In The Wire, the character Omar Little robs from drug dealers in Baltimore. He is notorious in the area and when he is seen by people in the neighborhood, it is common for them to shout that Omar is coming and to take cover. As he walks with a shotgun by his side, he will whistle “The Farmer in the Dell“. While he does shoot people, he has a strict moral code in that he won’t harm innocent “civilians”.
After Omar is shot at, he proclaims, “You come at the king, you best not miss.”
For Omar, if someone is going to come at him, they better kill him, otherwise they are as good as dead.
The lesson here, is that sometimes you only have one shot to do something. And this is where I hear Mike Ehrmantraut’s voice from Breaking Bad in my head, saying, “No more half measures, Walter.” Just like in the meth world, in Omar’s world, half measures will get anyone killed.
