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The dreaded Punjab lasso |
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I have often heard it said that you can tell alot about a person by their choice of decor or belongings. This is especially true of weapons. Why, of all the weapons available to Erik does he utilize a Punjab lasso, and what could this tell us about his character? (If you have not read the article about the actual use of a Punjab lasso, I would suggest doing so before commenting.)
Posted on: 29 Dec 2005 13:24
Edited by Dernhelm76 on 29 Dec 2005 13:31:19
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Re: The dreaded Punjab lasso |
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lowly babblet rat
 
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i thibk he uses punjab because it's really cool to noose people with catguts
Posted on: 29 Dec 2005 13:34
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Re: The dreaded Punjab lasso |
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I suppose he would use a punjab because it might have been the first weeapon he cam across during his time in Asia. Like Erik though it is quick, efficient, and silent. Imagine him using something else like a gun, not the same feeling as with the lasso. It requires getting up close to someone in order to use it and personally killing them almost by hand so there is a level of intimacy used in each killing with it. This can almost reflect the opposite of Erik's life because he longed for intimacy and interaction with others but was unable to achieve it due to his appearance, yet the lasso blends and balances out this mishap.
Posted on: 29 Dec 2005 13:34
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Re: The dreaded Punjab lasso |
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I think because he's a control freak (well he is) he needs to be able to use his own strength to kill the person in a couple of seconds. Clean and quick. Along with the fact that no one can defeat him that way, not unless they are extremely careful...
Posted on: 29 Dec 2005 13:51
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Re: The dreaded Punjab lasso |
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I actually think that it is efficient but also is a very cold weapon (if that makes sense) he can attack from a distance and kill with a quick jerk, he doesnt have to touch the victim and can easily drag them away withiut touching them. It is similar to himself tense and always ready to lash out, like a snake.
Posted on: 1 Jan 2006 7:46
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Re: The dreaded Punjab lasso |
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There's a level of stealth and, as mentioned before, intimacy, to a Punjab lasso that a gun or dagger hasn't got. Also, Erik is a conceited man. He feels the need to be different, unique, exotic. No one else in Paris uses a Punjab, or even knows what one might be. So you have the added element of surprise to that attack. No one (excepting perhaps the Persian) really know how to defend against the Punjab.
Hand at the level of your chin/eyes!
Posted on: 3 Jan 2006 17:05
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Re: The dreaded Punjab lasso |
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Nice comments everybody. Now I guess I could try answering my own question. Let's see, the lasso is a weapon which can be constructed of almost any material strong enough to bear the tension from silk scarves to wire. It is terribly effective in the right hands. People don't have the chance to warn anyone, nor do they have much opportunity to defend themselves. Though the wielder is required to be close enough to cast the lasso around their enemy's neck, the death is usually clean with little evidence of assault. So he probably doesn't even get his hands dirty.
Applying these qualities to Erik means he could be quick, practical, silent, sneaky, resourceful, (after all anything strong enough could be a weapon in disguise), intimate, controlling, consistently deadly, and clean among other things. Altogether more the assassin than the soldier.
Posted on: 3 Jan 2006 17:34
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_________________
If the eyes had no tears, the soul would have no rainbows. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then. "Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad."-H.W. Longfellow |
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Re: The dreaded Punjab lasso |
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What the lasso would say was in my point of view sleek ,unpredictable and someone you wouldnt toy with.
Posted on: 5 Jan 2006 16:19
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Re: The dreaded Punjab lasso |
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Archangel
 
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Actually, I disagree about knives being a distant killing weapon. When it's thrown, okay, but unless you can actually throw an 18-ounce knife at 125 mph at someone's back, it'll just be a fleshwound. It'll still hurt and you'll still bleed but you won't die. Having said that, a knife killing is far more intimate in that you need to be very close to accurately throttle someone in the stomach or in the neck. Stabbing with a knife produces an intimacy with the killing; it's personal. A lasso can be thrown with awesome accuracy if thrown right and that's a talent unheard of. It attains it's maximum lethality if the neck is fully exposed. As it is, to defend yourself against a punjab lasso, hands at the level of your eyes and you have to get it right the first and only time you throw it. In a stabbing, you can do it up close and personal many, many times more.
Posted on: 5 Jan 2006 17:26
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Re: The dreaded Punjab lasso |
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Oh, excuse me!  I meant to only include guns in the list of "non intimate" weapons. I'm sure Erik would use a knife in a pressing situation, or if there was nothing more exotic available, but his hubris is bigger than a Hummer H2.(BTW, how do you know so much about killing Satyriasis? Going after those "I agree" posters with more vehemence than I thought, eh?)
Posted on: 5 Jan 2006 22:20
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Re: The dreaded Punjab lasso |
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I'm probably reading far too much into this, but I think there's something deeply metaphorical about having to pull the victim closer to you to end their life; being pulled towards your death and at the same time towards Death himself...?
Posted on: 5 Jan 2006 22:47
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Re: The dreaded Punjab lasso |
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Yes, definitely a bit of a symbolic kind of thing. That's why such "personal" weapons are more frightening to people than others like guns. Would Jason Voorhees from "Friday the 13th" be as terrifying with a gun instead of his dreaded machete? I think not.
Especially the (pardon the reality show pun) fear factor with knives. Often the killer has to pull the victim closer to kill them, and the victim sometimes ends up staring into the eyes of their killer as they die. It's not as effective long-distance as a gun, but it sure as hell scares people more. It's like, the guys with the knives are scarier because they need to be closer to you, but they don't have any problem getting that close. I've been becoming very morbid recently... Insanely yours, musicmaker89
Posted on: 6 Jan 2006 17:19
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Re: The dreaded Punjab lasso |
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I haven't stabbed anyone lately, but I would have thought that you would lunge at your victim more than you'd be trying to pull them towards you. Even with the more intimate methods of murder, usually the attacker moves towards the victim and not vice versa. It's as if his unconscious desire to be close to others is fighting with his pride -- he wants to be approched, not to have to approach others to have human contact.
Posted on: 6 Jan 2006 17:53
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Re: The dreaded Punjab lasso |
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Well, yeah, you're right. The killer would have to move toward the victim, but then he could finish by pulling the victim toward him to close the gap. It's just that that's the "scarier" way it's done. I mean, sometimes when people are mugged it's just a quick run-up-and-stab-and-steal-money thing, and though that is a scary experience, it's not the horror type. You're getting pulled toward your killer, toward your death. Sucked in, almost. It's very frightening on a psychological level. Anyway, I'm just referring to your previous post, which really made a lot of sense to me in the way you described it.
... Please don't think I've killed someone before... Insanely yours, musicmaker89
Posted on: 6 Jan 2006 20:47
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_________________
If you'd like to read my phics, "Reflections of a Shattered Soul" and "Erik's Last Night", there are two links on my profile. There wasn't enough room in my signature. Gimme some lovins!!!
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Re: The dreaded Punjab lasso |
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Archangel
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LOL! I've studied the martial arts (Aikido, Shotokan Karate, and Arnis) for a few years and I've learned enough to defend myself and to be on a constant state of alert. As I've said, to kill by using a punjab lasso on the first attempts is serious talent. So that should give you an idea of the kind of training or experiences that Erik received using this weapon. As such, every weapon has a weakness and although it's a terrifying weapon, the punjab lasso loses its effectiveness when the target has his hands at the level of his eyes.
Posted on: 7 Jan 2006 9:46
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Re: The dreaded Punjab lasso |
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Okay, let's go at this from a little different tack. Erik is facing off against criminals in a sort of gladitorial combat for the sultana's amusement. What sort of weapon would strike the most fear into the hearts of his opponents? Certainly not obvious weapons such as swords, guns or knives. They are too overtly dangerous. Rather arm him with an innocuous piece of silk which is not even evident when the victim first enters the room with his sword. It appears to him that Erik is completely unarmed. So of course, he is confused. He is then told that if he can defeat the "magician" he can go free. He launches a desperate attack on the unarmed "magician." Eriks feigns weakness giving the criminal a false confidence. A split second before the final blow finds its mark, the criminal finds himself facedown on the desert sands, the life fast draining out of his body. He didn't even see it coming, nor did he have any chance of defending himself. Now that would be horrifying. To know that someone can kill you without effort no matter what you did, even when they are seemingly helpless. And it will all be at their whim. Given the choice I think I would rather have been thrown to the lions.
The way I see it, even if Erik didn't have an expert use of the garrotte when he arrived in Persia, the royalty of Persia would have encouraged its use to make the "executions" more interesting.
Posted on: 9 Jan 2006 15:33
Edited by Dernhelm76 on 9 Jan 2006 15:38:10
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_________________
If the eyes had no tears, the soul would have no rainbows. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then. "Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad."-H.W. Longfellow |
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Re: The dreaded Punjab lasso |
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Archangel
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I take it that you mean this article, The Dreaded Punjab Lasso, Dernhelm? The article's quite intriguing but I'm having a bit of a difficulty in trying to get a true visual on what the garrote looks like as described by Schuyler. Partly because the garrote I'm familiar with is a razor sharp steel flexwire about two feet long and has wooden handles at both ends. You grip the handles in a hammer grip and you wrap the wire around the target's neck. Even if you place your hand at the temple of your eye and plant it, you risk severe injury to your forearm, wristjoint, and hand but at least, your jugular veins are relatively protected until you fight out of the garrote.
Posted on: 10 Jan 2006 2:33
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Re: The dreaded Punjab lasso |
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Yes, that was the article I mentioned. At the time I originally posted this question, the article figured prominently on the opening page of this site so it did not occur to me to link it in. Sorry about that.
And yes, I had to read the actual mechanics the article described a couple of times to make sure I got the visual right. The garrotte you are describing I believe was used frequently during the Korean and Vietnam wars. The version described in the article does almost the same thing, but is flexible enough due to the materials of its construction that it probably would not be able to damage the arm with which you are protecting yourself. Hence "keep your hand at the level of your eyes" does not seem ludicrous. The metal one you describe had handles while in Erik's case he might have been holding onto a knot in the silk or an end with weights sewn into it. An interesting weapon to be sure.
Posted on: 10 Jan 2006 15:47
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_________________
If the eyes had no tears, the soul would have no rainbows. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then. "Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad."-H.W. Longfellow |
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Re: The dreaded Punjab lasso |
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Archangel
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I think it's probably the word "garrote" that caught me off-guard because a garrote and a lasso are nearly two different things but one can be a kind of the other as described by Schuyler.
The garrote I described was a modern version of the weapon used by ninjas and Chinese vagabonds, in which it was still two feet long with wooden handles but was made of rope. As mentioned, a lasso is a loop, first and foremost, and I think that's where my confusion lies. I wonder, though, how Leroux found out about that weapon. I'm thinking that he travelled extensively as a rich man and heard about it in his travels before coming back to Paris broke.
Posted on: 11 Jan 2006 12:35
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