House of Eratosthenes

Last December my newly minted ten-year-old got a Swiss Army knife for his birthday — an Explorer much like my first.
:
It’s a rite of passage, and an important one I think, for your children to earn their first knife and to learn its proper use and care. Unless your children are anything like these kids:

California State University at Long Beach on Thursday said that it has taken seriously an incident in which a faculty member saw a student with a small knife, in class, and asked him to leave and notified authorities. On social media, the incident was described by some as a threat by the student against a black female student in a class on gender and race issues. Many on social media have questioned why Cal State didn’t alert the campus to danger or take further action against the student. The university statement does not reference many of the details claimed on social media. But the university says that the incident remains under investigation by campus and local officials, and that a threat assessment determined no immediate threat.

Back in my university days…if a professor had asked for a show of hands for who was carrying a pocketknife, some men (typically but not exclusively men) would raise their hands. Some wouldn’t. But the point is that nobody would have really thought much of it one way or the other. I’d even be willing to wager that in some parts of the country, a man might feel a small bit of shame if he’d forgotten to grab his knife that morning. I know I feel naked without one — and next-to-useless, too, if I find I need one and it isn’t there.

I prefer my Skeletool, with the belt clip. Sheaths, both leather and nylon, have failed me repeatedly and I find them unworthy of the tool itself, which is insanely well-engineered. Oh, but we want safety, do we? Well…the pliers probably saved the fingers of the purchasing & requisitions lady who I rescued at 6 in the morning one day, as she struggled to pry the paper detritus from a business-sized shredding machine that couldn’t be unplugged from the wall.

Which is a point I see not discussed too much. In this balance between perfectly-ready and perfectly-safe, we presume these are always opposite goals. It isn’t so. A lot of the time in life, being ready brings its own safety benefits. In fact that’s most of the time. When people have to get something done and they’re forced by “safety” rules to be unready, they start…improvising…

The other point I see not being raised as often as it should, is this passive-voice notion of “…described by some as a threat by the student against…” You’ll notice that is the entirety of the stated danger. Someone said. Someone posted on Facebook. Someone saw it as. “Many on social media have questioned why Cal State didn’t alert the campus to danger or take further action…” As is the case with all passive-voice statements, the question lingers: Who?

It matters.

See, when people say “it’s a threat when someone else has something that could be used as a weapon,” what they’re really saying is “you should feel threatened when I have something that could be used as a weapon.” They’re saying people shouldn’t rely on the value others place on human life, which is the foundation of any civilized society; they’re saying they don’t believe in civilized society. They’re projecting their lack of community feeling, onto others.

When they hallucinate about people with guns on a subway, suddenly turning that setting into a bloodbath, what they’re saying is that they have the untested impulses to do something like this. They’re saying they come from a place where people are not to be trusted.

This is a bit like the underwriter at a bank, being responsible for approving loans for which he himself would never qualify. And then, because of that, denying them all. Nope! I can’t be trusted to pay back a loan, so that means nobody else should either.

So for the safety of us all, it would be a good idea to track down these people who so-described and so-questioned, and find out who they are. Perhaps we’re all in danger with them walking around free like that. If it saves one child’s life then it’s certainly worth it…right?

Two thoughts here. 1) What you describe could be a nice confirmation of the Third Law of SJW: SJWs always project. When these “some people” are finally tracked down, as they sometimes are, don’t they always turn out to be basement-dwelling morbidly obese Bronies whose only other hobby is trolling conservative blogs? If what you hypothesize is true, they’re projecting their bitter nerd rage in the form of concern trolling.

But 2), because these folks are almost always incel losers, I don’t think it’s so much “projection;” rather, it’s a way of injecting a little drama into their otherwise meaningless existences. I mean, who hasn’t been bored out of his skull at a meeting and started wondering about things like, “what would I do if Hans Gruber broke in there and started taking hostages?” But then you get on with your life… unless you don’t have a life, like a lot of these clowns, so they make mountains out of every available molehill. The internet just gives them the ability to pull others into their sad little daydreams.
- Severian | 03/08/2016 @ 08:05
Excuse me Mr./Ms. Facutly wonk.
I refuse to leave, or surrender my knife to the likes of YOU!
Please proceed with the course, ask the rest of the class to evacuate while security by proxy is summoned,
you can fantasize about your name, and the outcome, on the national headlines while we wait.
By the way, everything is “on the record” from perspectives now.
- CaptDMO | 03/08/2016 @ 16:49
Pocket (or pen) knife? Yes, I DO know how to cut, or re cut, a pen nib on a quill as a matter of fact (wild turkey, from the left side, for me) It’s on the end of my pocket watch chain.
Potential weapon? No, that’s the pocket clip folder I ALSO carry.
OK, MAYBE the concealed Beretta .380 too.
Credit score. Credit “score”, that shows me the likelihood you’re stupid enough to pay extra for crap.
It’s a handy “tool” for some to carry around in their “smart” phone, I suppose.
“We need to know your credit score. You need to release it to us.”
Sorry, I have a horrible credit score, I pay my bills in full, and live within my means.
That’s why I’m NOT taking out any bank/dealership loans.
“But we need to know your credit score.”
(and I’ve done this with a car…)
Here’s a check. Give me a call when it clears and I’ll come pick up the car.
“Your check cleared two days ago, but the new car we promised is still in transit somewhere”
I’m going to need to see your Better Business Bureau, and State Dept. of Consumer Protection scores.
Tell me again why you “needed” my Credit score?
- CaptDMO | 03/10/2016 @ 12:12
“described by some as a threat” This leaves out the minor side issue of exactly what he said and did. Someone holding a knife to your throat while screaming “Die, infidel!” is a threat. Someone using a knife to whittle a piece of wood into the shape of a dog is not a threat to anyone. If you see someone rummaging in his pockets, pull out some change, pull out a pocket knife, pull out his car keys, then put the change and knife back in his pocket, and you interpret this as a threat, you are simply paranoid and delusional. The bizarre thing about contemporary American society is that people who say they feel threatened by such things are taken seriously. (Well, one of many bizarre things.)

A few years ago I was on jury duty. A man was accused of “harassment”. Turns out he went to a restaurant and asked the waitress out on a date. She said no. He went back the next day and asked her out again. She again said no. He went back a couple of days later looking for her but she wasn’t working that day. At that point she called the police. Someone asked if he threatened her or followed her around or went to her house. The prosecutor replied, “Under the law, the question is not what he did, but how she felt. If she was afraid, it’s harassment.” Really? So if someone big and strong walks up to me and asks for directions, and I think he’s intimidating and I’m afraid, he is guilty of a crime? Even though he never threatened me or gave any indication that he intended harm? That’s insane. And I can’t help but wonder … if the man in this case had been rich and handsome instead of poor and ugly, would she have brought charges? Would the police and courts have taken her seriously?
- saneperson | 03/11/2016 @ 09:57

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PocketknivesTuesday, March 8th, 2016

Pocketknives
Tuesday, March 8th, 2016