Saturday, December 20, 2014

Knives Are Dangerous Weapons!

In the nation/state's never-ending quest for the risk-free, the common knife, a tool with a history of many thousands of years,  has morphed from one of man's earliest accomplishments to a deadly threat, especially to the garrison mentality, as we read here. The Ramsey County Courthouse, a location that is ordinarily literally crawling with well-paid and highly-trained law enforcement personnel, can't allow the presence of an edged tool. Sure, there's always the potential that some malhechor could behead a sheriff's deputy in the second floor men's room but how likely is such an event? How often, in previously easy-going times, were judges, witnesses and defendants stabbed during courtroom proceedings? Aren't there other common items that could also be used to inflict mayhem? A honed dinner fork could be used to poke out an eye. A sturdy ball point pen, with some slight modifications, could easily serve a similar purpose. It might be best for all visitors to the court house to strip down to their undies so the coercion complex can go about its business without worry.

Jackson Pollock ‘Naked Man with Knife’, c.1938–40
© ARS, NY and DACS, London 2014
Jackson Pollock's "Naked Man With Knife"

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