Above, some Royal Marine Commandos.
The Royal Marines regard themselves as the premier infantry corps – bar none. Of course, the United States Marine Corps (https://www.marines.mil/) along with the Royal Netherlands Navy Marine Corps (https://english.defensie.nl/organisation/navy/navy-units/marine-corps) not to mention the Marine Infantry of the Spanish Armada (the actual name of the Spanish Navy) will be of a different opinion! And that’s failing to mention the British Army’s Paratroop Regiment! Nevertheless, these are tough fellows and most definitely NOT fellows to pick a fight with!
Back in 1978 I was working as a technical sales representative in the speciality metals industry. I had occasion to visit a competitor – to collect a small off-cut of a special aluminium alloy bar. It was HD15 and a unusual size. My employer had a customer who wanted a small off-cut and such was the nature of the customer/supplier relationship that we were quite prepared to purchase at trade price (what we would normally sell at – as we were out of stock and in those days there was a very long waiting list from the aluminium mills [that were still extant in pre Net Zero obsessed Britain]) and collect and deliver this single bar to the customer; making a loss in the process.
I had pulled up in my bright yellow Mark III Ford Cortina 1.6L4 door saloon [US sedan] and was in the warehouse waiting whilst one of the warehousemen picked up the small piece and would load it into the car. I had put the passenger seat recliner as far as it could go so the extrusion could rest at one end in the passenger footwell and rest on the top of the rear seat with the other end a couple of inches from the rear window!
Whilst I was standing around in the warehouse, a car (I’ve forgotten what it looked like) had driven into the company’s car park and a large powerful man (in casual civilian clothes) got out and walked purposely into the warehouse. The warehouse foreman came up and asked; “Can we help you?”
“Yes.” The man replied. I’ve come to see a Mr (I’ve forgotten the surname). The warehouse foreman replied. “Mr (??????) is the Office Manager. You’ll find him in the office. Reception is just round the corner.”
“I’ll see him here in the warehouse. Tell him it’s important.”
The warehouse foreman asked for the man’s name informing him that he’d telephone up to the office. The man replied that Mr (??????) would know what it was about as soon as he saw him.” The warehouse foreman duly telephoned the office manager and told him that a gentleman wanted to see him urgently in the warehouse and that he (the office manager) would recognise the man when he saw him. The office manager was surprised and curious and told the warehouse manager that he would be down shortly. The office manager would then have put the receiver back on it’s cradle and then proceeded down the internal staircase to a ground floor corridor and through a door that led into the warehouse. The office manager did not recognise the large man standing next to the puzzled warehouse manager and walked up to the man and asked him, “Excuse me, but what is this about?”
The large man replied calmly with one word. “This.” With that the large man threw a punch that contacted with the office manager’s jaw. The office manager promptly found himself being propelled onto the concrete floor of the warehouse! Fortunately – for all concerned – the blow was not so powerful as to cause the office manager’s head to strike the concrete but the office manager landed partly on his back and partly on his side. He was stunned and was unable to reply.
With this the large man stood over the prone office manger and pointing a accusing finger at him said loudly, “Never, ever touch up my wife ever again!” With that, the large man walked out of the warehouse, got back in his car and drove away!
It turned out you see that a lady who worked as a clerk/typist in the office had been subjected to what will now be described as a “sexual assault” which in 1978 was called “touched up” – perpetrators being labelled as suffering from “desert disease, wandering palms”!
The large man it seems was a Royal Marine Commando, and when advised (by other than his wife) what had happened decided to make sure that the offender would not repeat his offence!
The lesson of this is this: Do NOT pick a fight with a vastly more powerful opponent – and if the potential opponent is unknown to you, assume that the opponent is more powerful than you!
It seems that this common sense approach has been completely ignored by Chi Onwurah the Labour Member for Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West – who is the “Chair” of the House of Commons’ science and technology select committee.
Ms Onwurah announced that she would call Mr Musk him to give evidence in the new year in its inquiry into the spread of harmful content on social media after the August riots. Ms Onwurah said she wanted Mr Musk to answer how he ‘reconciles his promotion of freedom of expression with his promotion of pure disinformation’.
It seems that Mr Musk has by his actions demonstrated to Ms Onwurah that two (parties) can play at that game!
In previous posts I stated that the Labour Party was heading into deep and dangerous waters by dint of it’s open opposition to Mr Trump and it’s recent tyrannical anti-democratic actions in sending previously law abiding citizens to prison for offending others by their social media posts!
This situation has been made infinitely worse (for all concerned) by the targeting of the male prisoners by gangs of inmates from a “certain demographic”. You can bet you bottom dollar that Mr Musk and others in the new US administration will seek justice and compensation for these unfortunate convicted individuals!