January 11, 2021

The fork as a weapon.

In the previous post, discussing a WaPo article about various characters in the January 6th incident at the U.S. Capitol, we encountered a man named Pete Harding, who "said that the only weapon he carried was a dinner fork, which he put in his pocket." He said — humorously, I think — "Fortunately, I didn’t have to wield the kitchen fork menacingly."

So I want to look into the topic of the fork as a weapon. When I was a college student and went through a phase of thinking I might take a course in "creative" writing, I considered writing a story about a perfectly friendly dinner between 2 characters that somehow escalated into a murder scene, with the fork as the weapon. Why not the knife?! The knife isn't interesting. The fork would be interesting, no?


Interesting — but way too much work! Too much work to write the description. And, of course, too much work to commit murder with a fork. But it would be a gruesome scene. It's for someone else to scribble out details like that. Like Harding's fork, my fork story remained in my pocket, unbrandished. 

But is a fork a plausible weapon? There's something called a military fork:

But we're talking about the table utensil of our time. 

I see that using a fork to fight is common enough in popular culture to have a page to itself at TV Tropes

[I]f chaos breaks out at the dinner table, a diner may have to get creative with what they have on hand, turning their utensils into an Improvised Weapon. Normally played for laughs (especially if there's Sword Sparks), but if the chips are down, things can get pretty ugly: this can lead to sickeningly devastating effect in the hands of someone skilled/determined enough.... Subtrope of Improvised Weapon. Compare Frying Pan of Doom....

That sounds funny, but remember that an improvised weapon — a fire extinguisher — was [allegedly] used at the Capitol and it killed a police officer. 

55 comments:

Eleanor said...

Have they found any photos or video of the policeman getting hit with the fire extinguisher yet? Or is like John Lewis getting spit on by the Tea Partiers? It just must have happened.

Joe Smith said...

Hence, the Spork.

Useful, but not dangerous.

I'm Not Sure said...

"Have they found any photos or video of the policeman getting hit with the fire extinguisher yet?"

When it comes to voter fraud, progressives are fond of saying if you don't have proof, it didn't happen. Maybe they should be held to this standard here?

Just a thought...

Paul Zrimsek said...

Killing each other with knives and forks...

chuck said...

"Fork" reminded me of a friend who viewed the aftermath of a fight where the Viet Cong had attacked a group of Green Berets at dinner. One of the attackers' bodies had a fork stuck in his leg.

Rick.T. said...

Villanelle used a tuning fork to dispatch two people in Killing Eve.

Kit Carson said...

the fire extinguisher story is false. the officer died of natural causes. further, the officer was an ardent trump supporter. at least that is the current reporting.

Churchy LaFemme: said...

Brought down a Byzantine princess as I recall.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Poor guy will probably be ruined for admitting he had a fork.

All while Antifa infiltrated the whole thing.

tim maguire said...

The fork could be a useful improvised weapon in a manner similar to the knife used in the hit on Luca Brasi--it wouldn't do the killing, but it would incapacitate the person while some other method is used to kill.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Who hates the police?

Who inspired hatred of the police?

Trump supporters support the police.

tim maguire said...

Prof., I'm surprised at the way you phrased the cause of death of the officer. No determination has been made that it was related to any violence. They are investigating an allegation that he was hit with a fire extinguisher. There has been no determination that he was hit with one or that it had anything to do with his death.

Given the outrageous exaggerations and lies being spread about the violence, and the way those claims are being used to malign conservatives and suppress conservative ideas, a little more circumspection is in order.

Leland said...

We watched John Wick 2 last night and saw Keanu Reeves character kill 2 people with a pencil. He was previously accused by a credible eyewitness of killing 3 people with a pencil.

Jaske said...

When the Manson family murdered the LA Bianca's, one of the weapons used was a carving fork from their own kitchen.

effinayright said...

There could not be a better example of "Look! A Squirrel!" than this Althouse post.

How trivial.

All it does is keep alive the claim, so far unsupported by visual evidence, that the Trump people in the Capitol were carrying weapons.

(I leave out the Insane Person with the horns and spear. He didn't attack anyone.)

stevew said...

Jason Borne repels an attacker with what looks like a pencil or BIC style pen.

A dinner fork can do considerable damage if wielded correctly. I don't know him so can't say for sure, but Harding sure sounds like he was making a joke.

Mrs. X said...

There's a 50s movie called Caged that I saw on TV when I was a kid. It takes place in a women's prison. One of the prisoners stabs a guard to death with a fork. I found the scene horrifyingly disturbing at the time (was I 12?)--the stuff of nightmares.

Rusty said...

You'd probable do better with a table knife. Providing you could break the skin in the first place.
I'm a firm believer in switchblades.

tcrosse said...

There's a scene in Casino (1995) where Joe Pesci seriously wounds some guy with a pen, which we are told is mightier than the sword. It's on YouTube, but is too disturbing.

Rabel said...

"That sounds funny, but remember that an improvised weapon — a fire extinguisher — was used at the Capitol and it killed a police officer."

If so the person who did it should be charged with murder. However your version in unsubstantiated by the Post's story or any evidence that I have seen.

It's best to not spread such rumors and unsourced claims.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

"They pull a fork, you pull a knife. He sends one of yours to the dinner table, you send one of his to the kitchen." --Emily Post

chuck said...

It's best to not spread such rumors and unsourced claims.

Propaganda is insidious. It is hard to read publications like the NY Times or WaPo and not be infected. You may think your mask works, but some of the virus will sneak through.

Bob Boyd said...

Robert Williams said...
the fire extinguisher story is false. the officer died of natural causes. further, the officer was an ardent trump supporter. at least that is the current reporting.


Link or links?

mockturtle said...

We're all familiar with the admonitions to Get forked! or Go fork yourself! Amirite?

Danno said...

Or mock, how about stick a fork in him, he's done?

Narr said...

The Swiss Army Fork is still one of the great utensils.

Narr
And we'll need them before it's over

Ann Althouse said...

There was a fork used as a weapon in one of the Manson murders.

Professor Dohrn now says her comment: "Dig It. First they killed those pigs, then they ate dinner in the same room with them, they even shoved a fork into a victim's stomach! Wild!" was an ironic joke."

LordSomber said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Leland said...

All it does is keep alive the calm FIFY

Actually, the earlier post and this post note this little detail as odd and worthy of suggesting doubt there was a massive planned insurrection at the Capitol. After all, what serious representative is afraid of voting against the will of someone threatening them with a dinner fork? Is the dinner fork now the weapon of choice against Democracy? Are all Democracies vulnerable to a rando with a fork, and if so, which is better, the salad or fish fork?

Bob Boyd said...

I suspect Harding is a closeted cannibal.

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

Rats. Ann herself beat me to it!

Bernardine Dohrn (new SF DA's birth mom, IIRC) had a really, really sick sense of humor if she passed that as "ironic."

Joe Smith said...

"They pull a fork, you pull a knife. He sends one of yours to the dinner table, you send one of his to the kitchen." --Emily Post

And never bring a fork to a knife fight.

Joe Smith said...

'Professor Dohrn now says her comment: "Dig It. First they killed those pigs, then they ate dinner in the same room with them, they even shoved a fork into a victim's stomach! Wild!" was an ironic joke."'

Obama's good friend and neighbor in Chicago.

What a nice gal.

BUMBLE BEE said...

John Wick killed 3 men in a bar with a pencil.... with a pencil!

BUMBLE BEE said...

Having a fork is better than not having a fork. It isn't a concealed weapon. The old style Bic pen is also lethal. As the man says on Forged In Fire, "It will kill".

Rabel said...

Thank you.

mockturtle said...

As the man says on Forged In Fire, "It will kill".

Actually, BB, he says, "It will keel". ;-) My favorite TV show. Actually, the only thing I watch on TV except sports.

Kate said...

Imma flatten you like a peanut butter cookie.

Paul said...

Aw come one fools.... you can get your hand, fold the fingers down to the second knuckle, and punch someone in the throat. Or just karate chop them in the throat. Breaks the windpipe. You can sharpen a pencil and use it to stab in the eye or throat (but not like John Wick does it.)

Just about anything can be a weapon.

Skeptical Voter said...

I don't advocate hitting anyone in the head with a fire extinguisher---but we know one person died from getting shot by a Capitol police officer; we know three peole died from "medical emergencies" in the crowd--con't know whether those deaths occurred outside the Capitol building or inside, and we know one Capitol Police officer died. He had gone back to his office and died there. Them's the facts as known.

Has anybody autopsied the dead officer to conclude he died from a blow to the head? We don't know that. Was this officer hit with a fire extinguisher? We don't know that either--althoughthe all seeing all knowing WaPoo hs apparently reached that conclusion.

I like to read history. I could read novels, but I can get all the fiction I need from the pages of the nation's newspapers.

Vance said...

From what I've heard, there was the unarmed female veteran murdered by the Capitol police (seriously, she was standing in between two heavily armed burly police officers when the other guy just shot her--she was no threat to anyone. Flat out murdered, My Lai style). There was the cop who died from what, no one seems to know. NO evidence of a fire extinguisher, and he apparently died at home.

Then apparently the "medical emergencies" were of the type "the cops pushed someone off a three story ledge and they had a medical emergency right afterwards". If that's true, then it was the sudden stop that caused the emergency. I.E. they were also murdered by the cops.

rcocean said...

Spoons are deadly weapons too. So are scissors and chopsticks.

Gospace said...

I have heard from many Army types it was really a spork. But then, there may be multiple incidents.


Tribunist.com/news/report-army-ranger-gets-confirmed-kill-with-more-spoon/


But then- What’s the difference between a tool and a weapon? Answer: How you use them. On the last meeting of 2020 we qualified a new Scout for his Totin’ Chip, allowing him to carry and use a pocket knife, axe, or saw without supervision. FYI I carried a pocketknife to school every day as did many others. Used it every afternoon to cut the ridiculously tight twine on the bundles of papers to be delivered. Today I believe kids get criminal records for carrying that common tool to school. Sheer educational stupidity.

SeanF said...

rcocean: Spoons are deadly weapons too.

"Why a spoon, cousin? Why not an axe, or..."
"Because it's dull, you twit. It'll hurt more."

Unknown said...

Ann, training has taught me that neckties are a liability for wearer in the wrong situation. Many "common" tools can repurposed if one knows how to do so.

Gospace said...

Stupid auto miscorrect changed “mre” to “more” and I missed it. Caught the others. Anyone know if IPhone automiscorrect can be turned off?

Tribunist.com/news/report-army-ranger-gets-confirmed-kill-with-mre-spoon

Gospace said...

Ah, neckties. Prescribed wear for security forces and police wearing one for professional appearance are the fake clip on ties. The ids and access cards and dangles worn by nurses and doc? All with a weak link so if grabbed they tear away. Anything around the neck that can be grabbed and tightened is a threat.

If you’re 100% security conscious you’re every waking moment is a nightmare.

GingerBeer said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
GingerBeer said...

"Ann's Dinner with Andre." Yikes!

h said...

It's a little hard to see without enlarging the top photo (from Hitchcock's movie Spellbound) that the fork has been used to draw the outline of a vulva in the tablecloth. I've never understood why this is meaningful in the context of the movie.

Leora said...

I once stabbed the hand of a man sitting next to me with a fork when he repeatedly try to move it up my leg. He was quite outraged but he did desist.

Big Mike said...

@BUMBLE BEE, not true. It was with a PHO-king pencil.

Paul said...

UK has banned knives... and they have lots of stabbings. So many they have a 'turn in your knife and save a live' campaign.

Big Mike said...

When the Manson family murdered the LA Bianca's, one of the weapons used was a carving fork from their own kitchen.

My favorite two-pronged carving fork, where each tine is about four inches long and comes to a sharp point, would make an excellent weapon. Also note that, if you’re good enough, you could use it like a Japanese sai to catch an attacker’s knife blade and break the blade or fisarm him with a twist of the wrist.

But the common table fork, with four tones, isn’t much of a weapon. Maybe if you attacked your opponent’s eyes and tried to gouge one out, but even then a teaspoon is better.

Big Mike said...

Four tines, not tones. Damn autocorrect, and damn my poor proofreading skills.