https://youtu.be/RX6x1HuOWeU

By Mac Slavo

If you need a hammer for any reason, the United Kingdom’s counter-terrorism policing unit will consider you a potential terrorist. They are also asking that anyone who sees someone doing something suspicious, like purchasing a hammer, to report it to the enforcers.

Buying a hammer is suspicious and is potentially an indicator of criminal activity according to the Tweet below posted by the U.K. Counter Terrorism Policing office.

Information from YOU, the public, has helped foil terror plots in the UK.

Last year, 22% of information we received assisted live investigations.

If you see something that doesn’t look right. Look again, ACT and report it

— Counter Terrorism Policing UK (@TerrorismPolice) January 28, 2019

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It’s hard to see in the Twitter photo, but the guy looking at the hammer also has a few knives in his shopping basket. That’s apparently supposed to be a context clue that he’s maybe a very bad person, if not a terrorist.

The U.K. has a borderline-comical campaign going on trying to convince young people not to carry knives around. According to Reason, there’s actually a very logical and likely explanation for needing some knives and one hammer. The man might be a chef doing some work in his restaurant, but the point of this ad campaign is that they actually don’t want you to think of the most likely explanation. They want you to be suspicious and live your life in fear of others’ everyday activities. Complete with the scary “Life Has No Rewind Button” motto.

Reason further pointed out that the entire video ad is actually a lot more sinister; not because it’s eerie at all, but it’s a bit horrifying what the UK counter-terrorism police demand you feel is “suspicious” behavior: like taking out the trash.