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Remember:
Robbers seldom
hurt people who cooperate with them!
Commentary
By James R. Hall
I just read with interest a story in
Louisville’s Courier-Journal newspaper about a night club robbery [Nightclub
employee shot in robbery, 21
Nov 06]. According to the story, Metro Police Lt. James "Mueller said
the robber entered Petrus, on East Main Street, with a gun about 3
a.m. through an open door and demanded cash. The employee complied,
but as the robber was leaving, he turned and fired several times,
striking the worker once in the shoulder."
Good reporting, it’s nice to see the
media note that, even after complying with some thug’s demands, you
could still end up dead. This lucky fellow went to the hospital with
an apparently survivable wound and, depending upon his state of mind,
should be back to the bar in no time. The point of my commentary is
the rest of the story and where it led.
"This person is extremely dangerous and
we would like to see him brought to justice," Mueller said during a
press conference.
Wouldn’t we all. Of course, thanks to
the myriad laws available, justice could be served by many means.
But, at the same time, if mere passage of laws worked, this whole
situation would have been averted before it began!
Unfortunately, the law did not keep the perpetrator’s loaded gun out of a
business that sells mostly alcohol (KRS
244.125), nor did the law
prevent him from simply acquiring the gun to further a crime (KRS
506.010), or menacing someone
with a weapon (KRS
508.050), or wantonly
endangering his fellow citizen (KRS
508.060), committing armed
robbery (KRS
515.020), or assaulting someone
with a deadly weapon (KRS
508.030). I’m left wondering,
did he conceal the weapon on the way to the crime? Save for a
license (I doubt it!) or some other exception, this too is a crime (KRS
527.020). What about the
gun, was it stolen (KRS
514.110)? Had the serial
number been defaced (KRS
527.050)? How about the
perpetrator’s history, was he a convicted felon or other "prohibited
person" that could not lawfully possess a firearm (KRS
527.040)? There are a
number of federal laws that may apply also though I can't see where
any are constitutional or, in light of the coverage KY law provides,
at all necessary.
Should we believe that the assailant
was unaware of his legal transgressions? Better yet, should we
believe that, if caught, he’ll be prosecuted for each offense he
actually committed? (Double jeopardy notwithstanding.) We KNOW
he won't be, and if he were, he would very likely serve time for multiple convictions
concurrently!
Simply put, what makes these people
"extremely dangerous" is the fact that they are armed and their victims are
not. This is the ultimate truth that never seems to make it into
most news stories. In the article, Lt. Mueller is said to
recommend that "business owners and employees could go to
www.lmpdasap.com
to find robbery prevention tips." I went there looking for these
tips and what I found made pretty good sense. There were
some "Robbery Reduction Tips" listed also that, for the most part, were
worthy advice as well but, there were a few items that bordered
on insanity.
For one, NOWHERE does it suggest that
someone might actually arm themselves in order to have a fighting
chance against an armed assailant. IN FACT, they advise
against "escalating" the situation by attempting to fight or using
a weapon to defend yourself!!! At this point I have to wonder,
if you already have a gun in your face, what could be considered "escalation"?
Another tip: "Remember: robbers seldom hurt people who cooperate with
them." Unfortunately, the title character in this story turned
out to be one of the seldoms! "Stay calm and obey the robber's
orders" is another tip. Didn’t we learn from the 9/11 attack that our
sheepish attitude toward aggressors simply doesn’t work? As if
it ever did!
Giving the bad guys whatever they want only
emboldens them to do the deed again. Anyone that’s had kids
knows that giving them the candy they are whining for at the grocery
checkout only shuts them up until the next time they see something
they want! Criminals, knowing that a mindset is in place that
practically guarantees cooperation – uh, complicity? – during the
crime is what prompts them to commit the act in the first place!
Does anyone truly believe that the average sane criminal would enter
someplace with criminal intent if they believed they may very well be
shot at!?
The final insult – according to the
reporter, "Anyone with information on the robbery should call the
anonymous police tip line at 574-LMPD (5673)." Anonymous??
We are now so afraid that we can’t call up the police and tell them
what we know about a crime without being anonymous? (Oh, and did you
notice that the reader is seen as so stupid he needs the telephone
letters and numbers?)
If America were discovered today, it
doesn’t seem to me that Americans would be able to successfully settle
it. It boggles the imagination to know we live in the greatest
nation on the face of the Earth. I pity the poor bastards that
live anywhere else, what must they be contending with? Or is it
just that the government and prevailing media – the powers that be
– would have us believe that we are not only stupid but
incompetent as well? Stories like the one illustrated above do
seem to be the norm rather than the exception. The "don’t fight
back" attitude put forth by the police in their crime prevention tips
also seems the norm.
We did NOT get to where we are waiting
for someone else to take care of us! When will we decide we’ve had
enough and get back to showcasing why WE ARE the greatest nation in
the world? It can't be too soon.
26 NOV 2006
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