Greetings and Salutations...

On Mon, 30 May 2005 15:13:10 GMT, "toller" wrote:



As many of you may be aware, (from the "you can't make this stuff up
department"), several physicians in England are advocating that "long
pointy knives" be banned from the general public's availability, saying,
"Government action to ban the sale of such knives," they wrote, "would
drastically reduce their availability over the course of a few years."

It is not "quite" as silly as it sounds. I have used chef's knives for 30
years and have never used the point; occasionally on one of the smaller
knives, but never on the big ones.
If the point serves no purpose, and eliminating it would prevent a few
crimes of passion; why not?


Well, I have to say that it does not sound silly at all to
me...but it DOES sound rather sinister and misguided. It is part of
that continuing trend towards making life "safe" and not scary.
However, the problem with that is that life *IS* dangerous and scary
and that will never change. I think it is a far better course
of action for us to accept that, and learn to use caution and
treat dangerous things with respect, and, to find ways to build
impulse control in our citizens. That will go a lot further
towards truely making life safer for all of us.
Too...there is the problem that the last time I looked,
the criminal elements that would misuse tools as weapons are
not deterred by laws making it illegal. The danger of punishment
is simply looked upon as a cost of doing business, and, in some
cases, being caught and punished cranks up their reputations.
As for using the point or not...I, too, have been cooking
and baking for decades, and, while I might not use the point EVERY
time I pick up a knife, I have to say that I DO use it to start
cuts quite often. So...my solution, if this silly law were to
go through, and if I happened to NEED a new knife, would be to
go out to the shop, and put a nice point on it with my grinders,
etc.
Just remember that it is NOT doing anyone a favor to
wrap them in cotton wool to "protect" them from the difficulities
and dangers of life. At some point they will have to deal with
it, and, the older they are when that happens, the harder it will
be for them to adapt to the needs of the moment. Teaching folks
about the uses and dangers of a tool, and, its proper use is very
important. Also, of course, as mentioned earlier, teaching impulse
control from a very early age is vital, otherwise we will become
a herd of animals, randomly and instinctively striking out when
irritated...not dealing with other folks on a more rational
level.
Regards from the voice crying in the wilderness.
Dave Mundt