Month: July 2008

Quote of the Day

More from the place where Great Britain used to be:

Steve Kink apprehended a thug after catching him breaking into a mobile phone shop late at night. Although the 47-year-old was punched in the face, he managed to pin the offender to the floor. Passers-by called the police while he stood over him until officers arrested the 25-year-old man.

Mr Kink, who owns a tattoo parlour, was stunned when he found out the next day the suspect had been let off with a caution for criminal damage. But his shock turned to fury when days later police officers turned up at his house to arrest him for assaulting the thug. He was taken to his local police station and held in a cell for six hours before being interviewed.

He was then charged with assault and battery and is due to appear before magistrates next week.

That’s not the Quote of the Day. It’s a lead-in.

Here’s the Quote of the Day:

I’m an alumna of Pepperdine University, a school which proudly owns a house/campus on Exhibition Road, literally across the street from the Imperial University, in the middle of South Kensington, right near Harrods, Hyde Park, the Albert Hall. Within two days of arriving for our first semester in London, our relatively small [American] class (37 students, 10 men, 27 women) was visited by a local police officer to instruct us on living in London. Her first question was to the women, ‘How many of you brought mace?’ Three girls raised their hands. She told us we couldn’t use it, shouldn’t even carry it, it was illegal.

Had any of us brought any other type of weapon, such as a knife? Several of the men in our group indicated that they carried pocket knives. She told us to leave them at home too.

Then she instructed us on how to properly be a victim. If we were attacked, we were to assume a defensive posture, such as raising our hands to block an attack. The reason was (and she spelled it out in no uncertain terms) that if a witness saw the incident and we were to attempt to defend ourselves by fighting back, the witness would be unable to tell who the agressor was. However, if we rolled up in a ball, it would be quite clear who the victim was.

The feeling I got was, in London, it is not permissable(sic) to defend oneself. I also understood that this police officer thought Americans were more likely to be agressive(sic) and/or cause more damage to a potential attacker. She was warning us for our own good. I have to admit, she did not make me feel particularly safe.

(My emphasis.) Mr. Kink’s arrest reminds me of the story of 64 year-old Diane Bond from 2006 where something very similar happened to her. She was precisely correct when she said:

This sends out the message that if you stand up for yourself, if you try to take action to stop anti-social behaviour, you are likely to end up being arrested.

There’s a few more like Ms. Bond listed in this post.

UPDATE 7/8: Rachel has another example.