"I told you so"

A couple of days ago I said that the real danger to life and liberty comes from excessive policing. The police are not as reckless as the bombers, but they outnumber bombers by thousands to one, so a small change in police tactics and priorities can be equally damaging.

Sure enough, to prove my point, the police yesterday killed an innocent Brazilian. He had a foreign appearance, carried a back pack, was at a tube station, and looked confused and agitated when the police chased him, so he must have been guilty, right? The worst part was the mass market newspaper reaction. Headlines like "one down, four to go" and praise the police for "at last" taking "tough action." The newspapers, like the bombers, do not care about the finer points of justice. Like the bombers, they will no doubt regret that innocent blood was shed, but say it is unavoidable in the wider conflict.

On a positive note, as noted in an earlier post, nobody ever dies in vain. This Brazilian guy should (I hope) provide a shock to the British authorities. And remind them that mistakes will always happen. If this reduces our move toward a police state, his death will have saved many innocent lives.