Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site brl-tgr.ARPA Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!brl-tgr!ron From: ron@brl-tgr.ARPA (Ron Natalie ) Newsgroups: net.flame Subject: Re: In the service of the citizen. Message-ID: <10705@brl-tgr.ARPA> Date: Wed, 15-May-85 14:02:01 EDT Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.10705 Posted: Wed May 15 14:02:01 1985 Date-Received: Thu, 16-May-85 21:50:53 EDT References: <1126@ihuxe.UUCP> Distribution: net Organization: Ballistic Research Lab Lines: 56 Well I pretty much have the same opinion of the Philadelphia incident from the TV news. However, I also read the news papers, and if you read past the headlines (provided you are not reading the New York Daily News or USA today, which have nothing past the headlines) you would see that your statements are false or misleading. > housed members of the radical MOVE group, despite the fact that no-one > had seen any sign of life from the place since early morning and the police Except for shooting at police and fire fighters, no one was home. > dropped an explosive device onto a "fortified structure" (made of wood) > on the roof of the house. Made of wood: heavy timbers and tree trunks. One interesting thing about log cabins, it takes a lot to get through them burning or other othersize > In a paralysis of stupidity, they then > allowed the resulting fire to spread to four neighbouring homes before > the fire department was permitted to act. And had they been allowed too, they probably wouldn't. Statements from the fire department indicated they were not going into a hostile situation when no risk of life was there (other than the MOVE people which the police were bent on killing anyway). The purpose of the fire service is to preserve life, the citizens life, the firefighters life. Protection of property is only a secondary goal. > The outcome? One woman and a nine-year- > old child are in custody. And six other members of MOVE dead. > Residents of the neighbourhood, who originally > complained to the mayor of the anti-social behaviour of the MOVE group, > must be deeply grateful to the authorities for restoring the peace of > their homes in this way. Actually, many of them are. These people weren't your average nuisance, they were living hell. A lot of the interviewed people are currently regarding this as wrong, but one of those things that happen. Admittedly, this was an rather a stupid move on the police department. The bomb was a silly course because it was so uncontrolled. There doesn't seem to be any precedent for this, and the device was something that was concocted by their bomb squad. In hindsight, I think I would have requested help in the from the military who has real expertise in blowing up things rather than trying to do it myself. > The cost in suffering and displacement will > probably go largely unregarded, since this was a low-income neighbourhood. One can only hope that the Mayor will make good his promise to rebuild. Although the trauma of losing your home probably can't be compensated for at any price, the national attention this story is getting will probably require some reasonable course of action.