I guess the learng SOMETHING in the corps. Its nice to hear about 1 guy decimating the 4 robbers trying to harm him. I imagine the guy with the shotgun was stupid and probably had the shotgun barrel close to the guy in order to appear threatening. They do it in the movies all the time and it drives me nuts.
Gun = Ranged Weapon. It works best that way. I wish I could hear the audio on the video.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
So, he killed 0.4 people? How did he manage that? Please get it straight : "Decimate" means "kill one in ten". It does not mean "kick the ass of", "destroy", or "omg tot4lly pwnzor!!!eleventy".
Posts: 10645 | Registered: Jul 2004
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You have to admit, though, he's right about this one. I don't think there are any words in the English language to convey quite that meaning.
Posts: 2907 | Registered: Nov 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Juxtapose: I guess you can bring a knife to a gun fight...
You know, we had a big argument about this a month or two ago. I maintained then, as I do now, that a knife, or even a stick, is better than a gun at close range.
and, as someone exhorted me to say earlier, there is no such thing as an "ex-" marine. Posts: 3846 | Registered: Apr 2004
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quote:You know, we had a big argument about this a month or two ago. I maintained then, as I do now, that a knife, or even a stick, is better than a gun at close range.
As someone with no combat experience whatsoever, I'm inclined to agree with you. I'd still take the gun though. There is that pesky business of getting close up.
quote:and, as someone exhorted me to say earlier, there is no such thing as an "ex-" marine.
posted
To quote the authority (the OED, of course):
quote:4. transf. a. To kill, destroy, or remove one in every ten of. b. rhetorically or loosely. To destroy or remove a large proportion of; to subject to severe loss, slaughter, or mortality.
Looks like its a perfectly acceptable usage for ignorant Americans, informed Americans, ignorant Norwegians, informed Norwegians, and anybody else who happens to be speaking English .
Posts: 15770 | Registered: Dec 2001
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quote:Originally posted by King of Men: So, he killed 0.4 people? How did he manage that? Please get it straight : "Decimate" means "kill one in ten". It does not mean "kick the ass of", "destroy", or "omg tot4lly pwnzor!!!eleventy".
I am aware that decimate means to literally kill every 10th man. But I have yet to see a single person use it to mean exactly 10% of a force was destroyed.
Using KOM's bestowed knowledge I can't wait to hear somebody coin the terms, "Octimate" "Septimate" and possibly "Centimate." As we get higher the terms take on less and less of an impact. Why not have precise percentage terms for any amount dead?Centimate meaning a mere 1% of a force was wiped out while the devastating "bimate," indicated a full 50% were destroyed. Bimate being 2nd only too the all encompasing "Unimate." Need I explain the demoralizing effect of hearing that your buddies platoon was "unimated?"
Edited to fill the intense sarcasm and indignation I was feeling at KOM's grammar correcting post.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
I don't know if anyone else noticed that this particular marine was a cook or not...Makes me wonder what a front-line grunt would have done.
Posts: 3003 | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
What was with that part where CNN said he thought it was the police telling him to leave the neighborhood because he was black?
Posts: 959 | Registered: Oct 2005
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posted
This Marine said he was extremely regretful that he had to fight at all, and would have a hard time living with what he did. This was his answer to whether he thought of himself as a hero.
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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posted
I actually agree with KoM on this one - to me, at least, "decimate" has a very specific usage... which no longer applies. It always bugs me to see "decimate" used in improper contexts. Doesn't mean I'll call someone on it (unless they're a fellow Classicist...), but it does irk. Often.
That said, I respect the ex-Marine for his reluctance to fight, but I also greatly appreciate the fact that the idiots got it.
Posts: 3932 | Registered: Sep 1999
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quote:Originally posted by Boris: I don't know if anyone else noticed that this particular marine was a cook or not...Makes me wonder what a front-line grunt would have done.
Good point. And he was discharged 14 years ago...clearly, he hadn't gotten too out of shape over the years.
I've heard stories similar to this, one of which involved a Marine who'd returned from Iraq about a year ago. (He was helping with the actors' PT for a play I was dramaturging last fall.) He ended up being goaded into fighting in self-defense at a party, and when the police arrived, they demanded to see the bat used to beat the aggressor, who had lost dismally...they wouldn't believe that the Marine had done it with his bare hands. This guy is really sweet and on the quiet side, too - it was pretty amazing watching him act as the cast's drill sergeant at rehearsals. It was just so different from how he seems in "real life".
Posts: 952 | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
I think "decimate" is a victim of common usage changing original meaning. If such things were not possible, and meanings were set in stone, the language would be dead.
The "Classics" no longer just refer to ancient greek and roman literature. "Drama" no longer holds to the original greek usage of theatrical performance. "Philistine" is used in ways other than describing a member of a 12th century group of people.
If you're speaking Latin, which is a dead language, then, yes, decimate has one, singular meaning. But we aren't speaking Latin. We're speaking English, which is still a living, evolving language.
We co-opt words from other languages (and from within our own) to mean different things. The word "monitor" didn't mean a visual computer interface a hundred years ago, but it sure does now. Surely you wouldn't argue that monitor cannot be used for this new meaning, that the word must be used to mean overseer, or one who forewarns of something - to take the Latin original meaning.
The language changes. Don't be the folks who claimed the use of contractions would be the death of the english language.
Posts: 3960 | Registered: Jul 2001
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quote:Originally posted by Boris: I don't know if anyone else noticed that this particular marine was a cook or not...Makes me wonder what a front-line grunt would have done.
A coworker of mine was a Sgt. in the Marines. I sent him a link to the story, and he wrote back with this:
quote:I had something similar happen where they (3 guys jumped me at closed mall) thought I was so insane that they left. I just went nuts on them and they took off. All three had knives, I was unarmed and it boils down to nothing more than I gave them the impression that it was going to get very costly for them if they stayed.
posted
From my experience, though I'm not trained and never have served in the armed forces, it's not really necessary that you be able to win a fight. The important thing is that you make it totally clear that it's going to be quite costly and unpleasant for your opponent to continue. People like that don't want to fight at all, they want a victim who won't fight back. Though these particular four people seemed harder to daunt than most creeps, I have found that almost all bullies, creeps, and thugs will go away once it's completely clear you're going all out to resist them. They want easier pickings than that, and they are afraid to risk the ultimate humiliation, being beat up by a girl.
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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I suspect that the fact that this guy bore a more-than-passing resemblance to an Uruk-hai didn't hurt either, though.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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LEOs have been known to conduct "Teuller Drills" which involves having you assailant start 21ft away from you and attack you with a knife. Most officers can bring their service pistol into the fight, but not before the assailant can mortally or seriously wound the shooter.
Moral to the story? Avoid the fight altogether if possible, but barring that, your best bet is a knife and a gun.
Posts: 186 | Registered: Jul 1999
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posted
How about a gun with a bayonet? That way you avoid needless confusion about whether to stab or shoot your assailant, or victim, depending on how you're feeling that particular day.
Posts: 959 | Registered: Oct 2005
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Blayne Bradley
unregistered
posted
i lvoe Bernard Cornwell. aka Sharpe Series, the perfect tutorial on how to utilize a bayonet most effectively.
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Doesn't mean I'll call someone on it (unless they're a fellow Classicist...), but it does irk. Often.
