A day in the life of an Englishman...

[Uncle Gizmo]

I'll tell you a little story......

https://twitter.com/x/status/1829872451989483683

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Not that different from some of the stuff we hear from the USA inner city regions on our east and west coasts.

Some of the names are different, but some of that could come straight from our newspaper headlines.

 

[Pat Hartman]

But most people are afraid of being cancelled and so they just shut up and take each new insult to their sanity and freedom.

 

[Isaac]

Wow that's sad I particularly identified with the places where the better person will get in trouble while the worst person is considered the victim. That's what's happening with a lot of crime these days. For example the homeowner will get in trouble for self-defense because of the poor victimized Intruder

 

[Pat Hartman]

The victim of the graffiti gets the fine if he doesn't clean it off quickly enough even when the perp is on video.

 

[Uncle Gizmo]

The victim of the graffiti gets the fine if he doesn't clean it off quickly enough even when the perp is on video.

So if you have a neighbourhood covered in ugly looking tents, why is the government not brought to task for leaving such a mess, when they consider it an offence for a business owner to leave unsightly graffiti, painted by a criminal on their premises?

 

[Pat Hartman]

So if you have a neighbourhood covered in ugly looking tents, why is the government not brought to task for leaving such a mess,

There doesn't seem to be any way to hold elected officials to task. Your only option is to not vote for them again and we know how that works. Sometimes I pine for the days of the wild west where if the townsfolk were unhappy with the mayor, they would just run him out of town and elect a new one.

 

[ColinEssex]

Sometimes I pine for the days of the wild west where if the townsfolk were unhappy with the mayor, they would just run him out of town and elect a new one.

Surely the modern American way is to just assassinate them, get a sniper to do it, from what we see on TV there's plenty of deranged Americans who will oblige.
Col

 

[The_Doc_Man]

One of the more famous assassinations in history started World War I and (surprise, Col!) the assassin wasn't from the USA. I know you won't believe it, but we don't own the franchise on assassinations or attempts thereof.

Actually, several events led up to that moment. Archduke Ferdinand was visiting Bosnia at the time and was killed. The archduke was visiting Bosnia because of the recent annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and a Bosnian student named Gavrilo Princip actually did the deed, though there was a conspiracy among at least six people engaging in political activism.

Other outside-the-USA killings of people for political purposes...

Jamal Khashoggi - internationally prominent journalist killed in Istanbul, presumably because he was anti-Saudi-royal-family
Tsar Alexander II of Russia (by a revolutionary group)
Empress Elisabeth of the Austrian/Hungarian empire (by an Italian group)
Giacomo Matteotti of Italy (by Mussolini's allies)
Mahatma Ghandi of India (by Sikh forces)
Indira Ghandi of India (was Prime Minister at the time; by Sikh forces)
Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan (took two tries to get him)
Aldo Moro of Italy (was Prime Minister at the time)
And how can we forget Julius Caesar, killed by his own senate and his friend Brutus?

That is enough of a list to show that the USA isn't unique in the world when it comes to political killings.

 

[Pat Hartman]

I don't think we assassinate many of our own politicians. The CIA is more likely to assassinate political figures in other countries. Our problem is stray bullets killing babies in their cribs in certain Chicago neighborhoods that are ruled by gangs.

 

[Isaac]

there's plenty of deranged Americans who will oblige.

Yes

 

[ColinEssex]

I don't think we assassinate many of our own politicians.

I thought JFK and Bobby Kennedy were politicians. Then the attempt on Reagan. Was it Lincoln assassinated in a theatre? Does Trump count as a politician? But the most important assassination was John Lennon - not a politician true, but worldwide is much more important than any of the others. The USA will never be forgiven for that.
Col

 

[The_Doc_Man]

I thought JFK and Bobby Kennedy were politicians. Then the attempt on Reagan. Was it Lincoln assassinated in a theatre? Does Trump count as a politician?

I didn't say we didn't have political assassinations. We just don't have the franchisee rights.

Can't totally disagree about the tragedy of John Lennon.

 

[ColinEssex]

I didn't say we didn't have political assassinations. We just don't have the franchisee rights.

I never said you did.
Because we are flooded with Z rated American TV programmes that always show killings violence and assassination, plus what we see on the BBC news and in the papers. Plus people here admit to gun ownership and the keenness to kill someone like a burglar, but at the same time admit to being Christian - what was that commandment? Ah yes, thou shalt not kill, except if you're a gun slinging Yank.
So I just made a joke, which prompted a patronising post from Doc and of course Pat had to get in there too because Col dared to make a lighthearted comment.
Col

 

[Isaac]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1830659416615788716

Hilarious, Harris debut a brand new accent today

 

[Steve R.]

 

[AccessBlaster]

Remember Hillary speaking at the all black church? Cringe squared.

 

[Pat Hartman]

and of course Pat had to get in there too because Col dared to make a lighthearted comment.

You are entitled to your opinions, wrong as they may be. Many of us who actually live here have explained to you countless times that people don't walk around shooting other people except for gang members in certain cities. You have a completely wrong view because "if it bleeds, it leads" and that goes for books as well as media. You probably don't want to take a wrong turn and find yourself on the south side of Chicago. Beyond that, big cities are far more dangerous to the unwary than are small cities and towns. No different from any other country. Up until the illegal immigration crisis spawned by Biden's open borders, we didn't have the kind of crime in NYC like they have in Rome with criminals riding around on scooters and snagging purses. That is now going on in NYC and then they come back to their free first class hotel room and park their unlicensed scooters out in front and the police do nothing.

Our population is 5 times the size of the UK's. It stands to reason that we have 5 times as many crazies as you do. And over the past 3.5 years we have imported 10 million + people who don't speak the language, are not allowed to hold jobs, and who have no qualms about breaking our laws. That isn't working out well for our crime rate.

4 US presidents have been killed while in office Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, Kennedy. Two have been wounded - Reagan (seriously) and Trump (scratch). There have been 19 "reported" attempts in total. No count of attempts that were thwarted before they happened. The SS and FBI would not release that statistic.

 

[ColinEssex]

I agree Pat.
Wherever you are in the world you need to be careful, especially if you're not familiar with the area. It's the same in the UK, Spain, France or wherever.
Of course you don't run round waving guns and shooting. I'm not that stupid, I don't know why the USA TV programme makers project that image, its boring and wrong.
Col

 

[Isaac]

Because we are flooded with Z rated American TV programmes

No, I think more accurately stated you are flooded with information about America, presented by your world-infamous British tabloids, which are garbage and dramatize everything. That's probably why you think all Americans wear cowboy boots and walk around dueling.