Re: [OT] Minbari Poles

>I don't actually recall seeing a Ranger shoot anyone in the series.  
>They like beating people with sticks, sure.  But I don't work at >close

quarters, and if shooting has started I'm no longer worried >about being

subtle.  We have this discussion on occasion with people >who get 
carried away with hand signals--once people have started >shooting, the 
enemy knows you are there, so you can shout whatever it >is you're 
trying to say.
>
>John M. Atkinson
>

Personally, I can think of two justifications for the Rangers' Fighting 
Pikes.

First, the Mimbari are aliens, with a highly overdeveloped sense of 
honor.	In their minds, one Ranger with a Pike is more than a match for 
any non-ranger, even if the enemy does have a gun.  Not a sensible 
attitude, in my estimation, but then I'm not a Mimbari.

Secondly, most of the Rangers that we have seen have been fighting on 
board space ships or stations.	In those circumstances, a gun is not 
really the best possible weapon to carry.  After all, a metal pole is 
less likely to punch a hole in your hull than a gun is.  Death pressure,

anyone?

Tom Sullivan
"We all owe our lives to…this inanimate carbon rod!"

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