Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Defenseless in London

Brian Micklethwait at Samizdata discusses the maddening dilemma of having a police force that can’t protect you, and won’t let you protect yourself.

Others who are far better versed than I in the sociology of modern Britain can discourse on the causes and effects of the riots currently afflicting London and other cities, but I’ll make one observation before leaving off. One of the most insidious effects of the noxious mixture of nanny-state economics and multicultural relativism is the enervation of the spirit of individualism, which depletion promotes a general feeling of indecisiveness, even as to whether one has the right to protect one’s own person and property and traditional way of life. When the stamp of politically-correct “legitimacy”, and the usurpation of personal responsibility by the state, begin to trump the concepts of self-reliance and even self-preservation, then you get what Britain’s got – a sheep-like population, among whom hordes of predatory malcontents have sprung up. The latter, betrayed by the false promises of socialism and deprived of the animating spirit of enterprise and the self-control commensurate with an appreciation of personal responsibility, seethe with envy and an unearned sense of entitlement, and are thus easily given to mindless violence.

The admirable Mr. Micklethwait proposes to take up a cricket bat in his defense, if necessary. I hope he scores a century (if that’s the correct terminology). I, for one, am glad that I live in a country where I might improve the odds considerably by employing a shotgun – if, of course, necessary. By the way, I’d like to make it clear that I’m not sneering in condescension at Britain. With our flash mobs and our bloated government and our Obamacare – the “next best thing” to a national health service – we may not be that far behind.

Update:More at the Daily Mail.

Update II: Friend and commenter, Rebecca, suggested that I google some of the British police blogs. I did, and there are some interesting takes. Here are a few:

Police Inspector Blog

PC Bloggs

The Thinking Policeman


9 comments:

Anonymous said...

The old saying "there are no atheists in foxholes" is easily amended to "there are no anti-gun proponents in a riot". Britain proves this, as Los Angeles did during it's riots.

Deborah Leigh

JeffS said...

Not all Brits are sheep-like. One of Tim Blair's posts on these riots produced this comment from smike:

Hundreds of Turkish and Kurdish men, many armed with broken billiard cues, poured onto the streets to protect their businesses and homes from the kind of mayhem that was laying waste to other parts of London.

“They created a barrier and chased the kids back,” said Burcu Bay, who works as a waitress at Tugra, a Turkish sweet shop and cafe on Dalston’s main thoroughfare. “It was like being in a war.”

[to be continued]

JeffS said...

[continued]

The clashes in Dalston, a ramshackle neighborhood of pawn shops, Turkish social clubs and kebab joints, began when a gang of about 50 youths approached the area from the east, setting fire to a bus and smashing in the windows of a chain restaurant, a bank and an electrical goods shop.

Dozens of local men came out on the street to block their progress. Over the course of the evening, they pushed back the heavily outnumbered troublemakers in three separate surges, driving them away from a cluster of Turkish-owned shops and businesses. Women and elderly men sought refuge in local cafés to watch the clashes from a safe distance.

In some instances, skirmishes turned violent. “The police wanted to arrest one of my friends because he punched some of the guys,” said a waiter at the Somine restaurant. “We didn’t let them.”

That was in Dalston, a London suburb. Smike links to the full article at the Wall Street Journal, where registration is required to read it all.

Point being, not all of Britain consists of sheep. But it's telling that Kurd and Turks do what Brits can't or won't. And those same Kurds and Turks told the coppers to pi$$ off -- a great idea, given how worthless the British police appears to be.

Lesson Learned: It may be necessary in this country to do the same thing.

JeffS said...

Just read the update at the Daily Mall.

Plastic bullets? Nope. Live ammo is what's needed.

Paco said...

Jeff: Good on 'em. More Brits should be willing to do that very thing.

What's the old saying? When seconds count, the cops are only minutes away.

RebeccaH said...

Google British police blogs and see what they are saying. It might be a surprise.

Paco said...

An excellent suggestion, Rebecca!

JorgXMcKie said...

I don't know where else to put this OT thingy, Paco. Maybe it will make people feel better.

Check out "Garcia Grisman" on youtube. You'll like it, I think.

Bob Belvedere said...

Quoted from and Linked to at:
The Flames Of Albion: A Clockwork Orange