Jun 30
To be stabbed or shot?
I was having a chat with a few friends Saturday night about the spate of knife violence in London as compared to “shootings” in several American cities. I pointed out to them that is probably better to be shot at if you don’t want to die. Its bloody hard to hit a moving target especially if you are moving as well. (That is why innocents get a hit a lot of the time.)
While being knifed is a much more intimate affair and one is more likely to meet a dire end like the poor chap in Islington Saturday night. Its a hell of a lot harder to miss/hit something vital if you are standing less than a foot away than from 20 yards with a gun. Just because everyone in the movies is a crack shot does mean its so in real life. Pulling out a knife and using it against someone shows quite a bit of commitment to harm as well.
2 Comments so far
Having been both shot at and stabbed, I will attest that offered a choice in the matter, I would prefer to be shot at rather than stabbed.
Look at it this way: all a gun does is stab you with a hot sword point (assuming a clean through-and-through incision wound). A knife can slash you into pieces, if wielded by a skilled artist.
[...] Andrew Dodge muses on whether it’s better to be stabbed or shot: I was having a chat with a few friends Saturday night about the spate of knife violence in London [...]