Sometimes you despair for this country

[VHG]

This is in the news at the moment. A youngish couple minding their own business get set upon by a gang and the guy is kicked to death.

http://tinyurl.com/yzph85q

What sort of country are we becoming?

Is it becoming unsafe for ordinairy people to walk the streets (although I admit this was at 3am - but that does not excuse it).

I watched "life" on BBC1 last night - and the beautiful scene of two sea horses doing a mating ritual - it was so lovely.

Then you read about these scum and you wonder why we say people like those behave like animals.

[jake-the-peg]

Just as a matter of interest has anybody on this thread actually been a victim of violence in the last 5 or 6 years?

Or is it the news that makes you dispair?

[scotgal]

Why Scottish zookeepers in particular?

[jake-the-peg]

your name and comment rather brought up a vision of hyenas running wild north of the border

[R1Geezer]

Yes I have, 3 uys, mid 20's I'd say on a bus were playing up so told em to shut it, they attacked me but I punched out 2 of them and they all ran off in the end, i did get a shiner and cut eye but hey it was worth it for the applause! I've got a small scar now not an obvious one but I always think of the incident when I see it in the mirror.

[scotgal]

You obviously don't watch the programme darling

[another-view]

"I'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees". Maybe so but I guess I'll live a lot longer than you.

That's what this guy did, so how come it's news then if that would be the normal reaction.

[sp1814]

another-view

Problem is, you don't haveto do much to be artacked...I mean -fancy dress???

That's ridiculous. If they were wearing t-shirts bearing the words KILL SPURS SCUM whilst walking around White Hart Lane, then I could understand your point. But it was Halloween, LOADS of people were out until the early hours. This was categorically not their fault whatsoever.

Their behaviour is normal.

Practically everyone I know was partying until the early hours last weekend, if we were randomly artacked, would we somehow also be culpable?

If a chap is out shopping for Christmas presents and attacked and robbed in a car park whilst loading his car, is he somehow to blame?

Sure, people should take care to protect themselves, but I think you're setting the bar WAY too low.

[birdie1971]

Another-View – What you're saying is that people who look different, dress differently or act differently from 'normal' (whatever that is) should be aware that by doing so, they leave themselves wide open to violent, unprovoked attacks.

This is not unlike the attitude that was prevalent in British society prior to the 1960s (ie. before the 'invention' and social acceptance of the mini-skirt) that supposed that a scantily dressed women walking down the street in the early hours of the morning was somehow 'asking' to be assaulted and/or raped. I assume you do not agree that provocatively dressed women are asking to be raped. But I fail to see a significant difference between the two scenarios.

Society will only get much worse if everyone accepts this philosophy of 'keep your head down'. I understand that you're coming at this argument from the point of view of self preservation, but are you seriously suggesting that good, law-abiding people simple give up and let the violent, intolerant, lunatics dictate where we can go and how we must dress?