Day 44 Kneecapping

Because it is the largest joint in the human body, which sustains some of the greatest stresses and which is seriously injured with relative ease, the knee is traditionally and symbolically a site of vulnerability.

‘Kneecapping’, for instance, is a practice associated with terrorists and organized crime groups; it involves destroying the kneecaps, either by shooting someone in the knees or by shattering them, typically with a baseball bat.

The result is not life-threatening, but extremely painful and permanently disabling.

To be ‘brought to one's knees’ is to be in a position of submission and desperation; to be ‘cut off at the knees’ is to be humiliated and disabled.