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| Mark Steyn: An Englishman's home is his dungeon |
| 2004-12-07 |
| One of the key measures of a society's health is how easily you can insulate yourself from its underclass. In America, unless one resides in a very small number of problematic inner-city quarters or wishes to make a career in the drug trade, one will live a life blessedly untouched by crime. In Britain, alas, it's the peculiar genius of Home Office policy to have turned the entire country into one big, rundown, inner-city, no-go slum estate, extending from prosperous suburbs to leafy villages, even unto Upper Cheyne Row. The murderers of John Monckton understood the logic of this policy better than the lethargic overpaid British constabulary. An Englishman's home is not his castle, but his dungeon and ever more so - window bars, window locks, dead bolts, laser security, and no doubt biometricrecognition garage doors, once the Blunkett national ID card goes into circulation. All this high-tech protection, urged on the householder by Pc Plod, may make your home more secure, but it makes you less so. From the burglar's point of view, the more advanced and impregnable the alarm systems become, the more it makes sense just to knock on the door and stab whoever answers. Mr Monckton's killers thus made an entirely rational choice. He was a wealthy man, living in a prestigious neighbourhood of £3 million homes, and he presumably had the best security system to go with it. But time it right, get him to the front door, and the state-enforced impotence of the homeowner makes him as vulnerable as any old loser in a decrepit urine-sodden block on Broadwater Farm. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #14 Hmmmm. I am glad I live in a come in here and die residence. Even in my "blue state" if I feel threatend and you are in my home uninvited your ass is mine. Thats the law. That is should not be the law is clearly insane. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2004-12-07 2:45:03 PM |
| #13 Mrs. Davis - So is Illinois. :) Cook County is one densely populated area, and there are some counties along the Mississippi that are pretty blue, too. Steve - thanks for the info on gun laws. Seafarious - You've got mail! |
| Posted by: eLarson 2004-12-07 2:39:34 PM |
| #12 eLarson, Maryland is a blue state that is getting decidedly pinker. We're still beholden to the Big Blue Machine that is Baltimore party politics, *but* the times, they are a changin'. E-mail me for details... |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2004-12-07 1:49:37 PM |
| #11 Behold the gentle, superior Euro's wish to believe that violent crime is a purely American phenomenon caused by suburban red-state gun owners. Yet another MSM meme in action here. In fact, the homicide data overwhelmingly indicate what is obvious to every American: violent gun injuries are concentrated in urban drug-dealer infested ratholes. The 98% of Americans who don't live in these ratholes have a lower risk of violent death than the average Finn, Swiss or Frenchman. |
| Posted by: lex 2004-12-07 12:56:50 PM |
| #10 eLarson, prepare thyself. Maryland is as blue as it gets. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-12-07 12:53:19 PM |
| #9 The one thing I want to know, is why the stiff-upper-lip route? Seems to me the impotence isn't so much state-enforced as it is personally inflicted. I seem to remember reading something somewhere about Americans taking up residence in London that were given instructions on "how to be a proper victim" when confronted, as the authorities had observed that Americans had a tendency to fight back. Seems to me that what the Poms need to do in increasing numbers is fight back, instead of meekly acquiesing to the whims of public officials that can't even guarantee an individual's safety in his/her own home. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-12-07 12:45:08 PM |
| #8 Maryland is a concealed carry "may issue" permit state. Gun laws here. |
| Posted by: Steve 2004-12-07 12:34:11 PM |
| #7 Here in Illinois, Home Invasion is a Class-X felony... making the perp eligible for the death sentence. I'd just as soon execute that sentence as soon as the jamoke crosses the threshold, and certainly before he reaches my carpet. Not sure about my future state of Maryland, though. Anyone? |
| Posted by: eLarson 2004-12-07 11:27:25 AM |
| #6 The other alternative is simply to hide the evidence after whacking the bad guys. Burglars make good garden fertilizer. ;) |
| Posted by: BH 2004-12-07 10:10:59 AM |
| #5 Tony Blair's re-election campaign platform is reducing crime. I suggest he propose to allow his citizens to arm themselves with something more substantial than a rolled-up copy of the Daily Mirror. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2004-12-07 9:44:49 AM |
| #4 "and the state-enforced impotence of the homeowner makes him as vulnerable as any old loser in a decrepit urine-sodden block on Broadwater Farm" Couldnt have said it better myself . I live in a relatively good part of my city (nottingham - gun crime central) , but even after a number of years living in a run down area , I still keep my old hickory axe handle handy , and my dog is a vicious lil bugger when it gets going (poor old postman ) . Perhaps the laws were introduced to protect burglars from folk like me *shrug* |
| Posted by: MacNails 2004-12-07 9:37:38 AM |
| #3 Obviouslt? *starts coffee drip* |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-12-07 9:31:03 AM |
| #2 Obviouslt Steyn's back from his post-election R&R in a BIG way. Classic. Take back your basic rights, Brits! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-12-07 9:30:22 AM |
| #1 Ooooh the touchy-feely mob are gonna love this.. Let's hope that the predicted change in the law occurs. The author may be right about common sense dictating the outcome of such trials. Let's hope this marks a turn towards elevating the rights of the common man above those of the criminal. Great post btw. |
| Posted by: Howard UK 2004-12-07 8:57:33 AM |