Doctors Calling for Ban on Long Kitchen Knives Submitted by Michael RinoRemover on Wed, 12/26/2012 -

Oh, and pointy sticks. Don't forget to ban pointy sticks too!

The Europeans have lost their freaking minds! They want, are actually BEGGING, for another holocaust. I've never witnessed such monumental acts of stupidity since Hitler's adoption by Austria!

Got news for my fellow Americans who are advocating for the same levels of stupidity - AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN HERE!

Not such a bad idea to make standard kitchen-knives either pointy or long, not both. It's not the worst idea I've heard. If you make a change like that in legislation you'd remove many dangerous items from the average home. But, these laws should only be on import and sales. They should not be for possession. Because that would be hard to enforce and allow for selective harassment from police.

This just in - letter openers, paper weights, candle sticks, car keys and fire place pokers next on the list!

Just an FYI to avoid any confusion over the "12/26/2012" thread title:

This article appeared on the BBC website over seven years ago on 26 May, 2005.

Originally posted by adjensen
As moronic as this suggestion sounds, as someone who does a lot of cooking, I'd agree that long, pointy knives aren't particularly useful. As someone else pointed out, long knives are needed to carve meat and cut bread, but bread knives are generally round tipped (all of mine are, at least) and you only need the pointy end of a carving knife to spear something (which your carving fork will do fine) and to cut around something (which would require another knife for, if your carving knife has a rounded tip.)

That said, it's a pretty stupid suggestion. If I lived with someone who was mentally unbalanced or drank a lot or something, I suppose it would be sensible to not have numerous long, sharp and pointy things in easy reach, but banning such utensils is foolish to accomplish a goal like that. Unless you're attacking someone who is quite large, I would guess that a steak knife would be sufficiently long enough to reach their internal organs, and good luck banning those.

LOL,mate ivé done a lot of cooking in my time and I have worked with a lot of people in the industry that have been riding the "high wire" and over that period of time came to realize through conversations with people from all parts of the world that the most dangerous object is the one that you are about to get stabbed with not the biggest scariest knife on the movie screen.
Now I always thought that was some cool Chef philosophy until I transitioned into another career and seen a guy get stabbed in the neck with a ball point pen.

reply to post by JAK


I really don't think the date of the article changes the idiotic nature of it.

And if anyone would bother to read my op, I used it as an example to start a dialog on what could be next? What ridiculous thing will they try to take away from us because these inanimate objects are sooooooo dangerous.

Also, to point out how studies and doctors can be used to sway society's feelings about inanimate objects or behaviors.

I joined so I could comment on threads like these. More people die from car crashes then kitchen knives. Lets ban cars instead.

Originally posted by PLAYERONE01
Now I always thought that was some cool Chef philosophy until I transitioned into another career and seen a guy get stabbed in the neck with a ball point pen.

OMG!!! We need to IMMEDIATELY begin a campaign to outlaw pointy writing implements!!! From now on people should only be permitted to write with crayons or felt tip nerf markers!!!

What is this world coming to!?!?

reply to post by timetothink


The date is extremely important.

It's been over 7 years and nobody has banned long pointy kitchen knives in the UK. That implies that it is not going to happen.

Just because someone somewhere says something doesn't mean it's a reflection of a certain society. How would you feel if I said "wow, those westboro baptists want to outlaw life, America sure is crazy"?

Also:

French laws in the 17th century decreed that the tips of table and street knives be ground smooth.

Finally:

Government response

Home Office spokesperson said there were already extensive restrictions in place to control the sale and possession of knives.

reply to post by Dispo


It didn't end at all in the UK.

Another unintended consequence.....remove all the guns, people still want to commit crimes, knife violence rises.


mothersagainstknives.tripod.com...

The Rt. Hon. Hazel Blears M.P. has proposed a blanket ban on samuria swords from being sold in the High Street, car boot sales and the Internet. However ,the campaign is to have some form of legislation to either ban or restrict severly the sale of bladed weapons e.g. machettes, combat knives ect. Figures out recently show that the crime rate involving knives is at an all time high, far higher than gun crime ! I urge anyone reading this page, whether they are a parent or not, to join me in trying to make this country of ours a safer place for all.

One on, a knife is a knife is a knife......they all cut, it doesn't matter what size etc.


This is insanity.

reply to post by timetothink


Are you implying that long pointy kitchen knives will one day be banned in the UK in the same way as samurai swords?

If so, what is the rough timescale you imagine for this? Tell me a year, preferably one where we'll both still be alive, I'll screenshot your post and come back on Jan 1st of that year and plaster it all over your user page, this thread and a relevant forum alongside a timestamped picture of me holding a long pointy kitchen knife.

reply to post by Dispo


You really seem to have a problem with me....

I am saying the lengths people will go to , to control others knows no bounds and to continually keep saying these things don't happen because they are silly is silliness in itself.

People will keep trying and if we don't keep aware of it a lot of the time they get away with it.

You are making fun of me simply because I am bringing it to light, I am not the one who is trying to get knives banned but others are.

It ridiculous and I am just showing you these people exist. Get enough of them to go along with it and viola, you can no longer filet a fish......we will be a world living on soft food and sporks.

I am not the crazy one, I am trying to get it thru your thick heads that these crazies exist.

Originally posted by timetothink
You really seem to have a problem with me....

If you honestly believe that, u2u me and we'll sort it out. If you don't honestly believe that, lol.

As for the rest of your post, as I said earlier:
How would you feel if I started saying "hey man look at these westboro baptists, America really is a crazy place, I wouldn't like to go there, it only takes one of them and suddenly the whole country is picketing gay funerals"?

en.wikipedia.org...

(The WB thing is just to illustrate a point, let's not have an argument on that, I can find another weird and wonderful group in America if you prefer)

Mayor backs anti-knife crime operation
2 JUNE 2010

www.london.gov.uk...

“Knife crime is well below the levels it was two years ago when

we launched Operation Blunt 2 to fight the terrible scourge of knives on London’s streets.

A huge amount has been achieved, with more than 9,500 knives seized and 18,000 arrests in the last two years, for which the police deserve enormous praise. But we know more work is needed to keep Londoners safe. That's why we are doing all we can to tackle both the symptoms and the longer term causes of knife crime and violence amongst young people.”

The scourge of knives!

Ban Guns, now on to the next.....US...this is what we have to look forward to.


Operation BLUNT.......that cracks me up.


Maybe the US can call the fireplace police task force Operation Crackle, or Soda Snitches for big gulp abusers, Salt Lickers for heavy handed shakers.


The possibilities are endless!

reply to post by timetothink


Blunt 2 was an operation designed to increase the levels of stop and searches performed by the police in London. They were looking for people carrying folding knives >3" or any fixed or locking knives. Those articles are illegal to carry in public without a reason e.g. fishing, work as a chef, just bought it and so on.

It is not different to any operation where the police decide they're going to stop and search more people for drugs.

I don't know why you're trying to imply that it's an indicator of a dystopian society.

Originally posted by Dispo
It is not different to any operation where the police decide they're going to stop and search more people for drugs.

I don't know why you're trying to imply that it's an indicator of a dystopian society.

Probably because in America the police can't just stop and search more people for drugs (well, not openly, anyway.) The rules here are that the police can't search someone just because they feel like it, they have to either have a justifiable reason (they saw you buying drugs ten seconds before,) or a search warrant. There are other ways to do it, but they're more "gaming the system" than they are just allowing for arbitrary searches.

From the American perspective, police just randomly searching people for drugs, knives or whatever, IS a dystopian society.

reply to post by adjensen


Stop and search != stop anyone for no reason and search them.

www.adviceguide.org.uk...

Stop and search
When can the police stop and search you

The police can stop and search any person, vehicle, and anything in or on the vehicle for certain items. However, before they stop and search they must have reasonable grounds for suspecting that they will find:

stolen goods, or
drugs, or
an offensive weapon, or
any article made or adapted for use in certain offences, for example a burglary or theft, or
knives, or
items which could damage or destroy property, for example spray paint cans.

If a serious violent incident has taken place, the police can stop and search you without having reasonable grounds for suspecting they will find the items.

reply to post by Dispo


The that would be in violation of what you said before:

It is not different to any operation where the police decide they're going to stop and search more people for drugs.

If they're stopping people because they actually suspect them of something, for a reason (in the US, they have to testify to their cause for stopping, and the case can get thrown out of court if it isn't reasonable,) that's one thing, but you said they're stopping people because they've simply decided to search more people than drugs.

Stopping people for reasonable cause != Deciding to stop and search more people

reply to post by adjensen


Analogy:
"Hey team, I'm glad you're all up bright and early and welcome to another wonderful day at GenericSalesSuperstoreRUs! Listen guys, we've been having a bit of trouble in the lead toys department, so today I want all of you to try and focus on moving as many lead toys as possible, y'know just generally hang round the lead toys area, direct people over there and so on."

Reality:
"Listen up team, loads of people are dying from knife crime in London, so I want you lot out of your cars and walking the streets, if you have a choice between going for two groups, one you think has knives and the other has drugs, go for the knives. I don't want you just wandering aimlessly either, I want you patrolling in areas X, Y and Z as they have the largest proportion of knife crime in the city. Alright kids, let's do some good!"

reply to post by Dispo


Like I said, your "why do you view this as a dystopian thing" is predicated on police randomly searching people to find knives without cause, not what you're now describing.