Had A Bad Scare Today.

[Gandalf]

Glad you are okay, Ice. Sounds like a really scary situation.

And what's with all this silly macho talk about guns? What if they threatened Ice with a gun first and he was just stood there with a gun in his pocket? What use would it have served then? And they could very well have shot him whilst running away.

The lack of guns in the UK is one of its better qualities. The fact that there are no guns out here and people are generally quite passive is partly what makes me feel completely safe.

If you American's are happy with your guns, then fair enough I am not going to try and change that. But most countries are happy without them and function more than effectively too.

What's "macho" about not being subject to whims of scum

This isn't the wild west, it's England.

Guns are not an acceptable solution in our culture. If guns were freely available Ice might well have been at the mercy of a gun himself and the fall out could have been far worse.

I am just glad it was only a knife and that he was athletic enough to get away.

A) You didn't answer the question
B) What if he hadn't been athletic enough? What if he'd been injured or tired or a little older? A knife is a lethal weapon. You're ok at your fellow citizens being at the whim of armed scum?

a) I didn't even realise it was a question with the smilie things going on. I like your rhetorical style, but your question could have been framed a little better. Having given it a second I get the gist though.

I guess it would be great if he had a gun to counter the thugs, but this is England things are quite different. My point is that if Ice had a gun, then it would be more likely the thugs would have had a gun too and they would be aiming first.

b) I am not happy about what Ice experienced, but it was a very unusual situation and not something most of us have gone through. He could well have got hurt, but how would having a gun in his pocket help him? He could reach his hand in and have three bullets in his brain. I could counter it and say look at America. Ice got away and the thugs had a little knife. Look at how Vernon Forrest went out and we know of him because he is famous. It is happening everyday.

A culture with too many guns is not something I approve of. I know some of the American's on here will disagree and this is an argument that has been hashed out many times before. I live in a society with no guns, feel safe and am quite happy in the knowledge that nobody will shoot me. Not even the police. Some societies are really quite relaxed and safe. In comparison even England seems like a gangsters paradise compared to where I live.