We yanks don't call you Prisoner's Of Mother England for no reason.
In the US the proper response to that question is, "You may not search my vehicle without a warrant."
And folks here complain about the Patriot Act !
Wait a minute, swiss-type army knives are illegal in England???
If you outlaw pocket knives, only criminals will have them.
My experience with the British is that they tolerate their creeping tyranny because it's "for the common good." I've actually had people say that to me. And so I thank God I was born and raised in Dixie.
And you Yankers wonder why British conservatives hate Blair so much.
You see, all you know of him is that he supported the war in Iraq, and for that you all love him.
But believe me, if you lived here, you'd hate the bugger as much as we do.
"a place where one could escape the feudal hierarchy, the pointless jealousies, and the authoritarianism of Europe."
Thank God, I am an American.
For your amusement.
Whew! I'm glad I read this. I have been contemplating a trip to Scotland in the near future, but I think I'll pass now. I don't go anywhere without a pocketknife (and mine are tactical knives, not wimpy little Swiss-army toys).
Although a little worried about being late for my meeting, I was impressed by their air of professionalism and vigilance. I was pleased that the government was doing something to keep us all safe and thought it would be selfish to refuse. ‘I don’t mind at all,’ I replied, ‘as long as it doesn’t take a huge amount of time.’
LATER:
Turn that phone off,’ he said. ‘You’re about to be arrested for possessing offensive weapons and carrying a bladed instrument in public. You’ll be allowed one call when we get you to Charing Cross police station.’
I felt confused and indignant. As we stood by the side of the road, waiting for a police van to arrive, I asked the constable whether this whole business was, in his opinion, a valuable use of police time and resources. This was when the policemen and the PCSOs started to become hostile. ‘You’ve committed an offence, mate, and you’d better get used to the fact that you’re going down for six months,’ said one policeman.
Whoops, the moral of this story is never volunteer to let the Police search you. Even possession of a multi-tool penknife, without the intention to use it as a weapon, will get you locked up now. They can't, or won't, differentiate between terrorists/gangsters and a harmless businessman going to a meeting. Of course, this man was foolish to have a collapsible baton and a penknife in his briefcase and to allow them to search him, but the Police could have just bollocked him, told him not to do it again and let him go.
Ping!
Absolute madness. But they're merely ahead of the curve. We're headed down the same road with all our "anti-terrorism" laws.
This sort of thing is incredibly unlikely to happen to the average person in the average town in the uk.
What sort of idiot takes illegal weapons into Westminster (which is a teeny, tiny part of London crawling with top government figures) and then agrees to be searched? I don't know Washington, but what reaction would the police have there if you entered a similar area with an illegal weapon?
Pathetic to see how far formerly Great Britain has sunk.
Once disarmed, a people are totally at the mercy of the worst bullies the police can produce.
How long does till the unPatriot Act sunsets?