Viva Anarchocapitalism: Shop Around, Get Beating!

[Einhander Sn0m4n]

[img=right]http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/1 ... 28x606.jpg[/img]
A double glazing salesman launched a violent assault on a customer moments after discovering they had spoken to a rival company, a court was told yesterday.

Carl Birkenshaw, 42, allegedly threw a series of punches at George Dixon after accusing him and his wife of wasting his time during a meeting at the couple's home.

He erupted with rage when Mr Dixon informed him that they had already sought a quote from another firm for new windows to be fitted into their luxury conservatory.

Attacking his rival's reputation and quality of work he went on to criticise the Dixons for calling him out to their home and repeatedly refused to leave, the court heard.

When Mr Dixon tried to usher him towards the front door Birkenshaw grabbed him by the throat and swung two punches at him, Bedlington magistrates court was told.

Mr Dixon retaliated and punched Birkenshaw on the chin, knocking him back on to the settee.

As Birkenshaw got up Mr Dixon is said to have tripped and fallen backwards onto the floor. Towering over him Birkenshaw then allegedly said: 'I've got you now, you bastard.'

The sales manager leapt on top of Mr Dixon before punching him at least three times in the face whilst his hysterical wife, Evelyn, telephoned the police, the hearing was told.

Mr Dixon managed to get up and heard his wife tell Birkenshaw that the police were on their way. The salesman ran past him, grabbed his briefcase and left the house.

But before driving off in his car he turned furiously to Mr Dixon and said he would bring people round to 'sort him out'.

Mr Dixon, who was left bleeding from his mouth and with injuries to his face and shoulder, was later seen by his GP and prescribed painkillers for the effects of the punches.

The extraordinary fight occurred in February this year after Birkenshaw was invited to the couple's home in Cramlington, Northumberland, to give them a quote for their conservatory.

When Mr Dixon later informed him that they had also spoken to another company, Birkenshaw, a salesman for Paramount Windows and Conservatories, allegedly lost his temper.

He denies assault and insists he acted in self-defence after Mr Dixon became aggressive.

Birkenshaw, of North Shields, North Tyneside, claims he was punched first after being asked to leave.

But Mr Dixon told the court that Birkenshaw's attitude and manner became aggressive when he told him that he and his wife had already been given a quote for a conservatory by a rival firm, UK Windows.

"I said all we wanted was a quote, not to hear him slagging off the other company," he said. "He (Birkenshaw) started shouting and ranting that we were wasting his time and so I stood up and asked him to leave.

"My wife was becoming very upset. I asked him four times to leave the house but he refused to move. We went through a horrendous night with this bloke for no reason at all."

Mr Dixon denied suggestions from Birkenshaw's solicitor, John Monkhouse, that he was making parts of his story up and that he had thrown the first punch.

The trial was adjourned until next month.

Imagine a world where this is legal...

[Erik von Nein]

Er, is it just me or does this seem more like "This guy's a giant cock with a short fuse" rather than "This is what's wrong with Capitalism"?

[K. A. Pital]

If you do not want to buy from OmniConsumerProducts... *sound of breaking kneecaps*

[Einhander Sn0m4n]

Er, is it just me or does this seem more like "This guy's a giant cock with a short fuse" rather than "This is what's wrong with Capitalism"?

Slippery slope, yes, but Stas...

If you do not want to buy from OmniConsumerProducts... *sound of breaking kneecaps*

...nails my point precisely!

[Erik von Nein]

Uh, yeah, I know that's what would likely happen in a world with unrestrained capitalism. It just seems weird to act like that's the focal point of this story, rather than it being some asshole who lost his temper (probably about something completely unrelated to his company) and punching someone after being asked to leave. If this was a company policy or if they guy got off the charges then I can see how it'd relate. It just seems a bit of a stretch to try and shoe-horn unrestrained capitalism into this story.

[Covenant]

I think he's just responding to the reason flood of Libertarian-based posts we've had recently. If we had been doing a lot of posts revolving around evolution or global warming, and someone found something in a similar vein, I think people would post it too. It's just an example of someone not deciding just to 'beat them in the boardroom' so to speak, but to beat then directly, with fists, to goad people into buying it.

I think they should have hired a better private security firm, or gotten Vicious Beating insurance from a Charity, *I'm a smarmy asshole*?

[Einhander Sn0m4n]

Pretty much, Covenant. I'm not interested in giving Big Business free reign to do whaever they want, because even though this is definitely a smallish business with the punchy salesguy, some harebrained boardroom will eventually groupthink this unacceptable bullshit as somehow good business practice if we don't let the fuckers know there's rules to play by.

[Bounty]

Er, is it just me or does this seem more like "This guy's a giant cock with a short fuse" rather than "This is what's wrong with Capitalism"?

Of course it is. This guy won't tget away with what he did, no-one condones his actions and Ein just wants to have an excuse to get on his Soapbox of Impotent Rage!©

This isn't the first step to anarchocapitalism, it's a cock of a salesman who lost a deal and got into fisticuffs. He won't get away with it, it's not an accepted practice, Ein just made a gigantic strawman so he can show how socially aware he likes to think he is.