ThinkGeek Umbrella Brings Police to College Dorm

[stuckgt]

I'm a GT student, and given the shirt she's wearing, and the sort of accessories most a lot of the kids around here have, I don't wouldn't have the slightest problem thinking this happened at my school. Seriously, I've seen a few people walking on campus with practice katanas made from bamboo, so a katana looking umbrella wouldn't surprise me in the least.

 

[Pailin]

and with the "great" likelihood of another sword attack at the same place anyhow...

these people who panic and call the police are a little socially deficient in that they have almost no ability to read the situation.

is he a:

dude walking all relaxed into his dorm building with his happy girlfriend...?

or

Really a deranged maniac dragging a scared hostage into what will be remembered ( in his mind at any rate ) a hall of carnage!? :0

...maybe it is the people panic dialling 911 that need to be taken away for a little "social reprogramming" lol

 

[beayn]

He shouldn't have brought a sword to a gunfight.

 

[irh_1974]

Next to bring hilarity where inappropriate, the gun lighter
http/gunlighter.org/pistol-torch-lighter-with-laser.html
And the side-splittingly funny time-bomb alarm clock
http/www.gadgetreview.com/2009/03/time-bomb-alarm-clock-somebody-get-flavor-flav-one-of-these.html

 

[TheCapulet]

[citation][nom]Kami3k[/nom]So is someone brought in what looked like a samurai sword on quick inspection you wouldn't care?I'll bet you would run out screaming.[/citation]
Last I checked, even carrying a sword in most places isn't against the law. In fact, in many places in the US, lawful citizens can carry whatever they wish. For instance, slung rifles, or legally licensed hand guns, swords, knives, and tasers. If you're running around like an idiot every time you see a weapon, then the only thing that's really happened is the fact that you've proven to everyone else that you're an idiot.

Daily, I open carry a holstered .45 pistol, a utility knife, and a hand held LED flashlight. Last time I checked, I hadn't unexpectedly shot, cut or blinded anyone.

 

[irh_1974]

[citation][nom]TheCapulet[/nom]Last I checked, even carrying a sword in most places isn't against the law. In fact, in many places in the US, lawful citizens can carry whatever they wish. For instance, slung rifles, or legally licensed hand guns, swords, knives, and tasers. If you're running around like an idiot every time you see a weapon, then the only thing that's really happened is the fact that you've proven to everyone else that you're an idiot. Daily, I open carry a holstered .45 pistol, a utility knife, and a hand held LED flashlight. Last time I checked, I hadn't unexpectedly shot, cut or blinded anyone.[/citation]
Understood, but try walking around Columbine or Virginia Tech whilst packing heat and see how far you get before people start crapping themselves and calling for SWAT.

 

[chunkymonster]

Ahh, yes! The Police State is alive and well in Obama's Amerika.

So is someone brought in what looked like a samurai sword on quick inspection you wouldn't care? I'll bet you would run out screaming

Uh, no! I would attempt to determine if the person was actually carrying a real weapon and actually presented a real threat before over reacting like some scared little bunny running to hide at the mere sight of an alleged weapon and then calling in the jack booted brown shirts!

We have turned into a country full of p*ssies.

+1! Totally agree. Just goes to show that any weapon, even an alleged weapon, has become so demonized in the eyes of the general public that people lose all common sense and become total cowards. With a mentality like that, people are 3/4 the way to becoming slaves of the State.

A person could do more damage with an ordinary household chef knife in a crowded mall than someone with a real katana.

 

[bildo123]

[citation][nom]icepick314[/nom]while you can get a cane sword and won't even raise a eyebrow...http/www.swordsdirect.com/sword_canes.html[/citation]

Well...it might be because a cane sword looks like a cane...and a samari sword umbrella...looks like a samari sword. Samari sword > cane. Just sayin'.

 

[Skid]

[citation][nom]zwaig[/nom]Her t-shirt is awesome, "theres no place like 127.0.0.1". I would wear that.[/citation]
You know "There's no place like 127.0.0.1" is technically incorrect, 127.0.0.1(localhost) is a computers reference to its self, which would translate as "There's no place like myself". It should be one of the most common ips for routers, something like 192.168.1.1.

 

[Blessedman]

terrorist 1
freedom 0

 

[lukeiamyourfather]

[citation][nom]Blessedman[/nom]terrorist 1freedom 0[/citation]

What? Terrorists didn't make people on campus afraid of a katana. Other students did.

 

[MU_Engineer]

[citation][nom]Kami3k[/nom]So is someone brought in what looked like a samurai sword on quick inspection you wouldn't care?I'll bet you would run out screaming.[/citation]

No, quite a few of us aren't hoplophobes and don't automatically assume that somebody with anything that even vaguely resembles a weapon is hell-bent on perpetuating mass murder. It's the whole "weapons don't kill people, people kill people" bit that most people do not understand. You call the police if somebody is actually doing something harmful or potentially harmful with a weapon (such as this guy if he started waving the katana around wildly), not merely because they have a weapon.

 

[irh_1974]

[citation][nom]MU_Engineer[/nom]No, quite a few of us aren't hoplophobes and don't automatically assume that somebody with anything that even vaguely resembles a weapon is hell-bent on perpetuating mass murder. It's the whole "weapons don't kill people, people kill people" bit that most people do not understand. You call the police if somebody is actually doing something harmful or potentially harmful with a weapon (such as this guy if he started waving the katana around wildly), not merely because they have a weapon.[/citation]
OK, not everyone, but the article clearly states that she is from Atlanta and if there was nut-job sword attack in Georgia Tech then tensions are obviously going to be raised.
Exactly the same applies if you walk around Virginia Tech carrying a gun.
Or walking into an army base in Iraq wearing one of these badboys!
http/www.freewebs.com/ttshirt/

 

[jsc]

Travis Beane wrote:
"So, if I walk around with a knife in my possession (for work), will the police put a gun to my head?"

Hope not. I carry a full sized Leatherman (no substitute for REAL tools, but handy none-the-less), a mini-Mag light, a 3" folding Gerber, a Blackberry in its belt sling, and a D-ring for keys on my belt. Any more and I'm going to need a Batman Utility Belt.

 

[jellico]

[citation][nom]blurr91[/nom]We have turned into a country full of p*ssies.[/citation]
Man, you said it! You're already at 20... but +1!

It wasn't all that long ago that most people carried either a gun or dagger (or both) on their person. People were accustomed to seeing them, and it was no big deal.

Now, people are suffering from the delusion that only the police and military should be allowed to carry any weapons. And honestly, when was the last time you even heard of anyone being killed by a sword, let alone a "school attack" involving one?

Unfortunately, the incidents at Columbine and Virginia Tech have lead to this sort of knee-jerk reaction. It's the illusion of security, because it sure as hell doesn't make anyone more safe. Face it... if a terrorist (or disgruntled student) did want to hit a school, there is nothing preventing them from doing so. All this "no weapons on school grounds" mentality does is to insure that if another incident does happen, the students and teachers will, yet again, have no way to defend themselves.

 

[jsc]

zwaig,
Google '"no place like 127.0.0.1" t-shirt'. They are very easy to find. You cannot have mine.

 

[jungleboogiemonster]

I work on a college campus and I can attest to the fact that colleges and universities take student safety very seriously. While this may seem extreme to some, it really isn't. It would have been extreme if the police wanted to press charges or otherwise harass the students after it was proven there was no safety risk, but that did not happen. Just keep in mind that students are watching you, for their own safety's sake, when you're on a college campus.

 

[LORD_ORION]

[citation][nom]lukeiamyourfather[/nom]What? Terrorists didn't make people on campus afraid of a katana. Other students did.[/citation]

Not directly... but this behavior has been programmed into citizens only recently. I see transit posters all the time now that say "If you see something suspicious, say something." That is some pretty serious 1984 shit right there.

 

[WheelsOfConfusion]

You guys like her IP shirt, check out the dude's. "Evil will always triumph, because good is dumb!" Then think about the news story for a sec.

 

[nukemaster]

[citation][nom]Phych[/nom]I have one of these umbrellas. The umbrella comes with a sling holster that you wear and covers most of the umbrella part. Says in the article that he was wearing it on his back, so I can see how it can be mistaken.[/citation]
I stand corrected then.