Thursday 7 August 2008

NOT PC applauds dairy owner for protecting his own life

Allow me to pause for just a moment to say a very loud "Bravo!" to the Christchurch dairy owner who protected himself and his wife from machete-wielding thugs by shooting them in the face with an air pistol.

"Bravo!"

Let's be clear about this: He had the right to defend himself and his wife against the thugs, who were at the time slashing at the air near his throat and chest and had backed him up against the cigarette racks, and he had the courage not to let the bastards win.

"Sir, I applaud you."

I can not say the same for the New Brighton police, who said the actions of the dairy owner, who calls himself 'Nike,' were "certainly not good practice".

Police advice was to comply with robbers and "get them in and out as quick [sic] as possible."  Police said they were "discussing" whether Nike's actions would have further repercussions.

This is appalling.  Getting these thugs "in and out as quick as possible" would likely have resulted only in another corpse.  Is that what Detective Constable Matt Grant of the New Brighton police really wants?  Would he stand still while thugs used himself and his wife for target practice, if a weapon was close at hand?  (If he would, then his wife should start packing and be out the door within the hour.)

Bear in mind that, by the testimony of the man attacked, "they tried to kill us from the very start. It happened really fast. They ran in holding the knife out and started trying to chop me."  Would Detective Constable Matt Grant have our hero simply hold up his hands while the thugs actually slashed him across his throat and chest?  Would that somehow help end the violence?

The police policy of unarmed capitulation to get the thugs in and out as quickly as possible is a killer.

It killed Navtej Singh, who was complying with the thugs in Manurewa who shot him without compunction for the price of a few six-packs.  It killed John Vaughan, shot in the head at the Mangere Bridge branch of the ASB while complying with all the demands of thug who killed him.  And it put at threat the dairy owner last week who was shot in the arm by rampaging thugs who were themselves intent on getting in and out as quickly as possible, without any concern about who they harmed along the way.

Observe three things. 

  1. The idea that banning bottle stores under 150 square metres would do a anything at all to lessen armed robbery is absurd on its face.  It would have done nothing to help John Vaughan, nor the two dairy owners above -- nor any of the many dairy owners who daily feel the ire of thugs who know no better than using violence to get what they want.  Government ministers know their new law is absurd -- they just hope their voters are too dumb to know.
  2. The idea that complying with robbers' demands will keep you safe is absurd, and contradicted by the evidence.
  3. "Complying" when a machete-wielding nutcase is slashing the air around your chest and throat means complying in your own murder.  Detective Constable Matt Grant might not think so, but we each have the right to defend our own lives against aggressors.  The police can either help people in that job -- and if they were to assist dairy owners to properly defend themselves, that on its own would help discourage the thugs and bring order -- or they can hinder them, leaving them unarmed in the face of savagery that the police's compliance (and the law courts' leniency) has helped unleash.

UPDATE:  Bravo, too, to Crusader Rabbit for this comment:

I'd like to point out to the idiot detective constable that even sea urchins have spines--for the purpose of self-defence.

Well said, sir.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Police advice was to comply with robbers .."

PC, this bullshit disgusts me. It's the same inane thinking that was around in the 70s with regard to rape.

I distinctly remember watching a NZ doco as a teenager, where police advised women being sexually attacked to comply, in order to "minimise" (can you stand it?) the risk of further injury.

How fucked up was that. How obscene. I was disgusted beyond belief at the time - and I remain so to this day.

(My blood's boiling at the memory).

KG said...

The advice of the police is absurd on so many levels, it's hard to know where to begin...
Stripped of waffle, it boils down to "do nothing and hope the
thugs don't choose to maim or kill you.

Well, I'd like to point out to the idiot detective constable that even sea urchins have spines--for the purpose of self-defence.
People have had a gutsful of politicians and policemen stripping us of the most basic right of all, the right which makes all other rights possible.
So yes, good on you sir for shooting the bastards. And may many others choose the same course of action.

Anonymous said...

What sus and kg said - good Lord this is getting ridiculus to the point of insane.

Julian said...

With such advice from the police - the thugs know that their victims are likely to comply - and therefore there is less of a deterrent for the criminals - they know they are likely to get away with it. And this is the way that the police/state/politicians want it. They do not want a public that would ever stand up to defend their rights from being violated by thugs (which obviosuly includes the biggest thug - the state).

Well I have fought back in the past when robbed at knifepoint - and I suspect that that particular thug will always have my actions on his mind if he were to think about robbing someone else.

Julian

Anonymous said...

I totally agree sus & kg, this is just crap.

deleted said...

His only mistake was the Calibre of his weapon

Anonymous said...

That is why I keep a very sharp sabre and an even sharper Klingon batleth within easy reach at home.
Brian Smaller

Anonymous said...

Good on the owner, and good on PC for coming out in clear support!

Anonymous said...

The cops are hamstrung by a law which, they know, apart from being bad law is just plain dumb. Change the law.

There is one potential MP, Stephen Franks, who is hot on this one and has the cojones to take it through.

In the interim I would have hoped that cops would have the decency to shut up.

The way things stand you have a split second to weigh up whether you are going to be killed or maimed or defend yourself against the assault and spend a fortune defending yourself against the state. My decision on that one was made a long time back. No mealy mouthed liberal law is going to inhibit me actively defending my family.

Anonymous said...

"Better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6" is my policy....