I am curious since you have appointed yourself a spokesman on British culture.Have you heard about the 'Countryside Alliance'? Do you have any clue who they are? Have you read or heard about the rallies that they have held? If you had I dont think you would say what you have.
At no time have I "appointed myself spokesman" for anyone but myself. And yes, I'm perfectly aware that there are plenty of English citizens who believe in the right to keep and bear private arms. They are not, however, the dominant force in English culture. For that matter, we stalwart believers in the Second Amendment are not the dominant force in American cultue.
Please note that my original post reads:
most of the British publications on weapons or survival I have read include that sort of "don't touch the bad evil guns" caveat because this sort of hoplophobia is deeply ingrained in British (and many other nations') culture.
If you'd like to argue that hoplophobia (the deep and irrational fear of weapons} is
not ingrained in the culture of a nation that has passed a virtual ban on all privately held firearms and has implemented severe restrictions (albeit enforced with varying discretion) on pocket knives, please, argue away. I'm willing to state for the record that the popular culture of the United States is being overwhelmed by this same hoplophobia, though thankfully it hasn't yet found its way into the U.S. publications I have on weapons and survival.
Just as Mr. Wiseman's books contain his opinion, my post was merely the ignorant opinion of a single meat-eating, gun-toting American. My generalizations were based on perhaps three or four British books on my book shelf, as well as my conversations with two English immigrants at my place of employment. If my comments do not apply to you, please, dismiss or disregard them as appropriate.
From
The World's Great Handguns, by Roger Ford, and produced by Brown Packaging Books LTD, London:
A HEALTHY FUTURE?
As the Twentieth century draws to a close, the days of the handgun as a military weapon seem to be numbered...Equally, as a non-military weapon, it seems to have taken on a new lease of life as the restraining bonds of society weaken and man's readiness to harm, maim and kill his fellows comes to the fore again. Combine the two, and we can perhaps begin to perceive a very good reason for banning the manufacture of handguns entirely, no matter how unpopular such a move might be in certain circles.
John Wiseman, the SAS Urban Survival Handbook:
Firearms represent more of a risk than a serious form of protection. Having such weapons in your home may pose a severe threat to children -- or to all the members of a household if the weapons are misused by an intruder. Attitudes to firearms vary enormously around the world. In the US, for instance, the 'right to bear arms' is part of the Constitution. Even though there is legislation, there are an enormous number of cases where weapons are misused. The legal requirements in Britain, however, probably give the safest guidelines for owning and storing weapons...
The SAS Escape, Evasion, and Survival Manual, by Barry Davies, BEM (published in Great Britain):
Do not under any circumstances carry a potentially lethal weapon such as a gun or a knife. Very few people would actually use either, and if your assailant receives the impression that you are not prepared to use the weapon in your hand, it is not a deterrent. Conversely, if you do not use a gun or a knife yet fail to stop the attack, becauseviolence breeds violence the same weapon may well be used against you."
Contrast these views with those of Massad Ayoob, whom you have specifically mentioned:
Massad Ayoob,
In the Gravest Extreme: The Role of the Firearm in Personal Protection:
[The opion of antigun activists] is that each atrocity could have been averted if the assailants could have been prevented from having guns; my contention is that almost every one could have been prevented or mitigated had the intended victims been armed and able to fight back against their murderers. An exception is the accidental shooting, a statistically unlikely occurence that can, in my opinion, be eliminated by proper training.
I will admit that I have a low opinion of both England and Canada with respect to weapons laws and the attitudes of those nation's citizens towards weapons of personal defense. I am, therefore, culturally prejudiced in favor of my own nation, however bleak its own future may be with regard to the legality of civilian arms. And of course there are always exceptions to whatever opinions are culturally dominant in a nation. We knife bearers, increasingly, are an example of such an exception.
That Mr. Wiseman is considered by some to be an "expert" fails to impress me if he's willing to discount the firearm as a personal survival tool. Yes, one must be trained to use a firearm -- but that doesn't mean only Special Forces soldiers are capable of absorbing such training. Even Ashida Kim (
http://www.ashidakim.com )is considered to be an "expert" by his friends in the Black Dragon Fighting Society, or whatever it's called.
Razor
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AKTI #A000845
And tomorrow when you wake up it will be worse.
[This message has been edited by Razoredj (edited 03-17-2000).]
