My apologies

[SerenityNetworks]

In a separate thread I used the word coward in reference to the CO shootings. I sincerely apologize. It was too harsh. It was inappropriate.

I don't cast aspersions on any individual. I have no idea of their personal circumstances. I don't judge any single person there. Yet out of a whole theater not one single man was willing to lay down his life for another - no one was willing to make the attempt - that does bother me.

I was a funeral director for many years and had the honor of burying many men from the great generation. On the long trips to the rural cemeteries I got to hear stories of real heroes, both domestic and abroad. It had a profound impact on me. I want to emulate those men and their principals - and "run" was not the lesson I learned from them.

This type of tragedy is going to happen again. I have made the personal decision that if it happens around me then I will try to stop it. Whether I will have the courage to do so if the time comes remains to be seen. But I hope so and I try to be prepared for it mentally. If the time comes then I hope others have also thought this through and I won't be alone (there won't be time for planning, only action).

Most sincerely,
Andrew

NRA Life Member
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"There are some ideas so preposterous that only an intellectual will believe them." - Malcolm Muggeridge

[PawPaw]

Yet out of a whole theater not one single man was willing to lay down his life for another - no one was willing to make the attempt

Even that's not exactly true. It's widely reported that three men died shielding their girlfriends.

This was a senseless tragedy, and the thing about senseless tragedies is that it's hard to make sense of them. We don't know the demographics of the audience, but I'd suspect that the folks who go to see a midnight movie aren't the CCW types. Even that, in a dark, smoke-filled theater with screams and gunfire, it was probably very difficult to identify the shooter in the opening seconds.

Will something like this happen again? Who knows? Up until now, it's happened exactly once. Still, training isn't a bad idea. It might be a mall shooter, a church shooter, simply a crowd shooter. The hardest part of the dynamic in the opening seconds is identifying who the bad guy is. If you happen to be so unlucky as to find yourself in a mass shooting, and you happen to get lucky and stop the bad guy with your handgun, be forewarned that when the police get there, they'll be looking for a guy with a gun. You'll probably be handcuffed, transported, and held until they sort the sheep from the goats.

[Skans]

The only coward was the orange-haired flunky who was shooting at passive, seated, unarmed people. He picked a place where he knew people couldn't be armed and couldn't hurt him.

[JerryM]

[In a separate thread I used the word coward in reference to the CO shootings. I sincerely apologize]

Apology accepted, and thanks. I suspect most of us, and I know I have, sometimes let our emotions take over.
Thank again,
Jerry

[geetarman]

Dennis,

Nice response. Many of us like to think we would act positively in a time of crisis.

Truth be told, none of us really can foresee how we will act.

Information from one who has spent a career moving toward the sound of chaos and confusion and not away gives the rest of us insight that is not often shared by those who have been in crisis situations.

For that, as well as your other reasoned posts, I thank you.

Geetarman

[SerenityNetworks]

...died shielding...

You are correct, again I misspoke. I have heard this and thought to myself that at their age I would likely have NOT done the same (and I am ashamed of myself).

I'm finding it difficult to convey my thoughts.

I would/will never condemn someone for any action they make in a horrific situation - and this includes professionals that supposedly could have done "something better".

I've spent a lot of time with the elderly and there is something different about the mindset that I wish I could express. I can't help but believe that in similar circumstances some men of the great generation would have died stopping or attempting to stop the attack. Those are the men who I want to emulate. That, and that I hope there are others, is all I am saying.

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"There are some ideas so preposterous that only an intellectual will believe them." - Malcolm Muggeridge

[Brian Pfleuger]

Apology accepted

[Frank Ettin]

Nicely done, Andrew. Thank you for taking the time.