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What is this? Please don't stereotype a nation.
Stupid people do stupid things everyday.
If I want to read gossip and the like I will buy the "National Enquirer", thanks.
:tired:
The Swiss being a peaceful type of nation ...
Well Ma'm, I thought that after knowing a certain person living only 2 blocks North of you, you would have had the opportunity to come to think differently.
Some Germans tend refer to the Swiss as "ein zaenkisches Bergvolk" (quarrelsome mountain nation), Hitler even referred to the small nation as "die Schweiz das kleine Stachelschwein" (a porcupine). :ermm:
And then again, didn't you know they are (well, they were) known to shoot apples from their son's heads? :surprised
They are neutral (actually, they WERE)... so, the Dominican police had no business getting into their internal Helvetian affairs anyways. irate:
On a more serious note:
I heard every Swiss household
must have a gun in it.......to protect the nation if invaded. I'm not 100% sure but I am from Australia, which many Americans think is next door to Switzerland
No they must not, but in many cases they do or did:
Most Swiss healthy and physically fit male will have served military service between ages 18 to 27, it's mandatory although there a few ways around it (but it's not easy). If they did, they stay in reserve until age 50 and go back every now and then for a few weeks to keep up to day. Until most recently, they were to go home with the basic uniform and SEALED (but automatic) weapon and a sealed box of ammunition, so that if the army had to be called up, everyone would respond to their barracks in uniform armed.
Over the more recent years, there has been more and more controversy about the benefits of keeping automatic weapons in family homes versus the risks. Now, so I understand this "traditions" has been or will be abolished, and most military reserve will surrender their weapons when leaving service.
As an other big difference, the Swiss army has no military schools, academies or universities. Everybody starts equally by being automatically enlisted at age 18 (which can be delayed for reasons of studies etc.). Some will be forced to graduate up to a certain point, some will just choose to and others, after having graduated by that system up to Captain, may choose to make it a professional career... only very, very few are.
In peace time, there is no General. A General will be appointed by the government in case of calling the army to arms and it will only be one.
The army can by constitution never turn it's weapons against it's own people... in other words, it can never be used as a sort of police.
Neutrality has been compromised around the times of the Golf war (at least that's when it was officially admitted that it was). Which later allowed the Confederation to join the UN (which it until then only was hosted by Switzerland in Geneva on those very ground of neutrality).
Anyway... all this has little to do with ONE hot head, where ever he may have come from, shooting at whom ever.
... J-D.