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July 24, 2011
"4) When he began shooting, everyone ran."
That last factor alone is responsible for almost all of the dead. A tight group of young men taught to run at danger instead of away from it could have overpowered him almost at once.As that did not happen, he had a clear field of fire and a target rich environment. As that started a panic, probably some were trampled and others drowned. The police did not arrive for a long time, giving him time to finish what he had begun -- but the police will never be around when one of these mass killings happens, unless it is targeted at them specifically. It is always easy to find a soft target if you want one, even in a police state. The key lesson to mass shootings is that the whole of our societies must remember their duty to fight for the common peace and lawful order. We must all do it. We must train for it, and we must equip ourselves as well as the law and our natural abilities permit. This is the duty of a citizen. It is a duty that cannot be delegated to the police or to the military. It must be borne by all of us. We must train our sons for this duty also. In a dangerous world, this alone is what makes civilization possible. -- -- BLACKFIVE: Defending the Weak
Posted by Vanderleun at July 24, 2011 3:48 PM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.
Your Say
I'm glad to see that Ann Barnhardt isn't the only man to stand up like this and say it.
Posted by: Jewel at July 24, 2011 3:51 PM
According to at least one witness, the police did not take hours to arrive -- they arrived soon after the shooting began, but they, too, went into hiding, because they were unarmed.
It seems Norwegian police aren't allowed to carry guns -- they can *access* guns, but only after obtaining authorization from a supervisor.
No supervisor = no gun access.
Posted by: BillT at July 25, 2011 4:37 AM
The adage of "Rush a gun; run from a knife" is very true.
When parents raise kids to fear everything from risk on the playground to confronting a bully, at some point real life WILL rise up and kill you.
Posted by: Peccable at July 25, 2011 8:12 AM
The adage of "Rush a gun; run from a knife" is very true.
"Get the first shot off and make it count" trumps that...
Posted by: BillT at July 25, 2011 9:54 AM
BillT, with that many people on the island, in the classrooms at VA Tech, the perp is overwhelmed.
As to singles, it takes just under 1 second to closed the distance of 7 yards. Most attempts are closer; you know what you're going to do. They don't. It isn't time to take a dump.
If you're a Nancyboy, well, you get what you deserve.
Posted by: Peccable at July 25, 2011 10:12 AM
"When seconds count, the police are minutes away."
I want to know if those people actually had planned for security for that event, even if it was just a youth camping affair.
If they did and had been promised some security, what the heck happened? Were they promised one police officer, at least? When this jerk arrived in the island, did they ask him any specific questions as to who had sent him there and at least verify some documentation?
Did those people trust so much that they didn't get a hint of malice, or even the intuition that something was amiss or seriously wrong? Did they even bother to check his eyes for unspoken communication?
(On 9/11/2001, a ticket counter in a Maine airport saw the eyes of Mohammed Atta and immediately felt his blood run cold, but his political correctness overruled him, and let that murderer bastard get in that plane. 3,000 dead later, that ticket counter regretted his decision.)
Was their naivete that strong?
Posted by: newton at July 25, 2011 10:49 AM
...with that many people on the island, in the classrooms at VA Tech, the perp is overwhelmed.
Amend that to "the perp *could* have been overwhelmed" -- and rapidly, too. Those were two instances in which meeting violence with violence *was* the answer, but it required a leader and followers determined to see it through until the threat was neutralized.
In VA Tech, only a single student ever charged the gunman, and he almost nailed him before he himself was killed.
Posted by: BillT at July 25, 2011 2:12 PM