We Turn The Spotlight On Bravery And Recklessness. Once Again

November 7, 2009

Thomas Mathew writes: Here we go again: another have-a-go-hero is in the news for standing up to an armed robber, who burst into a petrol station with a shot gun demanding money. The hero in question, the attendant, chose not to hand over the cash but struggled with the armed criminal. It was by pure luck that the shotgun did not go off and eventually the robber made a quick exit. We hear stories like that a lot. Recently we wrote here about man in London who actually chased a couple of armed robbers down the street and got shot in the process. The two thugs he was after had just robbed a betting shop and were getting away. And that is when this have-a-go-hero decided to apprehend them. And nearly paid for that with his life. I still remember the fuss the newspapers in Britain made last year...

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Category: Point Of View
Tags: bravery, have-a-go-hero, Recklessness

Of Recklessness And Bravery: Two Things That Often Get Confused

September 27, 2009

Thomas Mathew writes: I have read recently about a man who had chased a couple of armed robbers down the street and got shot and nearly died from his wounds. The two thugs had just robbed a betting shop and were getting away. And that is when this have-a-go-hero decided to, well, be a-have-a-go-hero. And nearly paid for that with his life.He was not the fist and he would not be the last person to demonstrate total lack of judgement when confronting violent criminals. We hear stories like that all the time. I still remember the fuss the newspapers in Britain made last year about an 84-year old pensioner, who had foiled an attempted raid on a jewellery store in London by two thugs wearing balaclavas. As they were trying to smash the shop window with their sledgehammers, the pensioner walked up...

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Category: Point Of View
Tags: bravery, Crime, Recklessness, Violence

Readers Comment On Our Take On Bravery And Recklessness.

March 24, 2009

We have received a lot comments from our readers on our article about mixing recklessness with bravery that we include further down below.John thinks that we were absolutely right in stressing that the driver of the double-decker bus in London was wrong in resisting the two thugs with knives who demanded his cash box. He writes: ‘The driver is first of all responsible for the safety of his passengers. The cash in his box was probably insured anyway. What was the point of getting into a fight and crashing the bus? He got his priorities wrong.’ CDP says: ‘I agree that it is reckless to endanger others in these situations. The bus driver should have just given the money. But at some point you have to stand up for yourself. If criminals are willing to walk up to you with a gun and demand...

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Category: Readers' Comments
Tags: bravery, comments, readers, Recklessness

Stupidity Watch: We Single Out A London Bus Driver For His Recklessness

March 18, 2009

Thomas Mathew writes: Today we are singling out the stupidity of one London bus driver, who risked the lives of several dozen of his passengers, just because he decided to be a ‘hero’. The incident happened a couple of days ago, late in the evening, on one of the routes in South London that is gradually turning into a war zone. As the red double-decker pulled away from a bus stop two thugs with knives approached the driver and demanded that he gives them the contents of his cash box. Considering that most passengers these days use travel cards and only a handful of people pay cash, we can safely assume that there was probably not much money in the box. But the driver of the double-decker, travelling at high speed, decided to put up a fight and save his company around twenty or thirty...

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Category: Life In The UK
Tags: have-a-go heroes, Recklessness, Violence

Recklessness And Bravery Are Often Mistaken For One Another. With Fatal Results

November 1, 2008

The British newspapers today are full of praise for an 84-year old pensioner, who foiled an attempted raid on a jewellery store in London by two thugs wearing balaclavas. As they were trying to smash the shop windows with their sledgehammers the pensioner, wearing a poppy, walked up to one of them, pulled off his balaclava and just stood there, bravely, if you believe the hacks, waiting for the criminals to flee. Which they duly did, having realised that their identities could be traced on the basis of footage from the CCTV cameras in the area. The newspapers wrote about the courage of the old man and the cowardice of about 50 passers-by, who just stood there watching and did absolutely nothing to prevent the robbery. Yes, well, I personally find the action of the still unnamed hero quite...

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Category: Life In The UK
Tags: bravery, confusion, Recklessness