OK guys, we've said our piece on the gun issue. Let's halt it right there on this thread and carry on if you feel you need to on the Political Thread because I suppose ultimately, it is political rather than anything else...
Further pro/anti gun posts on this thread will be moved.
I would still like a response from anyone on their opinion of the London Mayor's quote "that we should expect terrorism living in a large city" I suppose it's like saying, we should expect to be burgled or raped or something like that. Should we? Really?
I think it's an appalling thing to say but maybe I'm being too precious about it. OK it might be a reality from time to time but to have to expect it?
Sorry didn't feel minded to respond before as thread was going off track.
I worked in central London for 7 years for the railways. I was based in an office above a main terminus. This period of time coincided with the troubles from NI although not as bad as in previous periods. I had four contacts with associated acts of terror.
1. I was asked by a colleague how best to get a taxi off the roof of a building as that is where it had landed.
2. A friend was walking to one station when it went bang in front of him. So he walked to the next station and that also went bang in front of him. He said sod it I'm going home for the day.
3. I closed a station down when I found a suspicious box at the base of a bridge support and reported it. It was found to be nothing to worry about.
4. I had to attend regular terrorism training on how to deal with taking a bomb threat phone call and all our offices had blast proof glass.
There is a 5th connection but that was me closing Leceister Square tube station in rush hour on a Friday night when I ran to catch the train and jumped in to find my hand hadn't made it. That hand was holding my briefcase so as the train pulled off with the tunnel fast approaching I let go. My brief case landed on the platform and I disappeared down the tunnel. Went back to find a full scale evacuation going on! Even though I reported what had happened to the first member of staff they still blew my brief case up. What was interesting though was that someone had picked up my briefcase and taken it from the platform and gone all the way up to the ticket office area and just put it down in the middle of the public space and walked away! WTF! I was given that for my 21st birthday by Mum and Dad. However I was just so embarrassed by causing the closure of the station.
Large gatherings of people will always be targets to groups who want to create an impact. In WW2 did both sides target the countryside with their bombing runs? No they went for where there would be the largest impact be it disruption or wiping out cities.
I was born and still live close to Farnborough in Hampshire. That town lies between Aldershot known as the home of the British army and Sandhurst which is where all army officers get trained. During the cold war and nuclear stand off afterwards, it was common knowledge around here that we always had a nuke pointed at us. Maybe we still do. But whose now?
If you live in a nice big house with nice toys in the garage you are likely to have a nice security system. Why? because you have made yourself more of a target.
If you live in a city you are putting yourself in a situation where you are more likely to have something bad happen to you. Mugging, pick pocket or terrorist attack. Individually we each make a calculated risk. Some more cautious than others. But shit still happens. You are however also going to get great upside with city life.
Each time I get in my GTD I put myself at risk. It can be fast and has rubbish visibility to side and rear. You drive accordingly.
The Mayors comment is valid but has been taken out of context and was quoted by the son of a numpty, not the numpty himself.
My distorted view of USA is that if you live there you either live in a tornado/hurricane alley, over a fault line or on top of the mother of all volcanoes!
Rocks lead to knives lead to bigger knives lead to guns lead to bigger guns lead to bombs lead to bigger bombs lead to rocks again.