Weapons an Cycling
- Thread starter jhuskey
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amaddeus said:I remember a few years ago when an American was caned because he got caught spray painting a wall. Intense.
yea... the Micheal Fray case.
But Strict laws works for us. We're a TINY coutnry and its easier to manage. There is no need for self defense weapons as the law enforcers cover the entire country well.
I doubt that a car driver would even notice you even if you had a gun.
"Sorry," the old man says as he winds down his window, "didn't see you there."
"Didn't see me? I'm in fluorescent orange and yellow with halogen bulbs waving a bazooka in your face and you didn't see me!"
"Well if you were in a car you would have more of a chance," he says slyly as he drives away.
Believe me it could happen. One weapon I've heard of is one person who chews gum and throws it at the nicely polished paintwork/windscreen of the mobile phone (sorry, cell phone) users as they clip his handlebars. Non-violent and they'll be there for hours trying to unstick their wipers.
"Sorry," the old man says as he winds down his window, "didn't see you there."
"Didn't see me? I'm in fluorescent orange and yellow with halogen bulbs waving a bazooka in your face and you didn't see me!"
"Well if you were in a car you would have more of a chance," he says slyly as he drives away.
Believe me it could happen. One weapon I've heard of is one person who chews gum and throws it at the nicely polished paintwork/windscreen of the mobile phone (sorry, cell phone) users as they clip his handlebars. Non-violent and they'll be there for hours trying to unstick their wipers.
Belleville said:
The problem is, even if they DO clip your bars, you have no right to TOUCH his motor vehicle i.e. throwing gum could be viewed as a criminal offence....
Actually, I've been doing a little thinking (smell the rubber burning!!!
) - 'road rage' is a big issue worldwide nowadays. But I think it's a symptom, rather than an 'illness'... Maybe road rage is just a reaction against idiots who hog the fast lane, who show no courtesy, who routinely drive in such a way as to endanger other road-users (cyclists and motorcyclists especially). Maybe it's just an accumulation of frustration at not being able to do anything practical and significant, that eventually boils over and results in what we call road rage. Maybe if drivers of motorised vehicles drove more intelligently and with more courtesy, road rage wouldn't happen.
Maybe, if traffic officers spent more time ensuring that the rules of the road are followed, and less time on petty (but profitable) activities like speed-trapping, road rage wouldn't happen.
Maybe, if dangerous drivers were 'educated' in being vulnerable - for instance, forcing them to ride to and from work on a bicycle for 6 months after an offence is successfully prosecuted, road rage wouldn't happen.
I know the aforegoing is just a pipe dream, but do you guys have any comments on this? If we cyclists retaliate when a driver forces us off the road or bumps us with their vehicle, we get labelled as violent people, prone to road rage (note that you may only use force in self defence for as long as the threat to your safety continues). But surely our retaliation is not the problem here - it's the behaviour of drivers of motor vehicles that eventually turns the meekest of cyclists into a screaming, frothing, whirling dervish, capable of acts of violence they would never believe themselves capable of...
As for weapons, although I carry, it's purely for defensive purposes. Offensive carry is for cowboys and children.
Let me add my $.02.
I was a police officer for 2 yrs just north of Baltimore, MD. I met a lot of criminal types and fought a lot of them. I arrested , interrogated , questioned,
and knew the circles of society they lived in. They murdered, robbed, beat, raped and just got away with anything they thought they could do.
To make a long story short they are predators, and don't think anything of harming another person. These are elements in every society... bar none.
I now live in VA and have a concealed weapons permit, which I thank God our forefathers have given me the right to protect myself and family.
I haven't ever carried while riding. But have carried MACE.
Doug
I was a police officer for 2 yrs just north of Baltimore, MD. I met a lot of criminal types and fought a lot of them. I arrested , interrogated , questioned,
and knew the circles of society they lived in. They murdered, robbed, beat, raped and just got away with anything they thought they could do.
To make a long story short they are predators, and don't think anything of harming another person. These are elements in every society... bar none.
I now live in VA and have a concealed weapons permit, which I thank God our forefathers have given me the right to protect myself and family.
I haven't ever carried while riding. But have carried MACE.
Doug
djrocker257 said:
I couldn't agree with you more - and the really scary thing is the bleeding-hearts who keep saying we need to rehabilitate these animals, even though statistics have proven, time and time again, that recidivism is very nearly 100%.
It's about time my country reinstituted the death-penalty. It's all very well to talk about the rights of the criminals, but what about the rights of their victims?????
I firmly believe that the moment you choose to commit a crime against the society in which you live, you lose the right to be treated as a member of that society. Hell, you lose every single right afforded to every single law-abiding member of that community. Including the right to life.
Goosebeak said:
A Pell Grant which is a government assisted program for individuals of low income.
Of course prisoners only make few cents an hour qualify.
Some obtained their law degree and then sued the State for various complaints.
I am not sure if it is still possible to get these grants while in prison but it is an example of a flawed system.
Take a guess who pays for their right to clog the system and create even more costs.
jhuskey said:
hehehe - in South Africa the prisoners recently went ON STRIKE to obtain even MORE privileges!!!!! Crime really pays here, especially when you get caught - airconditioned cells, tv, study RIGHTS (!!??), good food...... Ah, it's a big crock of sh1t!!!!
Oh, I forgot to mention - only 7% of criminals ever get caught by our keystone cops, and only 7% of the cases that make it to court result in a conviction.
South Africa - the land of Milk and Honey for criminals....
And the government is doing its damndest to disarm all and any civilians....
South Africa - the land of Milk and Honey for criminals....
And the government is doing its damndest to disarm all and any civilians....
What I find absurd is that there are people that place more value on the lives of criminals than their life or the lives of their loved ones. Sadly there are many people like this in the world allowing criminals to get away with much more than they would otherwise. These types of people actually allow crime to pay.
For some good information about guns go to: www.GunFacts.info
For some good information about guns go to: www.GunFacts.info
6fhscjess said:
Thanks for the link - it's useful to have around when you live and work with bleeding hearts who believe violent criminals are just poor misunderstood little boys that you can actually reason with while they're robbing and murdering you and your family..... And who also believe that self-defence (as practiced by victims) is an infringement of the human rights of criminals.
Aah, sometimes it feels like f@rting against thunder.....
ki like the Idea of carrying a gun but I am not old enough to so i carry a sharp balenced throwing knifeWeisse Luft said:
I completely agree with you and I dont want my rights to bear arms to be taken away and I'll be damned if they doamaddeus said:
William Henry said:
You GO, Boy!!!!!!!!!!
We're in the middle of an immense 'firefight' here in South Africa - the banana-republic mentality in the government is trying to disarm the entire civilian population using unconstitutional legislation which they have railroaded through the legislative process - as a result, in the last 6 months only ONE (1) firearm license has been issued...
Say a little prayer for us....
Goosebeak said:
It is a shame really what is happening to your country. I saw a documentary a few years back about the crime wave sweeping Johannesburg.
I do carry one weapon besides my body, pepper spray. A nonlethal weapon for bike riding that can solve many issues long enough for me to get away. Speaking of weapons, who here agrees with me about the war in Iraq, that it was all a fictious war with fictious wmd's!? with all the money spent on this, this slaughter, the government could have helped countless 3rd-world countries!
djrocker257 said:
Law enforcement in South Africa is actually a joke - there ARE a few police officers who are dedicated and who do their jobs properly, against all odds, but more often than not, when a gang is apprehended it is found their weapons cache contains pistols registered to serving policemen, and AK47's that have mysteriously disappeared from the SANDF (South African National Defence Farce, sorry, Force).
Traffic law enforcement is no better - it appears that somebody's mother was once frightened by a fast car, and so the main thrust and emphasis is on 'speeding'. Hidden cameras, laser speed-traps, etc. - despite the mini taxi 'population' consisting overwhelmingly of defunct vehicles, improperly (if at all) maintained, with not even a semblance of roadworthiness... Taxis have been photographed by newspaper reporters with a SPANNER doing service as a steering-wheel - carrying 20 passengers AT THE TIME IN RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC!!!!! An accident occurred recently in which several people died, and on investigation it was found that the driver had 'fixed' his worn out brake pads with CARDBOARD!!!! Of course, it's much easier to target drivers of late-model cars from behind bushes with a camera than it is to confront uneducated and generally physically aggressive taxi-drivers along with their passengers who are quite likely to assault you for delaying their journey....
From my office in Central Johannesburg we have watched gangs of muggers operating - we called the police, they came out to 'investigate', we watched them stop and have a chat with the individual we had already identified as the ringleader of the gang, they disappeared into a bar together, and left 30 minutes later, whereupon the gang resumed operations...
Managers in my company have been the victims of repeated smash-and-grab robberies from their cars within 50 metres of the parking area, our CEO was mugged in front of our building a while back, and 3 of my associates were mugged AS THEY LEFT OUR BUILDING. To date, not one arrest has been made. And it continues...
In the light of this, the government is persisting with its efforts to disarm the civilian population - in the last 6 months only one firearm licence has been issued countrywide, against a backlog of appeals for rejected applications numbering in the tens of thousands. The appeals board mysteriously stopped functioning and was only reconstituted after the newspapers got hold of the story and published it. All of this is, of course, in line with the government's stated aim of total civilian disarmament, publicly stated as far back as 1994 following the inauguration of Nelson Mandela as president.
Add to this the continuing saga of early release of prisoners every year on Mandela's birthday, who generally go straight back into the only job they've ever enjoyed, and the government's refusal to channel money into the appropriate areas for crime prevention, and you don't have a pretty picture.
Oh, for a little 'light' relief, add to the picture our new State President, Thabo Mbeki, who bought himself a brand new jet, flew to Zimbabwe to visit his pal, Robert Mugabe, and who was too drunk to leave the plane when he arrived - the crew had to turn around and fly home again....
I wonder what the ANC has in store for the people of South Africa that they need a disarmed civilian population?
H46Driver said:
WELL SAID! I live in GA and legally carry a firearm in my camelback as well. Like you, I am well versed in using handguns and carry it only for the real crazies that are out there. And, if I break down in an area where my cell phone does not work, I at least feel ok catching a ride in the BACK of a pickup.
Also, like I tell my wife...if my gun is ever drawn..."Hold your ears" because it will be fired and fired a lot! by this, I mean a pistol is not to scare someone off or to make a point, it is only to be shown if it is going to be IMMEDIATELY used. Like you, I find myself acting calmer and swallowing a lot more **** from drivers than if I were not armed.
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