The late (and much-missed) Col. Jeff Cooper once said this about violence:
“One bleeding-heart type asked me in a recent interview if I did not agree that ‘violence begets violence.’ I told him that it is my earnest endeavor to see that it does. I would like very much to ensure — and in some cases I have — that any man who offers violence to his fellow citizen begets a whole lot more in return than he can enjoy.”
[pauses to let the applause die down]
So when you set yourself up as a “saboteur” — of a perfectly-legal institution, mind you — and part of your modus operandi is violence, do not be surprised if violence is visited on you in turn. Such as in this instance:
Hunt saboteurs claim they were attacked after one suffered a bloody eye as violence broke out between supporters and placard-wielding protesters during traditional Boxing Day hunts around the country.
Riders with packs of hounds – following scent trails laid in advance to comply with the 2004 Hunting Act forbidding the hunting of foxes with hounds – set out under cloudy skies this morning in order to maintain the tradition.
But scenes of chaos erupted in Elham, Kent, as a saboteur was hospitalised after allegedly being thrown in front of a passing car ‘that deliberately swerved’ before being punched and kicked by a group of hunt supporters.
A hunt saboteur posted an image of his bloodied eye after allegedly being ambushed by ‘two or more men’, according to the Hunt Saboteurs Association.
A spokesperson for the group said: ‘A group of drunken hunt supporters attacked the saboteurs and their vehicle as they tried to leave’.
And the group claimed a 19-year-old female demonstrator was allegedly punched in the face by a hunt supporter in Tenterden, while a band that had turned up to play reportedly had their equipment damaged.
And we have this as evidence:
But let’s make sure that we don’t just see pics of the loonies. Here are a couple of the hunt supporters:
And for my Murkin Readers unfamiliar with the ancient custom, let’s make one thing perfectly clear about all this protesting: it has nothing to do with protecting foxes, although that’s the pretense.
It has everything to do with with abolishing an activity largely enjoyed by the upper- and upper-middle classes — in other words, it’s a class issue.
The very fact that hunting was originally banned by a Labour government headed by the loathsome Tony Blair is sufficient proof thereof.
And all I can say to the hunt supporters is: keep up the good work of thrashing the “sabos” at every opportunity.
