Dodger

When I board a train, I am in possession of the appropriate ticket. In this Scotrail scene, a student fare dodger is confronted by a guard who is clearly old enough to be the lad's grandfather. Seeing the difficulty the guard is in, a passenger, 35 year old Alan Pollock from Stirling, gets up to lend a hand and hurls the nineteen year old lad, complete with Tibetan yak breeder's hat, off the train onto Linlithgow station platform.

Most right thinking people would expect "Big Man" Alan Pollock to receive some kind of medal but instead he faces the prospect of a court appearance - potentially charged with assault upon the poor, unfortunate fare dodger who typically refuses to accept that he was in the wrong. What a topsy turvy world we are living in when wrongdoers can gain the upper hand while brave, community-minded citizens like Alan Pollock find themselves accused of wrongdoing.

This is what David from Manchester had to say about the incident in yesterday's "Daily Mail": "Surely this was simply the 'Big Man's' interpretation of Cameron's 'Big Society'. Quite frankly, this kid's Dad would do him more of a favour if he told his son to apologise for his behaviour and then shut up about it." I find myself in agreement with David and The Big Man - Alan Pollock - himself. Instead of spouting off about right and wrong in today's society, more of us should be acting rather than talking and the powers that be should be applauding such courageous action instead of tending to side with so-called "victims" like Sam Main (Tibetan yak breeder).