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| -Land of the Free |
| Lt. Col Bateman laments death threats |
| 2014-05-20 |
| The Eternal O-5 relates dubious anecdotes and common illusions. A few months ago when I wrote my first article here about America's cult of the gun, the cultists themselves took notice. What I got in response was, at last count, more than 3,000 hate mail letters, 2,300 just in the first two weeks, and so far 19 death threats. But I did not get spat at, nor did people show up at my house, or the unit where I work, and I have not had to worry about my safety. In no small part I do not doubt this is because I live in England and I do not even own a cell phone; I am a man who expressly notes, in public, that he defends his house with a machete and a kukri; and I am a soldier. Good for you. English people, Gawd Bless 'em. But I would add that at, roughly, 40 plus, you wouldn't have much of a chance against a 16 year old Mohammad "Trayvon" Martin or other similar yute using an edged weapon, soldier or not. These three factors combined to reserve the abuse to mere e-mails. Nobody called my home, though they did call my mother and father in the middle of the night looking for me (which says something about their research skills, or perhaps reading comprehension skills). Nobody crossed the ocean, figured out where I live, and showed up at my house. Nobody confronted me in a coffee house, here in England. (Which would have been silly, since I'm usually to be found at my "local" anyway.) But mostly it was e-mail such as this bizarre one that came when I asked one of them, "Who are you?" |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #9 Local help needed, but does his possession of combat knives violate the Knives Act of 1997? And by stating the purpose of those knives as combat, violate Prevention of Crime Act? |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2014-05-20 18:13 |
| #8 Sure writes like it. Thanks TW. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2014-05-20 18:02 |
| #7 A local is the local pub, swksvolFF. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2014-05-20 17:53 |
| #6 Soldier? In the Army yeah. From what I've heard he was an infantry commander as 2nd Lieutenant long enough to get his creds and promotion to Lieutenant Colonel of History Classes. A professor of history who uses Alex Jones stories from Mother Jones. Is a machete and kukri even legal in England? What does local translate to? I measure him three bags of dork to move to England and sit around all day reading Mother Jones and lamenting the culture he left. Machete? Kukri? Gather round the learned professor of history, who has chosen weapon of last choice, other than perhaps a dagger or brass knuckles, in order to protect his. Tell me you at least have a doru, oh master Bateman. Or some darts? Master Bateman: coffee house ninja. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2014-05-20 17:20 |
| #5 The Longdon woman recently claimed to have been spit on in an airport. The story has been roundly shown false, from the supposed instigation to the act of spitting. Odds are that the water pistol story is just as false. She clearly needs some therapy and quiet time, not further feeding of her addiction to attention. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2014-05-20 16:57 |
| #4 I suspect most people who suddenly get their name in the public realm get strange emails and letters from the nutters. It may not even relate to the issue at hand as nutters are by definition, well nuts. I also believe that we all get some random emails and nonsense that we write off. Terms like F off and Die suddenly become a death threat when you want them to or when you've become paranoid because of your anti-gun article. Having said that, shame on anyone sending death threats or anything that could be construde as a death threat. That's UnAmerican. he has a right to his speach, however wrong it is and mocking and public humiliation are more appropriate responses than violence. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2014-05-20 14:41 |
| #3 Ah, Lt Col Troll makes another appearance... |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2014-05-20 11:45 |
| #2 File under - "I, acting as a lightning rod, object to being struck by lightning" |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2014-05-20 09:11 |
| #1 Ask them the simple question, "Is there a gun in the house?" If the answer is "yes" then your kid never goes there. Period. Between the gun owners and the ones who tell you it's none of your business whether they do or not, your kid's gonna run out of friends PDQ. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2014-05-20 05:29 |