Man Brandishing Knife In Seoul Subway Prompts Security Concerns
Ultimately the authorities were able to catch the crazy man threatening passengers with a knife, but I am not sure what authorities in Seoul can do to prevent crazy people from doing crazy things:
Authorities on Tuesday apprehended a middle-aged man who was alleged to have brandished a 10-inch knife and threatened passengers onboard a subway train in Seoul during morning rush hour.
The suspect, determined later to be a 51-year-old homeless man, was caught more than an hour after the episode, in which he brandished a knife onboard a train on subway line No. 1 around 8:20 a.m., before exiting at Jonggak Station.
No injuries were reported, though the incident highlighted a barrage of loopholes present in subway security systems in the capital, with a population density almost twice that of New York City and where more than 7 million people on average use the trains daily.
Last year, police recorded 3,040 crimes at local subway stations, up 58 percent from the 1,922 cases in 2013.
The most apparent oversight, however, is the lack of security resources and personnel. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link.
Seeing in Korea that you have no right to self defense (which is BS), the more important question is what are you suppose to if you are on a subway with a knife weilding person? Especially if you are the foreign bastard….
…suppose to do….
Your question, my fine flying friend, is why I spend a bit extra on taxis… 😮 🙁
The ominous statement…
“The most apparent oversight, however, is the lack of security resources and personnel.”
…as that leads to a security state which seems to lose it mission to provide security to citizens and concentrates on providing security to the state.
The solution is to empower citizens to be proactive in maintaining a safe society when done in good faith.
Knife-wavers need a hard crack upside the head and then held down by a group of cooperating average citizens until security arrives… the minimal amount of security necessary to work in cooperation with self-sufficient and personally-responsible citizens.
Morality question: Someone is threatening the public with a knife. While you have the skill and opportunity to easily disarm and detain the criminal, you don’t due to fear of legal reprocussions. While observing the situation, the criminal attacks a young mother and her baby.
Are you to blame for not stopping this before it happened or can you easily transfer all responsibility to the state and the society which empowers it?
“Are you to blame for not stopping this before it happened or can you easily transfer all responsibility to the state and the society which empowers it?”
IMHO, it depends on what you make of this:
Matthew 25:31-46 (ESV)
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
YMMV.
Romans 13:1-7 states, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.” …etc.
So the only way to satisfy the requirements of the Bible is to:
1. Obey the laws of the government.. in this case by not getting involved.
2. Help your fellow man… in this case, the mother and baby cannot be helped due to it violating the law… leaving the knifer to be the only person helped through non-action… which satisfies legal requirements and help requirements.
Well, that answers that.
I am always enlightened when turning to the Bible to solve problems… yet another reason there needs to be more Bible in politics.
You’re on the right line but you got off one stop too early. 😉
The Bible states that the law kills. The good news (gospel) is that we have another path–paid by Jesus, who did what we could not.
As it also says in Romans 3:20-26 (ESV)
“For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
And in Ephesians 2:8-10 (ESV)
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
So that’s the difference between Biblical Christianity and every other belief system. We can’t save ourselves. And any “good works” we do were prepared in advance for us by God. Every other system has the “Do this for points” methodology. Christianity has “God did all this for you”.
How we react to that is between us and God. Hope that helps. 😀