Quaint Australians

Yeah, this is very American-centric of me...


Three different news programs (one national, I think), tonight have reported on an "axe robbery", where a man robbed a Subway sandwich shop, and also a convenience store, with an axe -- although technically, the thing looks more like a hatchet to me (the handle is hammer-length, not pickaxe-length). Sorry, tried an image search for some footage, but no luck.

More aggravatingly, some are starting to refer to the weapon as a "tomahawk" -- which it **definitely** isn't!

Also on tonight's news, some guy held up a store with a hammer. A **hammer**!!! Waggled it at the sales clerk, across the countertop.


As an American living in Australia, I find the whole notion of robbing small shops with woodworking tools to be a bit amusing (I think I may've offended my wife with my hysterical laughter...). I especially liked how the hatchet-wielding guy had his "weapon hand" on the counter, as support, as he reached across to rummage through the till -- seems like the cashier should've grabbed it, then.

I can just imaging some guy trying to rob a convenience store with a hammer, in Chicago, or L.A., or New York City. ("A hammer??? F*** you!!!" -- and then chase him outta there with a baseball bat.)


Which is why the local "road rage" shooting of a few days ago was so shocking: Where the heck did the guy get a gun?


--GG