I was devastated by the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes but this guy - not so much. You can't wave a shotgun at armed police and expect to get away with it.
There is just something unspeakably chilling about the turn of phrase though. What sort of person wants to be trained to do that sort of thing? I think anybody who wants firearms training should be considered suitably unbalanced and not allowed it. I have thought it through and it's the only option. x
A classic Catch 22 isn't it :) I suppose if we work on the assumption that we do need armed police in certain situations eg to take out a madman holding a classroom of school children hostage or something then we need to be grateful that some people are willing to do it. Most of them are selected for their strong mental balance and rational thinking skills after all - the nutters are quickly weeded out! x
I did that in my A-level history exams because I'd already got an unconditional place at art school and didn't really care. I was 18 and a cretin though, not an armed public servant with years of experience. Plus nobody died.
I was devastated by the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes but this guy - not so much. You can't wave a shotgun at armed police and expect to get away with it.
ReplyDeleteThere is just something unspeakably chilling about the turn of phrase though. What sort of person wants to be trained to do that sort of thing? I think anybody who wants firearms training should be considered suitably unbalanced and not allowed it. I have thought it through and it's the only option. x
ReplyDeleteA classic Catch 22 isn't it :) I suppose if we work on the assumption that we do need armed police in certain situations eg to take out a madman holding a classroom of school children hostage or something then we need to be grateful that some people are willing to do it. Most of them are selected for their strong mental balance and rational thinking skills after all - the nutters are quickly weeded out! x
ReplyDeleteThat is EXACTLY what it is! That is also one of my favourite books. x
ReplyDeleteAnd this adds a bizarre twist to the proceedings!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/nov/02/mark-saunders-song-titles
I did that in my A-level history exams because I'd already got an unconditional place at art school and didn't really care. I was 18 and a cretin though, not an armed public servant with years of experience. Plus nobody died.
ReplyDeleteWell technically Rasputin did, and Gladstone and Garibaldi and Emily Wilding and Balfour and in fact all of them but it was a lot less raw.
ReplyDelete