Prayers for the repose of the souls of the people cruelly murdered by the gunman in Aurora, Colorado, and for their grieving friends and families. Stacy McCain has been doing some useful aggregating on this horrible story.
This is another heartbreaking lesson in the dangers of complacency. Yes, it is a terrible thing to have to face the reality that you are taking your life in your hands simply by doing something as seemingly mundane as going to a movie theater. Yet, there it is. No society is ever completely immune to the depredations of its misfits, its terrorists, its hardened criminals, and any police force large enough, and any set of laws extensive enough, to reduce such risks to zero would not be compatible with anything other than a police state. Each of us should be vigilant and prepared to deal with acts like this, which can occur anytime, anyplace. Here are some thoughts on the subject of preparedness from Brian Hoffner, via Zero Hedge.
Maybe it sounds a little paranoid, but with respect to public situations where one finds oneself surrounded by strangers, it seems appropriate to keep in mind the advice that Marine Corps Maj.-General James Mattis gave his men in Iraq: “Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.”
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That's not paranoia, it's sound advice.
ReplyDeleteParanoia would be believing that everyone is planning to kill you.
My young cousin posted this comment on Facebook. I don't respond because someone who makes a comment as this has no clue:
ReplyDeleteName three times you've heard someone pulling a gun amid a mass shooting to shoot the shooter. No, name one time.
Actually, there was an instance of a would be mass murderer being pinned down by two people who returned fire. They kept him covered till police arrived. Mark Steyn filled in for Rush today, and he was telling the story. He said you probably never heard about it because no one was killed, or injured, and it's a good case for concealed carry, so the MSM avoided it.
ReplyDeleteMark Steyn asked, what if one or two people in the theater were armed, and could have returned fire on this guy? People probably would have been killed, but maybe a lot fewer.
This is not a case of someone using a concealed weapon to take down a mass shooter, but it is an example of what one person can do if they act decisively in a moment of crisis.
ReplyDeleteAnd, sometimes, make the ultimate sacrifice. Vale, Dr. Librescu.
And as a counterpoint -- all too often, people can't shoot back because they were not permitted to carry a concealed firearm, BY LAW. Into a restaurant. Into a school. In a country like Canada. On Fort Hood.
So, perhaps the better question is, "How many shooting incidents would have had fewer deaths had someone been able to shoot back?"
Imagine, if you will, that Dr. Librescu was armed that terrible day.
If we knew about it, that is. The Lame Stream Media won't publish many good news stories involving firearms.
Inspiring stories, R-Man and Jeff.
ReplyDeleteColorado has 90,000 concealed carry permit holders-- 2.5% of the adult population.
ReplyDeleteThis just in: Mayor Bloomberg claims James Holmes in possesion of 32oz soda, when captured by police. Recommends death penalty.
ReplyDeleteR-man: If only he'd also had a doughnut, Bloomberg might have recommended life without parole.
ReplyDeleteMarica: We need to get that percentage up.
Thanks Rman and Jeffs
ReplyDeletePaco-- I think these percentages can be misleading. For example, it's only 2% in Mississippi which I find remarkably low. BUT your vehicle and business (if you own it) are considered as much a part of your castle as your home. SO I think there are a lot more people carrying than have permits. Don't know about Colorado.
ReplyDeleteThis just in: Mayor Bloomberg claims James Holmes in possesion of 32oz soda, when captured by police. Recommends death penalty.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Bloomie meant that only if he also had butter and salt on his popcorn.
If Holmes is a smoker then Bloomberg will recommend repealing the 8th Amendment.
Miss Red,
ReplyDeleteThis isn't necessarily an exhaustive list. In 2006, a guy stabbed 7 people and was chasing an 8th around a shopping center parking lot when a bystander pointed a gun at him and convinced him to stop. Not a mass shooting but worth noting.
in 2007, Jeanne Assam shot a guy trying to be a mass murderer at a church in Colorado Springs. He killed 2 and wounded 3 others before she stopped him.
Also in 2007, an off duty cop stopped and killed a shooter who had killed 5 in the Trolley Square Mall in Salt Lake City, Utah.
In 2009(?), a guy started shooting up an apartment complex and was stopped by an armed citizen.
THis year, in Spartansburg, SC a guy kicked in the door of a church and pointed a shotgun at the congregation. Fortunately a concealed carry holder had seen him coming and held him at gunpoint.
You probably didn't hear about that one because he didn't manage to kill anyone. In fact, because of a loaded gun no one died – not even the potential mass murderer.
I would ask your cousin if he expects the police to show up unarmed to stop a killer since he thinks guns are so ineffective.
Of course, someone carrying a gun doesn't guarantee anything but I'd rather have a guy on my side with a gun rather than the mass murderer having the only gun.
n.b. no concealed carry or open carry allowed where I live.
As a point of fairness in this discussion, one gun blogger points out that the Aurora killings may have been designed as a "Kobayashi Maru" scenario.
ReplyDeleteI won't speculate on this creature's mental state, except to say I won't be surprised to find out he's NOT a paranoid schizophrenic. I suspect deep narcissism and an evil nature.