The Age of the Knife

Knife crime. It's set in, hasn't it? It's become common parlance for expressing anything from a mild grievance (like treading on someone's toe) to deep seated frustration. Actually, this weekend (touching wood here) London has been quite quiet on the stabbing front, although the obvious sensational story is the news that a West Ham footballer and his mother have been stabbed in their Bedford home. Calum Davenport's injuries are said to be quite serious, involving surgery. Elsewhere in Britain a Keighley teenager went on a stabbing rampage on Friday, whilst Brazil is reeling under the as-yet-unverified claims of a 17 year old girl that she stabbed 50 men to death over a 2 year period. Knife crime is somehow more shocking that other violent acts, as it is a deeply personal and very savage way to attack someone. And most worryingly, it often seems to take the place of articulation, discussion, argument: the sort of situations that would have been resolved through debate, admission, retraction or apology are now settled far more quickly and finally by the blade. Are we devolving? This Londonist is worried. (Image/MykReeve)