On 9/24/00, at 8:35 PM, Doug Jones wrote:
>Laser sights on a handgun tend to make it a better persuader- seeing the
>spot on one's groin makes even the most aggressive attacker think twice,
>by making the promise "I will maim you" instead of "I will kill you,"
>introducing a shade of gray into the life or death equation. The
>maiming potential of a sword is what gives it its psychological power,
>but Aleta was fortunate the perps did not have firearms.
Maiming may be part of it, but I think there are (at least) three factors
that make a weapon more intimidating, when brandished by a credible
assailant:
- apparent inevitability of serious consequences (a spot from a laser sight
on your chest vs. just a gun pointed at you)
- a fearsome form (a tommy gun is more threatening than a rifle because
everyone has seen Cagney movies)
- physical size of the weapon (the risk of maiming from a sword may be no
greater than from a knife, but a sword is scarier)
Of course, they can be combined. Imagine if you will, a V-22 Osprey in
helicopter mode is hovering before you. Eighteen inches from your face,
tracking your every movement, are three barrels of a turreted fifty-caliber
machine gun.
Hmn. Now I know what to get Mike for Christmas! :-).
-- David Lubkin.
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