Kent Bank robbery

[Mxfan]

Does anyone agree with me that to some extent the robbers should somehow be admired for actually having the guts to carry out a crime like this. How incredible would it have been if they were never caught.

[maxi29]

I'm sure that the depot manager and his family who were held at gunpoint and who are still emotionally disturbed by their treatment will be delighted to hear of your admiration for the people who subjected them to such an ordeal.
What next? Your admiration for Harold Shipman for dispatching so many people so quickly and painlessly?

[sp1814]

I don't think that terrifying a family and the employees of Securitas with shotguns is something to be admired.

Sorry to sound like I'm cantering around here on my high horse - but if that were my family, I wouldn't be toasting the good health of the robbers.

[sp1814]

Blimey - there's synergy for ya!

[Mxfan]

I was recently on a Backpacking trip to Australia when myself and a friend where held hostage in our hostel room. Although we think they had no weapons, it was a pretty scary thing and i do to some extent (not as much as the bankers family) know how it feels. I'm sorry if i caused any offence.

[Cheesefreek]

Absolutely totally agree - I hope they're all rounded up and jailed. There is no excuse for making people think they could die if they don't obey. I can't imagine getting over that quickly. Don't waste your admiration on scum Mxfan.

[vehelpfulguy]

You can ADMIRE what someone does without LIKING what they did.

While it was an awful ordeal for the people involved, the robbery did take a lot of planning.

Other people who did terrible things are also admired.

Someone like Adolf Hitler rose up from nothing to be elected as leader of Germany (he was democratically elected) and he then galvanized the German people enough for them follow him and to go to war with almost the whole of Europe.

This was quite a feat.

You can admire what he did, but it does not mean you have to like it.

[Cheesefreek]

I don't think you offended Mxfan, but an apology is a nice touch anyway. Have a nice day.

[Cheesefreek]

vhelpfulguy - maybe you should check the dictionary definition of admire

[randomsasha]

I'm in no way admiring what they did, but when you think about it, they could have shot them and then they would have had no witnesses and made them harder to trace. Atleast they didnt do this.

[gerkin]

I bet Ronny Biggs and those Irish bank robbers are gutted for no longer being top of the list

[Englishbird]

Whilst I don't wish any ill on the people personally affected by it, I do sort of know what you mean. The robbers had a vision and they pulled it off. It was quite a feat in itself.

[Trotbot]

vehelpfulguy, you might also need to read some history. Hitler was elected by fear of reprisals, and by cheating the system. He played the nationalism card well, but that was not difficult. The myth that he was a good economic steward is precisely that, a myth. WW2 was a war waiting to happen after the finalisation of WW1. The only good thing about Hitler was that he was such a lunatic that he lost the war through egotistical stupidity.

I cannot admire the robbers as they obvious have certain very good skills that could be used in society, but they chose to break the law instead. I admire people with skills who use them legally and for the benefit of others.

[sp1814]

Mxfan - I know where you're coming from when you ask whether to some extent they should be admired, and I assume you don't think of them as modern day Robin Hoods...but I really believe that what they did involved an element of violence...threatened violence.

...and this is what, for me, makes them scum. It's not like the clever heists you may have seen in 'Mission Impossible' or the (excellent) remake of 'The Thomas Crown Affair'.

At some point, you had people going about their day to day business who had shotguns pointed at their faces.

Absolutely without a shadow of a doubt...unadmirable.

I'm pretty sure that 'unadmirable' isn't a real word, but you see what I'm getting at.

[JustSia]

We'll see. If in about 10 years time there is gonna be an Ocean's 11 type of movie based on that robbery, filmed to a nice upbeat music and attracting hordes of movie goers to the cinema, Mxfan would not be the only one.

S.

PS. Vehelpfulguy, I can see you point, though.

[JudgeJ]

To admire. Definition: to regard with wonder; to look with pleasure on; to have a high opinion of.

In my opinion, for what it�s worth, anybody who "admires" a gang of people who kidnapped, terrorised and traumatised a group of innocent people - including an eight year old boy � who were simply going about their daily business, needs to examine themselves very carefully.

Yes, it was a well planned and executed job (though it�s looking increasingly likely that it was not quite clever enough � time will tell). mxfan suggested that it was the people who should be admired. vhelpfulguy takes the question a little further and suggests that you can admire what was done without liking it. Reasonable people should do neither. The crime was a despicable act, carried out with no regard for the welfare and safety of anybody else. And it was carried out simply to satisfy the greed of a bunch of thugs.

Apart from the most important aspect � that of the physical and mental effects on the people directly concerned � the loss of the cash will be borne by somebody, probably taxpayers or insurance premium payers. To somehow suggest that this is a victimless crime (in terms of the cash lost) is na�ve in the extreme.

As for randomsasha�s contention that they did not behave too badly because they did not shoot anybody!!! I�m speechless!

[randomsasha]

I never said they "didn't behave too badly". All I was saying was it could have been a lot worse than what it was. I, in no way, admire what they did, because my step father as a bank manager, has been held at gun point twice and still finds it disturbing(as anyone would).

[sp1814]

I'm afraid that because this was a British crime, it won't result in an excellent, cool, stylish film like 'Oceans 11'...no - what we'll get is some old rubbish...like 'Buster'.

[maxi29]

Strange as it is, I think that Mxfan's admiration is not unusual. There is certainly a propensity in this country to admire criminals and thugs that perplexes me. I meet seemingly well-balanced people who regard people like the Krays and Frankie Fraser as folk heroes rather than the nasty, bullying, sadistic thugs that they were. It completely baffles me as to why.

And Vhelpfulguy, Hitler wasn't elected as Chancellor, he was chosen by President Hindenberg after the resignation of two previous chancellors. He never won a majority vote and the evidence was that the Nazi party was in decline when he eventually grabbed power.

[sp1814]

Hang on...they kidnapped an eight year old boy???

For God's sake...no. That's it. I hope they all get caught and all go away for a very long time.

I can't believe that anyone would admire someone who would do that to a child. Can you imagine what the kid went through and is still going through?

[sp1814]

Blimey - it's been a long time since I've been this high and mighty. I feel quite dizzy.