Knives, Sheeple and Trouble

[SPOOKYSHOGUN]

Like others here, I had an incident at work concerning a knife many years ago. A subordinate in the public safety department had a BM 910 that was dull and he wanted me to sharpen it. I brought some crock sticks in one night and proceeded to touch up his knife after briefing when our office was clear. No one was present but surveillance observed via CCTV and decided that I had a weapon at work. I was confronted the next day by the director who told me that weapons were not to be carried. I explained that it wasn't even mine and that I had been sharpening it for a co worker. He then stated "but you do carry that knife" and then pointed to my pocket clip. I told him that I never brandished it as well nor did I consider it a weapon. He told me not to carry the knife anymore. I asked him to inform the other employees not to carry their knives as well and he stated "no, I'm telling you not to because you're the only one who has a problem". He knew I was a collector and just wanted to ruffle my feathers I guess. I continued to carry mine anyways, and although it wasn't my demise, the director eventually got the best of me, probably because I defied him.

On a more generalized note, we all love our knives but let's consider that we could end up with a complete knife ban eventually. So, are all of us "knife nuts" going to stop carrying knives upon the illogical whim of our irresponsible legislators? It could be coming sooner then later. As someone already said, knives are not constitutionally guaranteed. Look at the Brits with their anti-knife commercials? WTF? In any case, I am as likely to quit carrying a knife as I am to quit enjoying fine cigars. That's period! Upon no ones direction (outside of work) am I giving up my hobbies. At some point you have to make a stand, draw a line in the sand and define yourself as free from the control of martinets and governmental dictates. Legislation is fine to a point and serves/served a purpose but legislation is being used more and more today to serve the purpose of stealing identity and enjoyment from innocents. As always, IMHO.

 

[Guerrilla Sauce]

Uh, what? We're not a democracy? That big event last year, that wasn't an election?

Ok then.

Well... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmJv_wf91W8

...some of us do work with women of both sexes...

I like that one



I've never had comments from people in public when I use my knife... maybe they're too afraid to say anything?

I did say I was going to get my boss a knife because I was fed up of watching him struggle to open pallets/boxes etc... but then I decided, if he'd rather do that than buy a knife for himself then I'll leave him to it.

 

[mdauben]

Uh, what? We're not a democracy? That big event last year, that wasn't an election?

Well, if one want's to be pedantic about it, then no, the United States is not a democracy. Its a constitutional republic. The terms democracy and republic are often used interchangably, but there is actually a huge difference (try googling "democracy vs republic" if you are interested).

So as to remain on-topic, I am lucky in that the office I work in, even though they have a "no weapons" policy, they seem to be relativly relaxed about knives and a lot of people carry them. I don't recall ever having anyone freak when I pulled a knife to open a package, cut strapping tape, or whatever.

 

[Esav Benyamin]

Wrong again. Democracy and constitutional republic are not mutually exclusive terms. Democracy refers to any state where the government rests on the will of the people as a whole. There are many degrees of will possible and many ways of expressing that will. Republic comes from the Latin words res publica: public affairs. It refers to a state organized to express that will through intermediate institutions rather than through plebiscites or polling on every issue. Also known as representative democracy.

Using democracy to refer to mob rule is contentious and incorrect. Democracy contrasts with oligarchy or monarchy, where an elite or one person makes the legitimate decisions.

 

[riffraff]

A democracy is simply a form of government where the people, directly or indirectly, are the power in an electoral system. A republic is simply any government not controlled by hereditary monarch.

A pure democracy is when all people have a voice (and a vote) in directly determining affairs. Way too much work the people as a whole. We live in a representative republic, where our voice (theoretically ) is heard via elected representatives.


Enough of civics class. Though I work for a company that prohibits weapons, I still carry a knife daily. I'm merely discrete in using it.

 

[svslider]

Quote "Especially true in packaging warehouses, blade cuts are the most common injuries. Issuing one or two styles of blade at least keeps the injuries somewhat consistent. Allowing employee choice is just begging for legal action."
Where do you come up with this? Ive spent 15 years in hundreds of "packaging wharehouses" as a ups driver and you made it up, its complete bs. Injuries are typical slip/fall, dropping stuff/falling things, or repetetive stress. I shouldve seen lots of people with consistent cuts wouldnt you think?

 

[HotSwat]

Carrying a knife brings responsibility. Lets not play dumb, a knife can be used to do harm and that aspect of knives should not be ignored.

 

[skimmerhorn]

nice. i have proven my point!!! people are more concerned with being politically correct than standing for what they believe.
thanks tirod3!
i haven't always lived off grid. my actions have not changed whether in town or not. let them stare and whisper, matters not.
people won't me banned for speaking my believes, that in it's self show's the state of our weak society.
honest question- is it really that bad in the city that everyone is so concerned with everyone else's opinions that you have lost your own? just curious.

 

[Confederate]

I asked her why she didn't report other coworkers who carry bigger knives, and she said because they use theirs. And after reporting me, she had the nerve to ask me to open any boxes that she received. I chose to watch her struggle to open them with her keys.

I'm seeing a pattern here...I think.

Is it that the people who are causing the problems almost always women?

They want to be accepted in the workplace and have the same rights as men, yet they pull this sort of stuff. O ye men of the Republic, have you ever been reported to your boss by fellow men? The pattern seems to be that men (aaaaaaaaarrrgh! as Toolman Tim Taylor would say) produce knives to open packages, etc., only to have female coworkers (eeeeeek!) report you to the appropriate authorities.

I don't want to appear sexist (aaaaaaaaarrrgh!), but I don't read of too many men reporting men to men.

 

[Bushman5]

^ no its also the weak spined testicle lacking males that do it too. Anything to make themselves look good to the bosses, the hell with common sense and respect for fellow coworkers. \


I work for myself, dont have that problem. And if some scumbag liberal femminazi metreosexual city dweller sheeple ever worked for me, they would find out within the first minute who's in charge. Any employee i have had is more than welcome to carry on the job.

 

[Bushman5]

Quote "Especially true in packaging warehouses, blade cuts are the most common injuries. Issuing one or two styles of blade at least keeps the injuries somewhat consistent. Allowing employee choice is just begging for legal action."
Where do you come up with this? Ive spent 15 years in hundreds of "packaging wharehouses" as a ups driver and you made it up, its complete bs. Injuries are typical slip/fall, dropping stuff/falling things, or repetetive stress. I shouldve seen lots of people with consistent cuts wouldnt you think?

dont forget back injuries! whuch cause more downtime for a company than a knife cut ever will.

2 - 5 days for a cut to heal, VS 2 - 6 months or more on compo for a back injury.

 

[Bushman5]

And I guess you have shown the mentality of a jerk, "I have a gun and a knife, so people can pound sand". This is not a war, and the sheeples are not the enemy. This is a democracy (i.e. a popularity contest) where the least likable guy is voted out. While guns are specifically protected by the constitution, knives aren't.

They didn't even have a half coherent reason to ban autos and balisongs for civilians, yet they did anyway. Keep offending them, and watch them outlaw more knives.

yes actually they are. Their lack of understanding about mans oldest tool leads to BANS of mans oldest tool or anything that might be cut them, for no other reason than they are so scared about being politically incorrect and are nothing more than people that cannot think for themselves, or use their common sense and reasoning. So yes, the sheeple are the enemy.

:thumbdn:

 

[flipit]

My boss was a big dic_ when he seen what I was carrying. So the next day I gave him a Halo 3 now he's hooked.

 

[Sep]

A democracy is simply a form of government where the people, directly or indirectly, are the power in an electoral system. A republic is simply any government not controlled by hereditary monarch.

A pure democracy is when all people have a voice (and a vote) in directly determining affairs. Way too much work the people as a whole. We live in a representative republic, where our voice (theoretically ) is heard via elected representatives.

If you want to split hairs, the term "representative" belongs in "representative democracy", as opposed to "direct democracy" (all decisions by referendum) and "consensus democracy". Representative Democracy is an actual encyclopedic entry, while "representative republic" is nowhere to be found except on blogs of certain political persuasion.

Like Esav said, the terms Republic and Democracy is not mutually exclusive. We are a constitutional democratic republic. If we are simply a constitutional republic with the element of democracy removed, we will be like Iran. Iran has a constitution and is ruled by SOME OF the people (as opposed to a monarch), but the ultimate power rests with the clerics. They have elections and stuff, but the clerics can (and does) overrule the popularly elected government.

Are we a democracy? Yes. Are we a republic? Yes. Are we a constitutional nation? Yes. To say that we are one but not the other is simply wrong.

Can democracy overrule our constitution? The resounding answer is yes, albeit not easily. The constitution HAS changed. Black people no longer counts as 3/5 of whites, women can now vote, and liquor is now legal (again). When it comes to knives, they don't even need to change the constitution to completely prohibit carrying on person. The constitution doesn't guarantee the right to carry knives to begin with.

So please, be nice to your neighbor and be civilized when you have a disagreement about your carrying a knife. Think like a politician, you need your neighbors' support so they don't outlaw your way of life.

 

[Ramm9]

Quote "Especially true in packaging warehouses, blade cuts are the most common injuries. Issuing one or two styles of blade at least keeps the injuries somewhat consistent. Allowing employee choice is just begging for legal action."
Where do you come up with this? Ive spent 15 years in hundreds of "packaging wharehouses" as a ups driver and you made it up, its complete bs. Injuries are typical slip/fall, dropping stuff/falling things, or repetetive stress. I shouldve seen lots of people with consistent cuts wouldnt you think?

No, I wouldn't think so.

Aside from unloading brown trucks onto pallets mornings and in the evening dropping trailers, pallets and loading next day air I rarely saw my UPS folks any distance from the loading docks and label scales. Consider that it just might be possible that managements safety officers have a better idea what is taking place throughout the facility.

Fortunately most blade cuts get some peroxide poured on them, a bandage and it's back to work. A trip for stitches and missed work hours will cause the injury to be posted along with all the other reportable injuries. Back injury probably takes the most days from work.

 

[skimmerhorn]

i grew up in rural alabama. the high school i went to has a shooting range (graduated in 89'). my mom is a teacher there and tell's me they just renovated the shooting range with new benches, awnings and such. every kid had a gun in the truck or car for hunting and a knife in his pocket for whittling, etc.. the rotc kids would walk down the hall's with the rifles and no one would think a thing about it. we would check out each others guns in the parking lot of the school before we went hunting, fishing, or hiking. it's simply impossible for me to believe that things are that different in other states. freedoms are still alive and well in montana and other areas as well. my point is-things will not change where you are if you choose to comply with unconstitutional laws. as bushman 5 said, sheeple are the enemy! do not comply!

 

[DH1]

sheeple are the enemy! do not comply!

I won't comply to a total ban on knives, but I may just retreat to a more even tempered area of the country.

Knives aren't outright banned here, but the laws criss cross in a way where you're severely limited in what you can carry.

Concerning the original topic, I haven't been confronted about using a knife...I don't flash it around and when I need to cut something, it's quick, and most times I don't even deploy the blade all the way.

 

[Sep]

yes actually they are. Their lack of understanding about mans oldest tool leads to BANS of mans oldest tool or anything that might be cut them, for no other reason than they are so scared about being politically incorrect and are nothing more than people that cannot think for themselves, or use their common sense and reasoning. So yes, the sheeple are the enemy.

:thumbdn:

If anybody who disagrees with you is an enemy, you should live by yourself. Don't live in a society, or even in a family.

I carry a knife (or two) everyday, but I don't feel the need to be nasty to people who choose not to. People around me consider that I'm friendly , helpful, and fun, so my carrying a knife is a non issue. I'm quite sure that if they find me an asocial & threatening PITA, the knife would be an issue. I'm normally a 3" 3oz carry guy, but if there's a jerk who happens to carry a knife at work, I'll worry too (and upgrade to a 4" folder).

 

[skimmerhorn]

iv'e traveled all over this country. always with a knife. never once have i had a problem. just thought it was always normal. if someone did say something i would tell them where to shove their ignorant flesh. maybe it's attitude! if the sheep know you don't care then they can save themselves from being insulted. do not conform!! my family buys me knives and guns.
i honestly cannot believe the mentality i've read in this thread. what is everone so afraid of? someone please explain!
if someone dosen't like it simply tell you do not care.
i've been doing it since i was 5!! pissed on home plate during a state softball tourney cause' my mom said i couldn't go on the field. did it anyway. one of the funny family stories!

 

[Confederate]

With the laws against switchblades, what has prevented legal prohibitions against everyday knives that can be flipped open with a flick of the wrist? And what do you think modern knives having going against them now? Or, in other words, what are the attributes that frighten women the most?

• Speed in opening
• Blade length
• Blade size
• Knife size
• Blade shape
• Blade style (plain edge v. serrated)
• All of the above

Also, when you've had problems with people, do they pounce on you the moment you produce your knife or do they report you behind your back? Are you told who has complained or is that left "confidential"? Have you ever confronted the person who ratted you out? How has it affected your subsequent working relationship?

In my case, I knew who reported me. I had opened a large, taped package with bluelines in it. Scissors don't do an adequate job unless you take them apart and use them and so I grabbed my 3-incher and opened it. Neither the secretary nor the admin assistant blinked. After opening it for them, I went back in my office and about a half hour before leaving for the day, my boss called me in.

"Have a seat," she said, motioning to the chair across from her. (I hate when bosses say, "Have a seat" or the more ominous, "Can you close the door?") But as I moved towards the chair, she said in a low voice, "Oh, and can you shut the door?"

Well, I've told the story enough. Suffice it to say, when she asked me, "Why do you think you need to carry a knife to work?" my first thought was, and I didn't say it, alas, "What does thinking have to do with this?" I pointed out that while my knife only had a 3-inch blade, the scissors the other secretaries had in their little pen receptacles had 7-inch blades—not exactly a fair fight if we were indeed talking about a fair fight. We then discussed what she thought about my attitude problem and finally, after logic failed to make any dent in the discussion, she instructed me not to carry a knife any more; that I didn't need it for my job. At this point I decided to back off a little and try some humor. I asked if that meant that the secretaries who complained about me, would consider that makeup was needed for their jobs. (After all, if we were going to begin restricting personal items based on "need," then this would have to start from scratch.) Well, our chat ended almost immediately after that. I told her that I wouldn't use the knife in front of them and that I would stay in the restricted size limitations which, of course, I already was doing. She informed me that she was putting a letter in my folder saying that she had held this conversation with me. That way, I suppose, it would free her of any guilt if I suddenly went bonkers and began stabbing everyone with my Cold Steel Medium Voyager. To keep me from filing a grievance, she agreed to keep it only in her folder, not the one with my federal employment history in the Human Resources.

Anyway, more details? Has anyone actually had a knife or knives taken away from them at work (and restored later)? Or were you forced to stop carrying one, period?