On 23 Sep 2005 00:24:22 -0700, "Keith and Phil at AussieSeek.com
Political Messageboards" wrote:

Why is This ?
A UNITED Nations report has labelled Scotland the most violent country
in the developed world, with people three times more likely to be
assaulted than in America.
England and Wales recorded the second highest number of violent
assaults while Northern Ireland recorded the fewest.

It's historical. Great Britain (the big UK island; England, Wales and
Scotland but not Ireland) was warred over by various different
European tribes for several thousand years before the arrival of the
Normans (French) in 1066AD which pacified England (England had been
previously pacified by the Romans from around 50-400AD but the Romans
withdrew to southern Europe to defend their empire against the Turks
and Vandals from around 300AD). The native UK tribes (such as mine,
the Britons, and others such as the Celts, Danes or Angles) were
pushed back into Wales and Scotland. England is *relatively* flat and
easy to push armies across; Wales and Scotland are very, very hilly
and difficult to march over.

In short, warlike behaviour was beneficial for natives' survival.

The whole of the UK also suffers from raging alcoholism and
alcohol-fuelled violence which is seen as socially acceptable. Again,
this is a throwback to tribal culture where drinking to excess was
seen as a strength. From an evolutionary standpoint, high alcohol
consumption was advantageous in tribal warfare since it allows the
drinker to fight on through pain. This became less of an advantage
when warfare switched from tribal raids to organised armies; it's
useful to fight drunk when in a tribal raid and hand-to-hand combat,
it's not useful to fight drunk when trying to stick in formation, ride
horses or fire arrows at a target.

It should be noted that the Scots tribes continued to kick the
French/English arses well into the 1600s. Hand-to-hand fighting in
drunken unpredictable rabbles remained a very successful tactic in
hilly areas, until the widespread use of firearms meant that drunken
raiders could be picked off from a safe distance.

Much the same tribal drink/violence culture was also seen in
Scandinavia (Viking) and German countries.

All in all, probably a good idea we insist Brits have a background
check before getting a firearms licence.

As for Northern Ireland, this is something that as a Brit I tend to
avoid commenting on, since we've already cocked it up enough.

--
Andrew Oakley andrew/atsymbol/aoakley/stop/com
Gloucestershire, UK