One Sixth of a Retraction...

Hello Thinkers,

Well I must be doing something right. Why? Because I have received several hatemails from my last post on the shooting of what now appears to be an innocent man in London's Stockwell tube station. In addition to pushing these rantings to my list of like-minded Thinkers, and posting most of the same commentary on http://tuffbeingright.blogspot.com, I also guest-post once in a while to http://www.barking-moonbat.com. This was the case yesterday morning when "Shoot to Kill" was posted there. Later in the day, I sparked up my PC to check emails and the top My-Yahoo news headline read 'British Police Admit Shooting Wrong Man.'

Hmmm. And yes, I had emails. Lets look at a few of them, shall we?

You don't f***ing "stitch" SUSPECTS. Your as heartless and the bastards that implemented 911. Taking joy in the death of others. Nice....

Here's another satisfied customer:

It's f***ers like you, on all sides, that are the real problem.

This next rocket scientist probably thinks I wrote my last post AFTER I found out the guy was a Brazilian electrician:

They guy wasn't a terrorist. Your saying that the more innocent folks we eliminate the better, and that the killing of an innocent man will some how send them a message? You are proposing we gun people down for LOOKING like a terrorist? The guy was an electrician. How did he know they were police?

The fact he asked that last question says quite a bit, eh?

Then he proceeds to quote a bunch of New Testament scripture to me, mostly from Matthew. Although I spent more than enough time in Catholic schools, I've never really been in a 'turn the other cheek' mode since 9/11. I am finding the vengeful God of the Old Testament much more to my liking these days.

There were others, but I think this one sums up the collective sentiment best.

You poor stupid f***wit. Get back to f***ing Yankyland and stop polluting Britain.

Glorious! So let's take a look at the main points I made in "Shoot to Kill":

1. The British cop who killed the man now identified as having no ties to the recent terrorist attacks is a hero.

I'll get back to this one later.

2. The man who was killed was "petrified" and I clearly took joy and satisfaction in his suffering and eventual demise.

Whoopsie. The deceased may have been very stupid getting on a London subway wearing a heavy coat in July, especially after two recent bomb attacks. And he may have been trying to commit 'suicide by cop' by refusing to halt when commanded to do so by police. His death does not cause me jubilation. Not now that he appears to have no connection with any terrorist groups. However, given the circumstances surrounding the last minutes of his life, when Darwin is at work, it is best not to disturb him. And yes, if this guy had any affiliation with the 7/7 or 7/21 terrorists, I would be gleefully toasting his messy ruination.

3. It is about time someone handled terrorists with the appropriate response.

Still correct. Terrorists continue to select "soft" targets. The response must be swift and brutal. Appeasement and focus groups are nothing more than a symbolic ankle grab.

4. Suspected terrorists should be killed quickly, not cornered or imprisoned because A. it's fun, B. wounded terrorists can still kill innocent bystanders with the flick of a switch, and C. terrorists need to know they are being hunted ruthlessly.

Still correct.

5. Islamic leaders, certainly those in the UK are sociopaths and schizophrenic.

If you doubt this, reread the quotes from Islamic leaders in "Shoot to Kill."

6. Stitching the suspect was the appropriate action.

Here's a report from the FT of London:

According to police sources, the man who was shot dead had been observed leaving a house in London that was being watched in connection with bomb incidents earlier in the day. He was followed by a police surveillance team backed by armed officers, none of whom are thought to have been carrying photographs identifying the suspect.

He was followed on to the Underground system where exactly what happened remained unclear last night. The police version is that when the man reached Stockwell station, he began to act suspiciously and broke into a run, at which point the armed unit challenged him to stop.

The man, who is understood not to have been carrying any package or container, is thought to have been shot after he boarded a train that had stopped at the station.

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/453316bc-fb15-11d9-a0f6-00000e2511c8.html

So getting back to 1. and at the same time addressing 6. Was this a good shoot and is the shooter a hero? Absolutely! While the death of Brazilian electrician Jean Charles de Menezes is a tragedy, avoiding this circumstance was totally within his grasp. Conversely, the British police were left with one choice - to protect their country and save her citizens - even that pacifist fairy that called me a "stupid f***twit."