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More sparta, less athens

I say this with total respect towards the students, faculity and family of Virginia Tech and I shre in their loss. This is not a judgement of their actions in the massacre, they are victims and not to be judged one way or the other.

This particular post is more towards the rest of you who might someday be in this situation. I fear that unless we change some basic things about our culture, we will see more of these.

It seems to me that 'self defence' is not considered an option in polite society. It is time we learned (or relearned) the need to sometimes be a little more "sparta" and a little less "athens".

Here are a few guidlines to consider:

1. Do not wait for the police or the authorities to tell you what is going on. If you hear gunshots, assume that it is time for you to take action. Every moment you delay stopping the madman ensures that more innocent people will die.

2. Do not assume that if you just lay there and do nothing that you will live. Assume that if you just lay there, that you or someone else will surely die.

3. Do not assume that you can reason with the madman, if you must assume anything at all, assume that you must do everything possible to ensure your survival, even if it means engaging in violence.

4. If you can run away from the problem, then do so. If you cannot run away, prepare to defend yourself. If you can defend yourself, find someone else who can't and help defend them. The concept of 'safety in numbers' applies to humans as well.

5. If you find protecting your own safety while leaving others to be killed to be a reprehensible idea then prepare to defend them from the madman.

So, how can you defend yourself from a madman armed with a gun?


- throw chairs.

- Throw books, bookbags, paper, pens, paint.

- Find the fire extinguisher, aim towards the attacker and fire, the throw the empty device at the madman.

- Find the fire hose and hydrant. aim the stream towards the attacker.

- Run towards attacker en masse, armed with pens and pencils, sticks, stones whatever is at hand. Some of you will surely die in the process, but one of you is likely to maim the madman and save lives.

- If the attacker tells you to line up against the wall, refuse. Do not cooperate with madmen. The more he deals with you and your refusal to cooperate, the more likely that others are to escape. Dont worry about possibly making him angry, he is already irrational and beyond reasoning.

- If you have a camera with a flash, use it. blind the attacker with whatever means you have at hand.

- Improvise.

- Throw hot coffee or any other burning substance on the individual. feel free to throw the coffee pot as well, throw glasses, knives, forks, baseball bats, helmets, pottery, car parts, loose laying lumber plumbing fixtures at the madman.

- Got any pepper spray handy? Now would be a good time to find out if it works or not.

- Make noise. distract. block pathways and doors. turn out the lights, impede their progress in any way possible.

- Do not consider the feelings of the madman in your acts, his goal is to kill you, your goal is to stop the killing by any means necessary.

If you can disrupt Ann Coulter when she comes to campus or the ROTC when they recruit on campus, you can stop or disrupt a madman when he comes to kill you and your classmates.

UPDATE: Some comments from the instructor who expellend the madman from class -

snip...

Nikki Giovanni encountered Cho only once after she removed him from class. She was walking down a campus path and noticed him coming toward her. They maintained eye contact until passing each other.

Giovanni, who had survived lung cancer, was determined she would not blink first.

"I was not going to look away as if I were afraid," she said. "To me he was a bully, and I had no fear of this child."
End snip.

Well. I dont know her, but I like her already. She can teach my kids anytime, hell this lady can teach me anytime...

Posted @ April 18, 2007 02:08 PM | Current Affairs

Comments

Hi Frank,

KISS. 123 Charge. In case of intruder, on the

count of 3 everyone throw something & then

CHARGE!!

1,2,3 CHARGE!!!

Thanks

Sine Nomine

Posted by: Sine Nomine at April 18, 2007 04:29 PM

yes, yes, yes

Posted by: Athena at April 19, 2007 10:45 AM

sure, you athena of all people would say that now wouldnt you...

Posted by: frank martin at April 19, 2007 11:00 AM

What do you mean? You're right, I didn't do anything at the time. I left my lab when we got the second email about the shooter and walked down the drillfield to my husband's office in Torgersen, and we walked away from campus. But I hope I would have enough wits to fight back if confronted, it's what we teach our son.

Posted by: Athena at April 19, 2007 11:34 AM

Transcript of Nikki Giovanni's Convocation address

http://www.vt.edu/tragedy/giovanni_transcript.php

Posted by: Athena at April 19, 2007 11:35 AM

no, I was commenting on your name, I wasnt aware of your personal connection to the situation on monday.

athena, the godess of athens and all that...

Posted by: frank martin at April 19, 2007 11:57 AM

Oh right, sorry; it's my real name, you have my email you can look it up www.vt.edu; I've left comments here before. I had thought you would post something thoughtful about the event, and I was just agreeing with the sentiment. I believe there is a huge mental block in most peaceful people, though, preventing that immediate course of action and causing reliance on "someone else" to come help. And that's why all the media focus on what the university should have done in time to prevent the tragedy. As if.

Posted by: Athena at April 19, 2007 01:02 PM

Athena was traditionally shown wearing armor and carrying a spear. No Sensitive New Age Girl she, no indeed.

"I believe there is a huge mental block in most peaceful people, though"

Yes. "Peaceful" has become "passive" through a constant propaganda against the heroic virtues, and even through legal attacks on the right (and even moral duty) to use violence to defend civil society.

Posted by: pst314 at April 21, 2007 09:22 AM

"Keep It Simple...everyone throw something & then
CHARGE!!"

Yes indeed. There are documented cases of unarmed mobs of civilians successfully overwhelming armed hijackers. I have read blog comments in the last week in which ignorant people insist that only trained soldiers can successfully employ this tactic. BS. Complete and utter BS. There seems to be a faction in our culture that wants us to be passive and helpless.

Posted by: pst314 at April 21, 2007 09:25 AM