I'd first like to offer up prayers to the victims and their families in the Aurora theater attack. I pray the wounded can find strength and healing and that the families of those killed can find peace.
This type of attack cannot be prevented. The threat of a determined lone killer cannot be eliminated in advance. He CAN be stopped. The number of victims CAN be minimized.
I'm not going to sit here and claim that one armed citizen WOULD have saved lives and prevented dozens of injuries. But I will guarantee that one COULD have.
Sheepdogs, Sheep and Wolves
I have had the honor of hearing Lt. Col. Dave Grossman speak on two different occasions. If you are not familiar with him, he is the author of On Killing, a study of the psychology of killing... both the kind perpetrated by evil doers and that done by the protectors.
Col. Grossman promotes the idea of the sheepdog...
"One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me: 'Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident...Then there are the wolves,' the old war veteran said, 'and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy.' Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? ...You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial...Then there are sheepdogs,' he went on, 'and I'm a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf.'"
Col. Grossman further promotes the idea that those who are sheepdogs, whether by nature or by training, have a duty to carry the tools to be an effective protector. It is immoral to be able to protect, but to be unwilling to do so.
If you are legally able to carry a gun in public, don't you have the moral obligation to do so to protect yourself, your family, and other innocents if possible? You may not have an opportunity to engage the target, but you might.
Attacks can happen anywhere at any time. We can't hide out and never go in a public place. The best we can do is stay aware of our surroundings, leave a dangerous or questionable situation if we can, and fight back with explosive violence if we need to.
Be a sheepdog.
When you have felt the pain of real loss, you can only hope it is never felt by others but you know it is only a matter of time until they will. The Cinemark[?]movie chain is a GUN FREE zone....If i can not carry, i do not go...My thoughts are with those hurting...
ReplyDeleteQuite an appropriate post on this tragic day. Indeed taking the stance of being a "Sheepdog" is of great importance in the society we live in and one which I take seriously. We must also be prepared to take a stance to protect our rights which continue to be discarded by our so called leaders that desire us to all be sheep.
ReplyDeleteAs anyone who reads your posts and those of others they are
aware that the clock is ticking. God bless our country
not only could ,but would, in my opinion. they let it slip that there were at least 5 ccw holders in the theatre, none armed due to that policy. after the ocala,fla incident a lot of those places should rethink that policy. if granpa had been there, i doubt that many would have been killed. i wonder why nobody rushed the guy while he "cooly reloaded" ? for me, i violate walmarts policy and many others routinely. all they can do is ask me to leave, at which time i loudly proclaim they are violating my rights and that i won't patronize their establishment again....i feel for the folks, but can't help feeling mad as well that they didn't fight. better to go down swinging.maybe i'm a dog too.
ReplyDeleteRiverRider - thanks for passing on that info about the CCW holders in the theater. I had not heard that. You ought to check out some of those business cards that folks get to hand to a restaurant manager or whoever says that concealed weapons aren't alowed in a business. They essentially say something like "I will not do business with you because you will not allow me to legally carry a weapon for my and my family's safety. I have been trained, and my background checked to prove that I am not a convicted felon or other prohibitted person. Can you say the same about your other customers?"
ReplyDeleted, that would be great. any idea where to get some? i guess it would be more pc than shouting my righteous indignation:)
DeleteThe ONLY place I DON'T carry is in the US Post office or a Bank (both under Federal law). At ANY other place, I don't care what the sign says, I'm armed.
ReplyDeleteTexas Scout - you ought to rethink that... there is no federal law against carrying in a bank. There may be some state laws, but nothing federal. As for the post office, I'd operate on the idea that "concealed" means just that.
ReplyDeleteRiverRider: I found this http://www.hipointfirearmsforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=289660
ReplyDeleteGo about halfway down the page and a guy put up an example of the card he uses in Wisconsin (I think). I'd suggest printing this off and carrying it to your local print shop and they can probably lay it out for you and whip out a box of them for about $15 or $20. It'd probably take a lifetime to give them all out to businesses, so you could share them with your friends at the range or something.