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Notes -
There was a striking incident yesterday in the UK when a beach party in Southend turned into general public disorder, with open fights between young men with machetes.
My question for the sub isn’t directly about this, but rather the widespread use of knives in gang warfare as weapons in countries where firearms aren’t readily available. In particular, why aren’t pole arms more widely used instead? My understanding from medieval warfare is that pole arms are generally preferable to close-range weapons like swords and axes, in terms of ease of use, lethality, and safety. Granted, a spear would be hard to conceal, but you’d think that enterprising young men could find ways to eg convert umbrellas or walking sticks into effective melee weapons by attaching a sharp point to them.
Is this a case of an inadequate equilibrium in weapon usage? Or is there a very good reason why pole arms aren’t being used?
A machete is legal to own, since it has a legitimate use as a gardening tool. Concealed carry is possible with a machete if you have a large bag, and a knife simply fits into your pocket.
A spear is quite obviously a weapon. Unless you are a registered collector, having a spear in your home will draw the attention of police. You can't stuff a polearm in your pants to carry it around.
A pitchfork is probably the only improvised polearm a Brit might have in his house, but walking towards a fight with a pitchfork means you're most probably not a gawker that has been pitching hay when he hear the commotion, and unless you're a part of a mob carrying torches and pitchforks, the police will intercept you.
Converting an umbrella or a walking stick into a polearm means you have a concealed weapon, which is usually punished heavier than just having a knife. You can't claim that you didn't want to stab anyone, you just had a knife on you for an innocent reason if you have spent several hours painstakingly converting your umbrella into a stabby thing.
So while a polearm is strictly superior to a sword or a knife if you're not fighting indoors, it's much simpler to bring a machete to a fight.
"No, officer, I'm just really happy to see you!"
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