Will banning glasses prevent assaults?

Some pubs over here use plastic glasses as standard. It depends on the pub, so it should be a matter of choice. Some pubs aren't violent while in others it regularly kicks off.

I used to go to a pub in Bristol called the Old England. Around 1990 it had a bit of a reputation. One Friday night a guy made a weapon by partly breaking a glass. Then he lunged at another guy with the weapon thus created. He slipped on the beer covered floor and the glass went in the face of a young woman standing by the bar. He promptly legged it. There was lots of blood. She needed quite a few stitches, was lucky not to lose an eye, and would be scarred for life. I wasn't there, but a guy I knew saw the whole thing.

I saw him a few days later. He wanted my advice. He had seen the whole thing, the police were looking for the guy who glassed the girl, he knew the guy's name, should he tell the police? He didn't like the idea of grassing anyone up, but the girl was innocent. On the other hand (he said) putting the guy in jail wouldn't make the girl's face look any better. I began to think this guy was a bozo. I said there was such a thing as justice, and she deserved it. Furthermore, the guy was obviously a dangerous thug. I don't know if he went to the police, but a man did get 4 years in prison for the attack. After that they went over to plastic glasses. Not only safer, but cheaper and no need to wash them.

Its weird because these are not pubs - but upscale bars. I guess it doesn't matter how much you pay for a drink - you can be a thug no matter what.

My opinion - these idiots would find something else to use to hurt someone.

True.

As to plastic over glass, it could cause its own problems. Plastic is less friendly as it ends up with imperceptible scratches which retain dirt and bacteria. Plastic won't maintain the temperature as well as glass. Plastic is less environmentally friendly. The list goes on...

The main thing is, people need to drink responsibly and exit before getting to the thug behavior sets in (as they get sloshed).

Back in our art gallery/design studio, we had monthly show openings that were very popular. The whole art scene was popular, I presume some places more than others, but the town got into it. This also helped us keep going with occasional sales of paintings or sculpture by the artist of the month. We served wine in exceptionally small glasses and kept an eye out for inebriation, and people leaving with the glasses, always watching. In a way, the people coming to the gallery were a help - it was a smallish town, people knew each other. I think I only had to nab a person with a glass going out the door once, and I don't remember people being bombed/stoned when approaching our table of snacks, Calistoga Water, and cheap wine. Maybe once or twice over several years.

Upscale bars can be the worst, lot of people wanting to show off, and people tend to travel to get there. No real local scene and relationship between the customers and staff.

I'm just waiting for someone to say "glasses don't stab people; people stab people".

Tripping can do you in.

Yes, we had insurance, but were careful.

Pay for insurance adds up for non-projectile business.

Did you read the last line my original post -- yep similar was said in the article:

Sorry. I missed that. I definitely feel that 'glass control' can be a practical and effective method of reducing certain kinds of harm.

Really? I take it that could be true in a variety of instances.

Of course I read this header and thought it was about eyeglasses. My first reaction was no, it will have the opposite effect. Boys of a certain age might remember the kindergarten admonition, "never hit a man wearing glasses". I shudder to think how much pent up violence might be released if muggers and bullies were suddenly given free reign to beat up all those guys that weren't wearing their spectacles. So I was very relieved to discover the true nature of this story. I feel much safer now.

Whatever happened to good old fistfights?

Boston bar brawls ain't what they used to be.

"Will banning glasses prevent assaults?"

Nope. Guns don't kill people. People kill people.

And people without glasses just end up killing the wrong people.

In the centre of the city I live in, there are lots of pubs, closely spaced, and a big concern of pub operators is not getting all of the glasses back after they have been used. They are quite expensive. People walk out with them to drink in the street and take them to other pubs or leave them on ledges or window sills or on the sidewalk. This annoys the police and city authority. No need to worry about bacteria because the plastic single-use 'glasses' used are not kept and washed, they are used once and recycled. As for the temperature, the customers don't care about that. Glass attacks are very rare.

Will banning glasses prevent assaults?

i doubt it

i've often heard the men don't make passes at women who wear glasses

so banning glasses would certainly encourage men to bother more women, thus raising the possibility for more assaults

on the plus side, men with really bad eyesight would have a much harder time finding said women

These are the kinds of rules/regulations that make Boston look like hicksville!

Who, among upscale drinkers would ever drink a Manhattan from a plastic glass?

I, for one, would never drink Beer from a plastic glass, much less a good, high content alcoholic drink!

This sounds like the nonsense in Concord, Ma, where water-containing bottles are banned from being sold.

What's next in the Nonsense Journal?

My question is how many people in a Boston pub consciously, or unconsciouly, imagine that they just joined the regulars in the once successful sitcom, "Cheers." What I thought was a bit of fantasy in that sitcom is that the regulars were average people, yet all seemed to display a degree of civility, or knowledge of it, that I wouldn't guarantee every urban watering hole to reflect. Isn't tv wonderful!