Mass shootings have become something of a regular occurrence in America. A few times every year, some lunatic goes crazy, comes in guns blazing, and slaughters as many people as possible before going down or getting captured.
Other outlets have already covered the incident better than I can, making note of the shooter’s particular animus toward Christians. This, incidentally, is similar to the Charleston church shooting in that respect. There has been a tendency of late for Christians to feel as if the establishment is targeting them. The UCC Shooting seems to be circumstantial evidence that they may be correct, a hatred of Christianity may be turning deadly in America. Certainly it already has in the Middle East.
But again, I digress. My point here is to discuss a phenomenon which has bothered me since 9/11: Americans seem to be losing their martial spirit, their tendency to run toward the danger, guns in hand, rather than submit, bow their heads, and wait for the inevitable to consume them.
We know that the passengers of Flight 93 fought back and overwhelmed their attackers. They died in the process, but saved countless lives by preventing their craft from being used as a weapon like the others. These people were heroes who went down fighting. I can only hope that if I am caught in such a situation, I can honor them by doing half as much. Yet, it must be said: why didn’t the passengers of the other planes do the same?
Naturally, they probably thought that they would be ransomed. Or, perhaps, it was fear that held them back. But when you have nothing to lose, why not fight back?
Fast forward to our present circumstances. One man refused to be a passive victim. Veteran Chris Mintz charged the shooter and was shot seven times in the process. Yet he was the only one.
The esteemed Brad Torgersen, author of Chaplain’s War, explains it for us:
“Once again it strikes me how we have become a society of trained helplessness. We duck and cover and hope the evil will not notice us. And of course evil roams freely, shooting people in the head.”
Only the Army veteran could summon the courage to fight the shooter. The rest passively allowed themselves to be shot. This is anathema to me. I could not imagine surrendering in such circumstances. I intend to live, and if life is no longer possible, I would at least make the cost of my death as high as possible, so as to even the scales. It fascinates me just how helpless people are today.
We are a species that once fought grizzly bears and sabertooth tigers in the wilderness. We hunted buffalo with spears, arrows, and rocks. And yet, today, people cannot summon the courage to fight for their own life even when they have nothing to lose by doing so!
This sort of stupidity and cowardice is ingrained in our children from an early age, through this super-self-esteem-building, anti-bullying claptrap espoused by modern psychologists and educators. Take a look at this little gem:
Roleplay with your child how he can stand up to a bully. Point out to your child that the bully wants to provoke a response that makes him feel powerful, so showing emotion and fighting back are exactly what the bully feeds off. Explain that while he can’t control the bully, he can always control his own response. So in every interaction, how he responds will either inflame the situation or defuse it. Your child needs to avoid getting “hooked” no matter how mad the bully makes him.
The best strategy is always to maintain one’s own dignity, and to let the “bully” maintain his dignity, in other words, not to attack or demean the other person. To do this, simply say something calm like:
“You know, I’m just going to ignore that comment.”
“I think I have something else to do right now.”
“No thank you.”
Wrong. Dead wrong, in this case. When a bully attacks you, you fight back. Even if the bully wins, the cost of his victory will weigh heavily in his mind. If you do enough damage on your way out, he’ll probably ignore you in the future. He’ll also reconsider attacking others, because if people keep standing up to him, he’ll learn quickly that bullying won’t make him feel powerful. Rather, it will result in black eyes, bloody noses, and taunts from his compatriots.
Can you imagine attempting to reason with a mass shooter this way? “Oh, please, Mr. Shooter, I recognize that you are having self esteem problems, and I’m just going to ignore this bullet to the brain so that you can maintain your dignity.”
People are trained to avoid conflict because the Progressive Left has propagated the idea that all violence is evil. Fighting back is, in their estimation, as great a sin as the aggressive offender’s own acts. Even greater, in fact, because they will excuse the aggressor’s actions by saying that he was the victim of the Patriarchy, or microaggressions, police profiling, or mental illness. By standing up to the bully you are, in effect, oppressing him. That’s how ass-backwards Leftist “logic” is.
We encourage mass shootings today through propagating the culture of helplessness. Gun rights activists are fond of explaining that gun control is unlikely to stop mass shootings. But the problem goes a lot deeper than that. Certainly, more good people with firearms (and less gun free zones) would have an effect. But, it’s not simply whether or not people are armed that is the issue. A shooter in a college or a mall, a man armed with a box cutter on an airplane… these people are far outnumbered even by the unarmed citizenry. A simple mob attack could easily stop the shooter regardless of how many of them were packing heat.
In Britain a couple years ago, a Muslim beheaded a British veteran in broad daylight, in front of a crowd of people. The only person to come to the aid of the victim was a woman who the Muslim did not perceive as a threat. Even then, all she could do was stay with the body and call the authorities. Yet a crowd surrounded this man and did nothing.
Where were the British people who conquered one quarter of the entire Earth? They could not even summon the courage to defend one of their own, in broad daylight, against a knife-wielding Muslim, when they outnumbered the attacker 20 to 1.
Now, let’s see how the Progressive Left views the shooting:
The #FullMcIntosh explains that masculinity is responsible for the deaths. I would argue that masculinity might have saved people.
So, our friendly Progressive informs us that men are responsible and masculinity is to blame. Yet, the only one who tried to save the victims was Chris Mintz, a veteran and a man willing to do violence on behalf of the innocent. Mass shootings do not comprise a problem of too much masculinity. They are the result of an insufficient amount of masculinity and an abundance of cowardice, enabled and supported by a culture of helplessness.
But, as the TV salesmen are fond of saying, wait, there’s more!
The shooter is half black. Mixed race. Don’t let that stop you, though, Leftists.
So, whiteness is to blame, I suppose. Like the mixed-race shooter that killed the reporter and cameraman during a live broadcast, the Progressives have been tripped up by the fact that the shooter doesn’t fit their preferred demographic narrative. Was it his white half, I wonder, that forced him into violence? Indeed, the shooter’s anti-Christian rhetoric, and apparent targeting of Christian victims, seems to be anecdotal evidence that that wasn’t some kind of Right wing radical. But, just like the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing, the Left rushed to judgment, hoping against hope that the perp was a white guy.
I would argue that the real issue isn’t the race of the perp, or his sex. Rather, it is a culture of helplessness that, like the schoolyard bully, enables the shooter. Someone considering whether or not to engage in such violence has to ask himself the question: am I likely to succeed, to kill a lot of victims. Mass shooters want as much attention as possible, they want the greatest number of victims possible. They want to go out in a proverbial blaze of infamy.
Getting off one or two shots before the mob of angry Americans tears you limb-from-limb doesn’t work in that model. Even the psychopathic lunatic would have to weigh that risk before engaging in his violent attack. The terrorist hijackers would have to account for the possibility that, not only would they die (often a given), but they would fail in their mission.
Leftist feel-good, non-violent pacifism has created the mass shooting epidemic, not a lack of gun control. This isn’t caused by some kind of White supremacist Right-wing conspiracy, nor is it caused by “toxic masculinity” as McIntosh would have you believe.
It’s caused by pansies refusing to do as Chris Mintz did: charge the enemy, even when all hope is lost. It is caused by a culture of helplessness, which enables the cowardly and punishes the strong. It starts in elementary school, where the bully gets off, and the victim is punished for fighting back.
To Hell with all of that. If a shooter comes for me, I will fight until I can fight no more. You should do the same, dear readers.
Well said!
From a very clinical, no-emotion perspective, I’d like to posit another reason so few do what Chris Mintz did — namely movies and TV. The ill-informed, schooled by Hollywood, think getting hit by a bullet (regardless of caliber/force) immediately sends the victim ten feet backward and an inch away from the hereafter. In reality, absent a heart, head or spine hit, most bullet wounds do not incapacitate. I have seen many bullet wounds and I’ve been shot a few times; those shot were always able to fight on unless it was a head, heart, or spine shot. Don’t get me wrong — getting shot hurts, but not enough to overcome the survival instinct IF (and this is the big one) IF you are determined — before and after the shot — that you are going to “get that sucker!” On the other hand, if you are pre-conditioned to be a victim, you will die from a flesh wound.
That’s a very good point. The media doesn’t do anyone any favors in this regard.
We need a total sea change in this country. Why would I as a CCW carrier intervene in any situation that does not affect me directly? In many places, the liberal leftist progressive statist democrats will turn on me. I’ll be arrested, jailed, tried, fined, imprisoned for using a firearm to stop a poor misunderstood victimized mass murderer. Nope, I keep my weapon holstered and walk away. Not out of fear of the crazed ass hole criminal but of the power of the bureaucracy of pussies and babies that now run our country. IF I do engage, I will likely just walk away after it is over and hope I can fade away and with so many dumbasses in this country the police and media will get a bizzillion different descriptions. Of course, I’ll immediately have to destroy a perfectly good weapon. Damn. Since you are not willing to defend your on life, should I waste my time, ammo, and a good weapon on you. I. Think. Not. Now if I see a group attacking the thug/terrorist – I’m all in. Again, If the threat is at me. It dies. Once down, it will take two to the head to make sure.
Wake up America. The Race/Religion/Class war is already here.
Word.
RE: What Was It He Said?
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for a friend. — The Christ
He laid down His life for you. But you won’t do it for anyone but yourself.
How truly sad….
It’s far past time for the cowed to stop acting like cowards.
RE: The ‘Cowed’
They’ll always act that way. Because they’ve been taught to be like that by the vaunted American public education system.
Education makes a people easy to lead, but difficult to drive. Easy to govern, but impossible to enslave. – Lord Henry Brougham
These people are ready to be enslaved.
[Don’t you just LOVE IT when a Plan comes together?]
A few years back I worked at a major art museum whose policy in case of such attacks was to cower, hide and hope the killer targeted others. I mentally rehearsed a totally different response, charging at him, knocking him, down and beating the stew out of him. Better to die fighting than whimpering.
I’d add one more comment about dealing with school yard bullies. Those bully shouldn’t feel the need to confine their response to behaviors that they’re bound to lose. When you’re being bullied, it’s perfectly OK to attack without warning or to get several also-bullied classmates to assist. Three of four second-graders, showing enough aggression, should the the match of one bullying fourth-grader.
Still better would be for those who’ve gotten the proper training, military or otherwise to offer free training for those forced to enter these “gun-free zones.” Man, would that create a stir!
Training and education can go a long way in breaking people out of this Leftist indoctrination. Just going to the gym and the gun range frequently have made me more confident in my own modest abilities.
There’s a reason the only person to act was a veteran. He knew his own abilities and strengths, and was confident enough to use them. But, of course, the Left, as you say, would see this as offensive. It would create a stir, as you say, if they offered courses and training for these people.
They would say some stupid shit like “it’s creating a culture of violence.” No, the culture of violence already exists (indeed, it may be a fundamental human trait). We’re teaching people to survive and live in it.
Agree with the premise but disagree on the opening about the other 9/11 flights. Because the hijacking of Flight 93 happened later than the others and further away from the terrorists’ target, the people on board learned what was happening (via their cellphones) in time to try to retake the plane.
The passengers on the other flights doubtlessly thought this was going to be like all previous hijackings: they’d land somewhere and be hostages. This is why there hasn’t been a successful hijack since 9/11: now passengers now they must fight back or die.
That said, I have three school-age children and I have told them to ignore what the school teaches in lock- down drills. The schools want them to huddle in a closet with their classmates if a shooter comes. Thus ensuring that they are easy targets for a psycho wanting to amass a body count. Instead, my kids know to run like hell if the real thing hits.
RE: Helpless? Moi?
Americans seem to be losing their martial spirit, their tendency to run toward the danger, guns in hand, rather than submit, bow their heads, and wait for the inevitable to consume them. — article
Speak for yourself…. 😉
Kudos and a salute to Mintz for remembering his training.
The best way to survive a near ambush is immediate violent action against the ambushing force. — US Army Infantry Tactical Training Axiom
For every rule, there is an exception. And yes, Mintz should be honored for what he did. I’m just pleased that it looks like he’ll be okay.
We had a case a couple of years back in Toronto where a man with a knife (4inch blade) was cornered in a streetcar with no one else inside. The streetcar was surrounded by half a dozen policemen.
So what did one hero policeman do: talk him down, relieve him of his knife, disable him with a shot to the leg. No – the policeman shot the man dead.
The officer had no idea how to deal with violence so he did the easiest thing.
And why was this wrong?
Excellent observation. But with much broader application — note the learned helplessness that now characterizes college students:https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/201509/declining-student-resilience-serious-problem-colleges
RE: Declining Student Reslilence
An excellent and telling article.
I blame the vaunted American public education system for teaching these young people to be helpless victims, waiting for the proverbial ‘axe’ to fall.
That’s it in a nutshell. Consider these “microaggressions” that many campuses are decrying. Students are being taught that even a minor amount of emotional discomfort is a terrifying epidemic of racism, sexism, etc…
Whatever happened to sticks and stones?
This problem, as you describe, is not new. The Jews lined up in front of their graves during WWII to be shot. The Syrian military captured by ISIS did the same. Few want to be the first to attack and know that they will die and don’t know if anyone will follow them making their death worthless.
When my son was in Iraq, I gave him a survival knife to use to attack the terrorists if his rifle jammed or he ran out of ammo. Easier to die when your adrenalin is running wild rather than waiting in a cage for your turn to be beheaded. I know a bit about the latter situation because I waited at my damage control station to die when in a submarine that had had an underwater collision and all indications were we were sinking in a depth greater than our crush depth. We all survived, but that taught me a lesson about what being passive in a situation can be like.
Also, I think about this, if I survived and did nothing but others died possibly due to my inaction, how could I live with myself.
To teach kids to run as fast as they can and as far as they can is the right course of action.
Moving targets are harder to hit than stationary ones.
When I read that the shooter told people to line up so he could ask them if they were Christians I thought to myself about attacking the puke at that point in time. There were over a dozen people there. Surely they could have turned the tables on that puke real fast if they had not accepted the word of the liberals that want all of us to wait quietly in line as we head off to the gas chambers…
Screw that crap…
“Leftist feel-good, non-violent pacifism has created the mass shooting epidemic” Well, that, plus the nation-wide political and media celebration of the shooter’s deeds and grievances.
On point. The spirit of the people to fight back has been blunted. Please see article on “Learned Helplesness” in Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learned_helplessness
That’s exactly it, except that the Learned Helplessness is deliberately encouraged by the State and its control over the education system.
As for schools – if you are on a ground floor, break the windows and GET OUTSIDE and run. I teach in an inside classroom on a ground floor. I’ve often thought what I would do if I heard gunshots. I have one former military student – I think a run to the lobby where the glass windows are would make sense – unless the shooter is waiting for people; then, charge with desks, chairs, whatever. If you’re going to die, die fighting.
People think they are being compassionate by not responding to this evil, however you can’t be compassionate to evil. Evil must be eliminated. Just sitting there is going to cost a lot of lives.
RE: Compassion Towards ‘Evil’
My concept of such is to stop the evil from bringing more sin upon itself and suffering on others.
I’ll used the least amount of force necessary, but I WILL stop the evil from doing more evil things.
Dennis Prager: Kindness to the cruel is cruelty to the kind.
Well said!
In defense of those on the first two 9-11 planes, I’m not sure any of them could even imagine the planes were going to be used as weapons and they were already as good as dead. Up to that point terrorists had only held planes and passengers for ransoms, killing the occasional passenger to prove a point. Since that day, people (those of us who fight back) have come to realize the true depth of extremism and will now react accordingly.
At my local community college, security came & talked to all students about handling an active shooter. The message was Leave, Hide, Fight. Get the hell away from the campus & call 911. If you can’t safely flee, then hide in a classroom. Pile up chairs behind the door, letting the unknowing shooter pass by. And, as a last resort, you charge the shooter & fight for your life. I commend them on having the balls to empower their students.