Knives, Knives, Knives

Not having read the link (Because why bother, it's not like it's making any relevant point in any discussion), Fleet of Knives by Gareth Powell is an excellent book that I would highly recommend to anyone interested in sentient spaceships and epic space opera.

TFLYTSNBN wrote:https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/fatal-stabbings-in-england-and-wales-hit-highest-level-since-records-began-a4060076.html

I'm going to assume that the point of posting this is to point out that with a knife committed homicide rate of 0.43 per 100000 (which is what 285 per year in a country of 66 million people works out to) being the highest ever recorded and a rate of homicides with guns being even far lower than that the UK sure is a damn safe place compared to the US?

gcomeau wrote:I'm going to assume that the point of posting this is to point out that with a knife committed homicide rate of 0.43 per 100000 (which is what 285 per year in a country of 66 million people works out to) being the highest ever recorded and a rate of homicides with guns being even far lower than that the UK sure is a damn safe place compared to the US?

I'm waiting for Tfly to retort along the lines that in 'murica guns are needed to keep people safe from the gub'mint and they'll pry his arsenal out of his dead hands...

or something like that.

At least it's damned hard to do a killing spree with a knife as opposed to an automatic assault gun... You can get away from a knife wielder a lot easier than someone who has a gun, even if it's primarily due to range limitations.
I'd rather be confronted by a knife nut than a gun fetishist. You have so many more options for dealing with them.

So 285 knife deaths in 66 Million, compared to 39,773 gun deaths in 340 million. Quick calculation of 5 times the population would be 1425 knife deaths equivalent. Quick, issue all the Brits guns to defend against the knives, or maybe not.

Fly, a very old brain cell reminded me that it was said (by others), that you had a connection to Creedance Clearwater Revival?

gcomeau wrote:

TFLYTSNBN wrote:https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/fatal-stabbings-in-england-and-wales-hit-highest-level-since-records-began-a4060076.html

I'm going to assume that the point of posting this is to point out that with a knife committed homicide rate of 0.43 per 100000 (which is what 285 per year in a country of 66 million people works out to) being the highest ever recorded and a rate of homicides with guns being even far lower than that the UK sure is a damn safe place compared to the US?

If you examine the historical record here:

https://ourworldindata.org/homicides

you will realize that homicide rates were much higher before effective, repeating firearms were invented. The massive decline in European homicides occurred before European governments adopted such extremely restrictive gun control laws. Knives are extremely easy to improvise. All you need is a piece of steel flatbar (an automotive leaf spring is best) and a grinder. A common screw driver is an extremely effective stabbing instrument.

TFLYTSNBN wrote:If you examine the historical record here:

https://ourworldindata.org/homicides

you will realize that homicide rates were much higher before effective, repeating firearms were invented. The massive decline in European homicides occurred before European governments adopted such extremely restrictive gun control laws. Knives are extremely easy to improvise. All you need is a piece of steel flatbar (an automotive leaf spring is best) and a grinder. A common screw driver is an extremely effective stabbing instrument.

Fortunately, there were no major social changes taking place during the development of firearms, so we can be confident that guns were the determining factor in decreasing murder rates.

TFLYTSNBN wrote:

gcomeau wrote:I'm going to assume that the point of posting this is to point out that with a knife committed homicide rate of 0.43 per 100000 (which is what 285 per year in a country of 66 million people works out to) being the highest ever recorded and a rate of homicides with guns being even far lower than that the UK sure is a damn safe place compared to the US?

If you examine the historical record here:

https://ourworldindata.org/homicides

you will realize that homicide rates were much higher before effective, repeating firearms were invented. The massive decline in European homicides occurred before European governments adopted such extremely restrictive gun control laws. Knives are extremely easy to improvise. All you need is a piece of steel flatbar (an automotive leaf spring is best) and a grinder. A common screw driver is an extremely effective stabbing instrument.

Faulty reasoning is faulty. You are really grasping now..

The statistics you linked to has no data on HOW someone was killed, it also has no data on how social progress, economic progress and law-enforcement progress etc affects the rate.

The only conclusion that can be drawn from the statistics is that humans are becoming more disinclined to kill each other (outside of war), which is a direct consequence of lessening inequalities.

Michael Everett wrote:

gcomeau wrote:I'm going to assume that the point of posting this is to point out that with a knife committed homicide rate of 0.43 per 100000 (which is what 285 per year in a country of 66 million people works out to) being the highest ever recorded and a rate of homicides with guns being even far lower than that the UK sure is a damn safe place compared to the US?

I'm waiting for Tfly to retort along the lines that in 'murica guns are needed to keep people safe from the gub'mint and they'll pry his arsenal out of his dead hands...

or something like that.

At least it's damned hard to do a killing spree with a knife as opposed to an automatic assault gun... You can get away from a knife wielder a lot easier than someone who has a gun, even if it's primarily due to range limitations.
I'd rather be confronted by a knife nut than a gun fetishist. You have so many more options for dealing with them.

Explain this to the people of Nanking.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contest_t ... ng_a_sword

Your comments about having more options when confronted with a knife verses "automatic assault guns" display cherished ignorance. Some of the deadliest massacres in the US were committed with bolt action rifles or common pump action or break action shotguns. The weapons used in the deadliest attack by a lone assailant in US history were a pop bottle full of gasoline and a match.


I actually have disarmed someone who attacked me with a knife. I employed a technique that broke his arm, then broke his other arm just because he pissed me off. I got cut for my trouble, but not as badly as I should have. I dont recommend the experience. While the sharp edges of a knife are always dangerous, their are a number of techniques that can render a gun inoperable. If I am up close in personal, a gun is actually less dangerous than a knife.