monday, July 25, 2005 12:33 PM

CITIZEN


Quote:

original post by chrisisall:
I meant in a cynical way thet you should sometimes expect things to go completely rotten, and worry less about right and wrong, and more about survival.


I'd argue that when everything goes to hell within a civilized society is when we have to keep a stronger eye on our morality.

Apart from that I agree with what you said.

A woman drove me to drink and I didn't even have the decency to thank her.
--W.C. Fields

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Monday, July 25, 2005 12:44 PM

CHRISISALL


Quote:

Originally posted by citizen:
I'd argue that when everything goes to hell within a civilized society is when we have to keep a stronger eye on our morality.


Yeah, definitly, I'm just sayin' that first you have to consider staying alive, in order to do anything else. Like they tell you on a plane, put your mask on first, you can't help anyone else if you're passed out.

Survival is job 1 Chrisisall

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Monday, July 25, 2005 12:44 PM

CITIZEN


Quote:

original post by chrisisall:
At this particular moment, yes. The same way jumping off a cliff with a sheer 500 foot drop would. It's not about what we want, it's about what can and will happen. It's self defence time. Just know the score, and do what's necessary to protect your life, if that means postphoning your criminal activities for a while, so be it.



The logical implications of your argument are scary. What if the spectre of Terroism never disapears?
A climate of fear is a dangerous thing.

A woman drove me to drink and I didn't even have the decency to thank her.
--W.C. Fields

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Monday, July 25, 2005 12:54 PM

CITIZEN


Quote:

Originally posted by chrisisall:
Quote:

Originally posted by citizen:
I'd argue that when everything goes to hell within a civilized society is when we have to keep a stronger eye on our morality.


Yeah, definitly, I'm just sayin' that first you have to consider staying alive, in order to do anything else. Like they tell you on a plane, put your mask on first, you can't help anyone else if you're passed out.

Survival is job 1 Chrisisall



I don't know, theres more to life than simple survival.

A woman drove me to drink and I didn't even have the decency to thank her.
--W.C. Fields

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Monday, July 25, 2005 1:06 PM

FINN MAC CUMHAL


Quote:

Originally posted by Ruxton:
Thank you most kindly. It is often extremely difficult to keep one's temper in light of so much confused thinking by those who believe everything they're told by well-dressed TV newspeople, or by some bum in a position of power. But we try.

Did you hear that, Citizen? You better stop watching those news channels with their “well-dressed TV newspeople.” Ruxton might get mad.




Part of the responsibility rests with the victim. Running from the police is a dangerous activity regardless of the threat of terrorism. I seriously doubt this is the first guy who has ever been killed by the police because he ran. Running from the police is generally a stupid thing to do.

Given the information that I’ve heard so far (exiting a suspected terrorist location, wearing a heavy coat, running from the police towards the subway) I might have shot the guy too. I certainly would have shot the guy before I would have allowed him to blow up the train with me and who knows how many innocent people, if that’s what I believed he was going to do.

It is unfortunate that he was killed, and the police certainly share some responsibility. But if your going to tell me that this guy might have been shoplifting or some other illegal activity and then decided to run from the police to imply that he’s somehow innocent, spare me your moral relativism. He shouldn’t have been shoplifting (if that what he was doing; I’ve seen no evidence that he had or was committing any crime) and he shouldn’t have run from the police. The police were not after him to kill him. If he had not run, they would have stopped him, questioned him and probably let him go, but he would probably be alive right now, if he had not run.

It’s tragic, but this guy may not be without a good deal of responsibility in his own death.

-------------
Qui desiderat pacem praeparet bellum.

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Monday, July 25, 2005 1:34 PM

CHRISISALL


Quote:

Originally posted by citizen:
I don't know, theres more to life than simple survival.

Okay, we're talkin' about two different things, now.
I'm sayin' that you need to do what you have to, to survive in a bad situation - THEN you address how to solve the problem.
All the perceptions of right and wrong, and all the ideas on how to fix the problem of living in fear of terrorists and their effect on the landscape go out the window if you act like you should be able to behave like others are not extremely able and/or likely to shoot you should your behaviour be misconstrued as that of a potential target.
Live first (the decisions that can be made in seconds).
Live well second (the decisions that you can take time with).

Whew...Chrisisall

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Monday, July 25, 2005 1:40 PM

CITIZEN


Quote:

original post by Finn mac Cumhal:
Did you hear that, Citizen? You better stop watching those news channels with their “well-dressed TV newspeople.” Ruxton might get mad.


Eh? Well with the American news channels i've seen I'm not surprised at this estimation. ITN and the BBC, even skynews in this country report the news, CNN, as a for instance, seems to be a contest for which presenter can say 'oh my god!' the loudest...
...Tho I don't watch it very often so maybe I'm missing the good parts.

Quote:

original post by Finn mac Cumhal:
It is unfortunate that he was killed, and the police certainly share some responsibility. But if your going to tell me that this guy might have been shoplifting or some other illegal activity and then decided to run from the police to imply that he’s somehow innocent, spare me your moral relativism. He shouldn’t have been shoplifting (if that what he was doing; I’ve seen no evidence that he had or was committing any crime) and he shouldn’t have run from the police. The police were not after him to kill him. If he had not run, they would have stopped him, questioned him and probably let him go, but he would probably be alive right now, if he had not run.


As far as we know he was innocent. True if he hadn't run he'd probably still be alive. The tone of the previous post was that his death was all his fault and that he almost deserved to die. My reply was meant as a rebuttle to that, not as an accusation, or to imply he's totally innocent because he got shot.

A woman drove me to drink and I didn't even have the decency to thank her.
--W.C. Fields

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Monday, July 25, 2005 1:41 PM

HKCAVALIER


Quote:

Originally posted by Finn mac Cumhal:
Part of the responsibility rests with the victim. Running from the police is a dangerous activity regardless of the threat of terrorism. I seriously doubt this is the first guy who has ever been killed by the police because he ran. Running from the police is generally a stupid thing to do.

Given the information that I’ve heard so far (exiting a suspected terrorist location, wearing a heavy coat, running from the police towards the subway) I might have shot the guy too. I certainly would have shot the guy before I would have allowed him to blow up the train with me and who knows how many innocent people, if that’s what I believed he was going to do.

It is unfortunate that he was killed, and the police certainly share some responsibility. But if your going to tell me that this guy might have been shoplifting or some other illegal activity and then decided to run from the police to imply that he’s somehow innocent, spare me your moral relativism. He shouldn’t have been shoplifting (if that what he was doing; I’ve seen no evidence that he had or was committing any crime) and he shouldn’t have run from the police. The police were not after him to kill him. If he had not run, they would have stopped him, questioned him and probably let him go, but he would probably be alive right now, if he had not run.

It’s tragic, but this guy may not be without a good deal of responsibility in his own death.



I'm guessing you're white, Finn. Saves you from having to take the kind of responsibility a lot of people will be having to take for the next while. Maybe, for their safety, we should put them all in camps for a few years where they won't get into trouble and they won't be mistaken for terrorists. Just to be safe.

If things do get worse, where will you draw the line? These lines are getting easier and easier to cross, these days. Where does it end?

HKCavalier

Hey, hey, hey, don't be mean. We don't have to be mean, because, remember, no matter where you go, there you are.

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Monday, July 25, 2005 1:43 PM

CITIZEN


I understand chrisisall. I just also see where that sort of thinking can lead.

A woman drove me to drink and I didn't even have the decency to thank her.
--W.C. Fields

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Monday, July 25, 2005 1:49 PM

CITIZEN


Quote:

original post by HKCavalier:
Maybe, for their safety, we should put them all in camps for a few years where they won't get into trouble and they won't be mistaken for terrorists.



I happen to agree, the Nazi movement in Germany showed how quickly and easily these things can get out of control.

A woman drove me to drink and I didn't even have the decency to thank her.
--W.C. Fields

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Monday, July 25, 2005 1:59 PM

CHRISISALL


As long as you understand that I'm not in any way sayin' it should be acceptable to shoot suspects on a whim.
This discussion got a mite more complicated than I generally like.

I fold Chrisisall

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Monday, July 25, 2005 2:06 PM

FINN MAC CUMHAL


Quote:

Originally posted by HKCavalier:
I'm guessing you're white, Finn. Saves you from having to take the kind of responsibility a lot of people will be having to take for the next while. Maybe, for their safety, we should put them all in camps for a few years where they won't get into trouble and they won't be mistaken for terrorists. Just to be safe.

If things do get worse, where will you draw the line? These lines are getting easier and easier to cross, these days. Where does it end?

Playing the race card, huh? Well it doesn’t matter, because regardless of what color his skin was or his nationality, he would still probably be alive today if he hadn’t run, and that, far more then your histrionic implications, is the tragic truth.

-------------
Qui desiderat pacem praeparet bellum.

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Monday, July 25, 2005 2:22 PM

HKCAVALIER


(Edited for clarity and to remove a level of sarcasm I'm a little embarrassed by. A little smart-ass goes a long way.)

Quote:

Originally posted by chrisisall:
Quote:

Originally posted by citizen:
I don't know, theres more to life than simple survival.

Okay, we're talkin' about two different things, now.
I'm sayin' that you need to do what you have to, to survive in a bad situation - THEN you address how to solve the problem.
All the perceptions of right and wrong, and all the ideas on how to fix the problem of living in fear of terrorists and their effect on the landscape go out the window if you act like you should be able to behave like others are not extremely able and/or likely to shoot you should your behaviour be misconstrued as that of a potential target.
Live first (the decisions that can be made in seconds).
Live well second (the decisions that you can take time with).

Whew...Chrisisall



But Chris, it's all distorted. Do you "live in fear of terrorists?" I don't. That fear is a distortion. Death may come for me in the midst of writing this post, but I don't worry about that. With your martial arts background, isn't it clear that the "living in fear" part is the problem? A whole society driven by fear is far more dangerous than one man getting spooked by the cops. Shouldn't we as a society do something about our fear before we rush about needlessly destroying innocent people?

And you're talking with hindsight. What were the circumstances from Jean Charles de Menezes' point of view? Did the police state who they were? Is that what you do when confronting a man you're convinced is a terrorist bomber about to push the botton? A group of men start toward you, you're not necessarily going to check their i.d. badges up close, you get the feeling that they mean you harm, perhaps they've shown their weapons by now. I don't think it's natural to expect a man to think, "Hm, the police just got the instructions to shoot to kill suspected terrorists this week, and these might be police, so if I run, they will naturally shoot me in the head." I'm sure that if he had any inkling that his running would mean his death, he'd have stood still as a stone in swift water. Seems to me, he did the sensible thing and ran where there were the most people.

Somehow I doubt the cops anounced that he was a suspected terrorist bomber and informed him that if he didn't surrender immediately, they would shoot him in the head. I could be wrong. Did they even announce that they were police? did they flash badges? Is that even how this is done? Anybody know what the procedure is? I wonder when they made the decision to execute him? Did he really have a chance?

HKCavalier

Hey, hey, hey, don't be mean. We don't have to be mean, because, remember, no matter where you go, there you are.

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Monday, July 25, 2005 8:21 PM

RUXTON


HKCavalier, your point,
"Hm, the police just got the instructions to shoot to kill suspected terrorists this week, and these might be police, so if I run, they will naturally shoot me in the head."

brings to mind this question: Do the people of Britain know about shoot-to-kill orders? Was this common knowledge prior to this shooting? Even if so, can foreign citizens living in London be expected to know this?

My understanding is, like yours, that the "police" were in fact not in uniform, so how can this guy be expected to stop, especially when he was recently mugged, when someone hollers at him. In fact, at least one witness was emphatic that the police did not identify themselves prior to the murder.

It seems increasingly clear the police were at fault, but without the total picture of what happened, we end up guessing a lot. Still, it seems to me there is precious little justification for such piss-poor training and apparent overreacting by the police.

Now, then...What if this had happened in the U.S., to a legally armed U.S. citizen? Some goons holler for him to stop, and one of them waves a gun. Unless they clearly and repeatedly identified themselves as police, the armed citizen's response could well have resulted in at least one dead goon and a still-healthy, still free citizen.

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Monday, July 25, 2005 8:32 PM

HKCAVALIER


Quote:

Originally posted by Ruxton:
brings to mind this question: Do the people of Britain know about shoot-to-kill orders? Was this common knowledge prior to this shooting? Even if so, can foreign citizens living in London be expected to know this?

My understanding is, like yours, that the "police" were in fact not in uniform, so how can this guy be expected to stop, especially when he was recently mugged, when someone hollers at him.



Yes, yes, yes!

HKCavalier

Hey, hey, hey, don't be mean. We don't have to be mean, because, remember, no matter where you go, there you are.

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Tuesday, July 26, 2005 12:37 AM

CITIZEN


Quote:

original post by Ruxton:
My understanding is, like yours, that the "police" were in fact not in uniform, so how can this guy be expected to stop, especially when he was recently mugged, when someone hollers at him. In fact, at least one witness was emphatic that the police did not identify themselves prior to the murder.



The police were plainclothed, Aparently the police identified themselves outside of Stockwell station, when Jean Charles de Menezes was first confronted. I was unaware that he'd been recently mugged, where did you hear this?

BBC article on the current police shoot to kill policy:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4716645.stm
And Brazils reaction:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4716141.stm

A woman drove me to drink and I didn't even have the decency to thank her.
--W.C. Fields

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Tuesday, July 26, 2005 3:14 AM

SIMONWHO


Quote:

Originally posted by citizen:
Quote:

original post by HKCavalier:
Maybe, for their safety, we should put them all in camps for a few years where they won't get into trouble and they won't be mistaken for terrorists.



I happen to agree, the Nazi movement in Germany showed how quickly and easily these things can get out of control.



I'm afraid if you're going to look for comparisons in the 40's, you don't have to look any further than America and it's own policy of internment.

Incidentally, the photos of the victim make him appear slightly dark skinned, possibly just a white guy with a suntan. I don't see any malicious racism behind the shooting.

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Tuesday, July 26, 2005 3:43 AM

CITIZEN


Quote:

original post by SimonWho:
Incidentally, the photos of the victim make him appear slightly dark skinned, possibly just a white guy with a suntan. I don't see any malicious racism behind the shooting.



He was Brazillian so he was likely darker skinned. Dunno tho I know what you mean by the photos.
I wasn't really trying to say their was racial motivation, just how easy these things can spiral out of control given the right climate, tho i see why you thought that.

Quote:

original post by SimonWho:
I'm afraid if you're going to look for comparisons in the 40's, you don't have to look any further than America and it's own policy of internment.



Accusing gentle Bush of a misdeed! How dare you!
Those people at Guantanamo are all nasty evil terror types! As proven by a fair just and democratic trial...
No wait a minute...

A woman drove me to drink and I didn't even have the decency to thank her.
--W.C. Fields

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Tuesday, July 26, 2005 3:51 AM

CITIZEN


To be fair tho, us Brits invented the concentration camp during the boer war, and the Americans heard the Japanese into them during WW2 as well.

A woman drove me to drink and I didn't even have the decency to thank her.
--W.C. Fields

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Tuesday, July 26, 2005 4:09 AM

CHRISISALL


Quote:

Originally posted by HKCavalier:
(Edited for clarity and to remove a level of sarcasm I'm a little embarrassed by. A little smart-ass goes a long way.)


You didn't have to do that, sarcasm is my middle name...
Quote:


A group of men start toward you, you're not necessarily going to check their i.d. badges up close, you get the feeling that they mean you harm

At this point it's time to confront, not run. Check locations of legs, specifically knees, and target them. Useful tools like garbage cans should be aquired for throwing...
Quote:

Did he really have a chance?
No, not really, and neither would I.
This was a lose/lose situation, that's clear now.

Reminds me of a time when some police in NY were cofronting a drug suspect in a dark doorway and one thought he saw the perp reach for a gun; they pumped 16 bullets into him. He had no gun, only a wallet and a sudden case of lead poisoning.

I can only absolutly assign blame for this on the circumstances, I don't know enough about the actions of the cops to comment on them, except to say people with things that go bang are usually dangerous.

Even Mal punched Simon before he really understood the situation. It's gorram complicated. And cops are just guys like you and me, maybe they can aim their guns a little better than us, but they're not the 'professionals' we see in the movies. Just peeps w/a little more training.

There's a lot of variables, we can't know them all, but yeah, living in fear is the biggest contributor to this incident. In that sense, the terrorists won a point for their scorecard.

Chrisisall

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Tuesday, July 26, 2005 6:19 AM

BARNSTORMER


Quote:

Originally posted by HKCavalier:
Quote:

Originally posted by BarnStormer:
I assume your joking HK.



'Fraid not, BS. What's funny about it? So to your mind, running from the cops makes you a suspected terrorist. Such a "fool" deserves death. God forbid you should ever find yourself afraid of a cop, BarnStormer.

Your position doesn't make any sense, least of all common. On the one hand we are "all responsible for our own actions," but that somehow doesn't include the police. They are exempt in your view from agency. "If the guy is dead, it's his own doing." WTF? First off, what kind of cowardly phrasology is that? If? Seven bullets in the head says he's dead. Killed by a policeman. Wrongfully. I'm not hanging anything on the officers. "PC spin?" The man's only crimes were his location, the color of his skin and his fear of the police, on the strength of which, he was gunned down. Where's the spin? It's what I would call "brutal but true." To my mind, it takes a whole lot of spin to blame an innocent man shot seven times in the back of the head for his own death!

And for the sake of clarity, I am not blaming the police, they are not to blame, they were simply following procedure to the best of their ability. Their ability fell below the required mark. I'm not surprised. I feel terrible for them. As I've said before, what we're requiring of them is beyond human capacity to execute.

"Guns don't kill people, people--who aren't terrorists and yet run from the cops are too stupid to live and--kill themselves."

Quote:

Simple common sense says that if your not a terrorist, it might be very bad for your continued good health to act exactly as a terrorist would during a time of terrorist homicide bombings in you immediate area.

If the guy is dead, it's his own doing. He was apparently a fool. I feel badly for the officers involved in his death, they must feel awful even if it was justified. And for his family of course.

Brutal but true. We are all responsible for our own actions. Putting a PC spin on this to hang it on the law inforcement officers in London is just a bunch of Crap.


Am I a Lion?... No, I think I'ma tellin' the truth.

BarnStormer



HKCavalier

Hey, hey, hey, don't be mean. We don't have to be mean, because, remember, no matter where you go, there you are.



To me it makes all the sense in the world. It all comes down to taking personal responsibility for your actions. If your actions are incorrect, you have to pay the consequences.

The police were acting to stop another terrorist bombing. If someone then acts like a terrorist in the act of setting off another bomb, he takes his own life in his own hands. It's as simple as that. The responsibility rests squarely on his own shoulders. To try and place the responsibility on someone elses shoulders is just being an apologist for the idiot.

Think of the analogy:
If your walking thru the woods and you come across a Bear and her two cubs, and you then start to run towards the two cubs in a threatening manner, it's going to be your own fault when Mama Bear procedes to rip you to shreds.

To think otherwise is to be an apologist for the idiots of the world.

No civilized person likes to see this sort of thing happen. It is tragic. Hopefully others will get the messege that this is serious business.





Am I a Lion?... No, I think I'ma tellin' the truth.

BarnStormer

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Tuesday, July 26, 2005 7:26 AM

HKCAVALIER


Quote:

Originally posted by BarnStormer:
To me it makes all the sense in the world. It all comes down to taking personal responsibility for your actions. If your actions are incorrect, you have to pay the consequences.

The police were acting to stop another terrorist bombing. If someone then acts like a terrorist in the act of setting off another bomb, he takes his own life in his own hands. It's as simple as that. The responsibility rests squarely on his own shoulders. To try and place the responsibility on someone elses shoulders is just being an apologist for the idiot.

Think of the analogy:
If your walking thru the woods and you come across a Bear and her two cubs, and you then start to run towards the two cubs in a threatening manner, it's going to be your own fault when Mama Bear procedes to rip you to shreds.

To think otherwise is to be an apologist for the idiots of the world.

No civilized person likes to see this sort of thing happen. It is tragic. Hopefully others will get the messege that this is serious business.



I'm prolly gonna regret getting into this with you but here goes...

"Apologist for the idiots of the world?" Your rhetoric's getting a little, shall we say, inflated. People should have the right to be an idiot in a civilized society. You're analogy is all backwards. He didn't "start toward the bear in a threatening manner," he ran. It is a natural reaction, when faced with danger, to flee. The cops were convinced that he was a suicide bomber, they were prepared (preparing?) to kill him, obviously he could sense that and he did the most natural thing.

If you were better informed about bears (notice how I don't call you an idiot) your analogy actually supports my position with one alteration. Let's say the man runs just as Jean Charles de Menenez ran from the police. Any savvy woodsman knows you should never run away from a bear--face the bear, avoid eye contact, back off slowly, no sudden moves. People still run from bears all the time (even people who know better do this 'cause they get spooked!) and sometimes they get mauled, but sometimes they get away. People who run away from bears aren't idiots, they are merely uninformed and responding to instinct. Can you look at the situation from Jean Charles de Menenez' point of view for five seconds? There was nothing idiotic about what he did except in hindsight and with the certain knowledge, which he could not have possessed, that these men would shoot him in the head if he ran.

And why must you place the police outside the realm of human agency? Police are not a force of nature, unreasoning and impartial. They're not some treacherous bit of road on a rainy night. They are men, with all the endowments of non-police, including personal responsibility.

It's just so dang easy to assign blame and move on, but situations are more tragic even than you believe. No one here is to blame, but those with the power to respond humanely have, thereby, a responsibility to do so. Again, I think we place too much responsibility on the shoulders of police when we make them judge, jury and executioners in the field. You think it's necessary and appropriate under the circumstances. I do not.

HKCavalier

Hey, hey, hey, don't be mean. We don't have to be mean, because, remember, no matter where you go, there you are.

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Tuesday, July 26, 2005 8:04 AM

RUXTON


ChrisIsAll, you said:

"...cops are just guys like you and me, maybe they can aim their guns a little better than us...."

Well, during my years of active IPSC pistol competition, back when that was the best shooting training available, the few cops who participated were generally the WORST shooters. Also, with very few (and notable) exceptions, they were also the worst at dealing with scenarios that required thinking while being extremely active, combined with having to shoot (or not shoot), along with all of that. I don't know why that is, nor did any of my fellow competitors, but we all remarked on it. In fact, we tried to get more cops interested in shooting IPSC, but they didn't want to. Over a period of three or four years I observed dozens of top-level IPSC events including one of national scope, involving many hundreds of shooters. These were not isolated cases. Interested civilians were by far the better shots and better overall competitors. I doubt that has changed much over the years.

Perhaps that which drives people to become officers of the law has nothing to do with trying to become a fine marksman, nor with having to think oneself out of a shooting situation.

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Tuesday, July 26, 2005 8:07 AM

RUXTON


HK, I could not agree with you more.

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Tuesday, July 26, 2005 8:41 AM

BARNSTORMER


HKs post.

I'm prolly gonna regret getting into this with you but here goes...

^^^No regrets, I think you misinterpet my analogy.


"Apologist for the idiots of the world?" Your rhetoric's getting a little, shall we say, inflated. People should have the right to be an idiot in a civilized society. You're analogy is all backwards. He didn't "start toward the bear in a threatening manner," he ran. It is a natural reaction, when faced with danger, to flee. The cops were convinced that he was a suicide bomber, they were prepared (preparing?) to kill him, obviously he could sense that and he did the most natural thing.

^^^^^I would'nt call that "Inflated Rhetoric", I'd call it "Trash Talking". I'm pointing out that the actions of the individual are bound to affect the individual. Prudence is warranted.

^^^^^The analogy goes thus:
The Mama Bear is the Police. Wanting only to protect its cubs who appear to be in danger from the man who is running towards them. What should the bear do? Ignore the man approaching its cubs and hope he's not a danger? The analogy continues with the bear having prior knowledge of the danger that men running towards them poses.






If you were better informed about bears (notice how I don't call you an idiot) your analogy actually supports my position with one alteration. Let's say the man runs just as Jean Charles de Menenez ran from the police. Any savvy woodsman knows you should never run away from a bear--face the bear, avoid eye contact, back off slowly, no sudden moves. People still run from bears all the time (even people who know better do this 'cause they get spooked!) and sometimes they get mauled, but sometimes they get away. People who run away from bears aren't idiots, they are merely uninformed and responding to instinct. Can you look at the situation from Jean Charles de Menenez' point of view for five seconds? There was nothing idiotic about what he did except in hindsight and with the certain knowledge, which he could not have possessed, that these men would shoot him in the head if he ran.

^^^^^^See the analogy explanation above. Also, are saying that Mr. Menenez was unaware of the bombings in London? He should then be a little more cognizant of current events. Menenez made a mistake. A big one, yes. But again, it was his mistake that percipitated his death.






And why must you place the police outside the realm of human agency? Police are not a force of nature, unreasoning and impartial. They're not some treacherous bit of road on a rainy night. They are men, with all the endowments of non-police, including personal responsibility.

^^^^^^Yes, exactly. The police are men. With no super powers or clairvoyance or anything else. What they do have is Training, Bravery, Personal responsibility, and the responsibility to protect the public.




It's just so dang easy to assign blame and move on, but situations are more tragic even than you believe. No one here is to blame, but those with the power to respond humanely have, thereby, a responsibility to do so. Again, I think we place too much responsibility on the shoulders of police when we make them judge, jury and executioners in the field. You think it's necessary and appropriate under the circumstances. I do not.

HKCavalier


^^^^^Yet it is their responsibility. They must read the situation and respond in such a way as to protect the people. No time for Judges, bipartisan debates, or hesitation when the public is in harms way.

The only alternative is to not act, and let the bombers do as they wish.


Am I a Lion?... No, I think I'ma tellin' the truth.

BarnStormer

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Tuesday, July 26, 2005 8:44 AM

CITIZEN


Quote:

original post by BarnStormer:
The responsibility rests squarely on his own shoulders. To try and place the responsibility on someone elses shoulders is just being an apologist for the idiot.



I'll reiterate what I have said before. The evidence suggests the police believed they were shooting a suicide bomber, who possibly had a bomb. I can accept that, but are you seriously telling me that seven bullets in the head is a reasonable amount of force?

A woman drove me to drink and I didn't even have the decency to thank her.
--W.C. Fields

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Tuesday, July 26, 2005 9:00 AM

HKCAVALIER


Quote:

Originally posted by Ruxton:
Perhaps that which drives people to become officers of the law has nothing to do with trying to become a fine marksman, nor with having to think oneself out of a shooting situation.



Sadly, what drives people into a particular profession has often more to do with what they lack than what they have mastered. We humans tend to end up where we have the most to learn. It's a good deal more likely that a man will join the police force out of his own unresolved need to find justice in the world, than out of his impartial clarity in the face of human frailty.

It has been proposed that Rue and I run for President and Vice President of the United States, humorously but sincerely I think, but that will never happen. The qualities which people believe make us so apt for the job, preclude us both from wanting the job. We've all read Plato. The drive to become President of the United States is far more instrumental in landing you there, than your aptitude for making wise decisions. People in power tend to desire more and more power when they most need to be abdicating their power.

But the founding fathers of these United States bucked that trend. Think of that! Just as they seized power, they sat down and wrote laws to limit that power. Is that a miracle or what? So, obviously it can be done.

I do believe that what they did, they did for all of us on the planet. It makes me proud. I hope we don't throw it all away in the name of safety and control.

HKCavalier

Hey, hey, hey, don't be mean. We don't have to be mean, because, remember, no matter where you go, there you are.

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Tuesday, July 26, 2005 10:46 AM

CHRISISALL


Quote:

Originally posted by HKCavalier:

But the founding fathers of these United States bucked that trend. Think of that! Just as they seized power, they sat down and wrote laws to limit that power. Is that a miracle or what?

"These words are not just for the Yangs, but for the Comes as well - they must apply to everyone, or they mean nothing!"

The words they put down should make us proud to be Americans, I just with they were followed a little more closely these days.


E-Plebnista Chrisisall

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Tuesday, July 26, 2005 11:25 AM

HKCAVALIER


Quote:

E-Plebnista Chrisisall


LOL! Thanks for that, Chris. Free-dum? That Yang worship-word!

HKCavalier

Hey, hey, hey, don't be mean. We don't have to be mean, because, remember, no matter where you go, there you are.

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Saturday, July 30, 2005 11:41 AM

BECSTHEBEAST


ok - not looked at this for while but here are some thoughts

someone else said it but i agree - when confronted with a bunch of men brandishing firearems my survival technique would be to run to the nearest crowded place

the police trailed the guy from a street that was under servelience (don't seem to be agreement in the press that it was the exact adress) onto a bus and then to the tube station - all the suspects caught in the last few days have been caught not killed or shot with tasers. the shoot to kill policy is new and wasn't known about - it is now reported that there were 7 incidents where people were very nearly shot prior to the stockwell killing

'police are normal guys' - well i'm not sure with these guys they go through one hell of a trianing and we keep being told by experts that the training takes over - on this level i think that we can't just blame the individual officers - although there should be a trial for murder. But the training should be scrutinised as well by an independent body that has nothing to do with the police - but that will never happen while power lies in the hands of the few (and their bodies of armed men)

smile pretty and watch your back

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