...is not advised in most colleges throughout the country, and that is mostly because it is illegal just about everywhere. Everywhere that is except for Utah from what I can tell. Yes folks, in Utah it evidently is legal to carry concealed weapons onto at least some college campuses, and apparently even to class. I think that is the way it should be, and I do not see it causing much of a problem. Sure there could always be a crime of passion, or some drunk student grabbing for the gun of another; but I doubt very much there will be a school shooting the likes of the VA Tech shooting, or Columbine on a college campus in Utah that allows concealed carry.
Why, well simply because most if not all of the school shooters, and the church shooters, and the mall shooters are wussies. They are not looking for a conflict, they are looking for victims, people they can harm, and harm with little fear of themselves getting hurt. They are not brave, they are not strong, they are cowards, and are usually weak physically, and surely weak mentally. So if the chances are they are going to get cut down by someone who is armed, and who is willing to defend himself, his loved ones, his friends, his teachers (? well- you never know, I have had some decent professors) and maybe even that stranger next to him, from harm (sound familiar) chances are the evil ones will avoid such places. Of course now that I have said that, some arsehat will probably try to hit a school in Utah, but I mean it in general - and if you have half a brain - you get my point.
So what kind of a person is it who would arm him or her self while at school, and yet not cause a problem. What would make a person want to be armed at school in the first place. Well first of all the person is someone who is good, law abiding, and who wants to protect himself or herself, and as I said maybe also protect his friends, teachers and even some strangers. He or she is not paranoid, but rather someone who wants to be prepared for any eventuality for which he/she can prepare within reason. Therefore he or she is a person who responsibly and legally obtains and carries a gun, and who responsibly gets some training in how to use it to protect him/herself and others. He or she is also a person who realizes that his/her own well being is his/her own responsibility in that there can be times when we cannot expect the police to be there like magical heroes (sound familiar). He or she is a person who thinks along these lines:
"Nick says his gun doesn't make him feel immune from attack. "But I feel that I will be able to protect myself, and I'm confident in my training and my ability," he said."" (see: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/02/20/cnnu.guns/index.html)
He or she is not a timid, piss pants, cry baby who thinks only mommy or daddy figures, the police nanny state, should be allowed to carry guns as is apparent in my opinion in this statement:
"His confidence is not shared by fellow student Griselda Espinoza, who recently transferred to the university. Some 28,000 students attend the school, as of the latest enrollment figures.
"I feel less safe knowing that a stranger sitting beside me in class may have a gun in his or her backpack," she said.
"The only people that should carry guns are trained officials." " (See: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/02/20/cnnu.guns/index.html)
The only people who should carry guns are trained officials - did you just read that - it makes me sick to think that the sheep among us think that way. They are too afraid to protect themselves, and thereby believe all people should be just like they are, apparently (at least as I see them) timid, afraid and cowardly, and dependent upn the state for the fantasy of a shield of protection from all evil.
I guess that woman did not read this. Had she read it, maybe she would be of a different mindset. I can tell you something else that will put her into a different frame of mind, something that rapidly will remove her from her commie/socialista fantasy land of delusions that only the state should be armed. Can you guess what that would be? Yes you guessed it, didn't you! The next time a psycho rifle wielding maniac comes onto a campus, her campus, shooting - and there are no armed federales or judiciales around, I would be that good old Griselda will be hiding behind a guy named Nick begging him to do something to end it all. You remember Nick don't you; he's the college kid carrying concealed firearms legally on campus> he is the guy that Griselda does not think should be allowed to carry. Sad thing is that Griselda did not read my blog here; and she has apparently been brainwashed to think only the officers of the state should be armed. I would also bet she believes that calling 911 just about will instantaneously transport a 'dial a hero', or three, to the very spot where she needs them at the exact moment she needs them. I believe that law enforcement is there to help (heck I am an LEO), but I don't believe in fucking magic FM folks, but my bet is that Griselda does! Too bad she does not beleive in what Nick beleives in - silver bullets!All the best,Glenn B
...hopefully will not have fallen on deaf ears, especially since the lesson was one of true heroism. In today's world of almost 'virtual' everything, it is often difficult to decipher the real from the fantastic, or from the make believe. The purely academic images presented by those who have never truly experienced more than little in life but what are products of the imagination are rampant; therefore mere conceptual views of what a hero should be are oft times confused with true heroism. Because of that confusion it winds up that people today often see a movie actor, a baseball player, a singer, a politician, a doctor, a teacher, a parent, a friend, as a hero; this when in fact that not even one of those folks may ever have completed one truly heroic deed among them in all of the combined years that their lives have spanned.
Indeed, heroism can take many forms, but in each and every instance there are certain aspects of heroism that are necessary before a hero can complete a heroic act. Some of these characteristics can also be found in many of our everyday endeavors; and because those other actions exhibit some similarities to heroism it is often mistakenly believed that someone who has reached a high level of achievement in those endeavors has done something heroic and is therefore a hero. For example, a baseball player breaks a long held record such as the home run record and he is hailed as a modern day hero. The truth be told, he is a great baseball, he has done a magnificent job at playing baseball,and hitter homers, but most probably has done nothing heroic in breaking said record. Another person maybe a doctor, a surgeon, who operates in a big hospital on a child and saves his life in a difficult new operation. The doctor often gets high praise from his/her colleagues, from the patient, from the parents of the child, from friends and relatives, and from the media. Many, especially the family of the child who was saved, see the doctor as a hero. Again, sorry to disappoint you, said doctor most likely does not qualify as a hero. The doctor probably is an excellent surgeon, someone who did a wonderful job, and who deserves lots of credit and thanks, but does not deserve the title of hero.
The term hero is an objective term. is is not one that was meant to be, or should be, subjective to the whim of the recipient of a good deed that does not meet those qualifiers. Great, fabulous, wonderful, competent, astute, lucky, skilled, proficient are all terms that fit the baseball players, doctors, and others to whom folks today all too often apply the moniker of hero. A true hero is a rarer bird than any of those you spot everyday, although a potential hero can be found among any flock because anyone can achieve heroism through a heroic act or acts. The commonality between heroism, heroic acts, and those other more mundane things things I mentioned above is that they all have some sense of being of impressive: size, intensity, effort, strength, duration. Heroism though goes beyond that, and any heroic act is one that requires much more than being impressive.
Heroism, besides being simply impressive, is truly outstanding act of bravery, (physical, mental, or moral) that is carried out not only in the face of adversity but usually in the face of overwhelming danger, and often while the person who is doing the act has already been afflicted by injury, pain or great difficulty. In addition a truly heroic act, although not always meant to be such by the hero at the time of the action, is one that supremely noble. It often subjects the hero to the distinct possibility of self sacrifice of life, limb or well being in order to achieve a higher purpose than the good of the person who does the heroic act. In other words a heroic act is usually an act of great loyalty to something above and beyond the individuality of the hero, to a greater cause than even to his/her family, close friends, job, team, and so forth. So again let me apologize, but breaking The Babe's home run record, while a great accomplishment, was not heroic, nor was breaking the new home run record.
So who then could be called a real hero? I guess there are a lot of people out there who are heroes to one extent or another, even within the definition that I have given; but I choose to look to a man who was laid to rest earlier today. The act that this man carried out was an impressive one indeed. It was also one that was carried out in not only the face of great adversity, but also one in which the hero faced what was overwhelming fear for those around him, they feared that they would lose their lives and some did, bit because this man acted heroically, many were also saved from death with but moments to spare. The hero had to face the same fears as the others, but something inside of him made him different than those around him. Instead of freezing in fear, or running for his life, he advanced toward the danger and did all in his power to protect the others so that they could escape. The hero had been through this before you see, that is he faced overwhelming fear, he felt something long ago, something those others around him did more recently also felt, abject helplessness. He had learned something very important though in his past experience. He learned that sometimes if you do not face danger, then life is not worth living, not your life or the lives of those you love. So he decided to take action, and the actions he took were of great loyalty, loyalty to other people whom he respected and possibly loved, whom he felt were worth saving, whom he felt were worth his own sacrifice – his students. So great was this danger from a raving mad-man that he lost his life in performing his act of heroism, but he saved many others in doing so.
One can only hope, that those whom he saved, and those to whom they tell their tale - of his outstanding heroism – will learn from his example. They will learn that life is just possibly not worth living without great sacrifice, without great loyalty, without true heroes. Today they laid a hero to rest, far away, across the sea, even though his heroism took place here in our own land. May Virginia Tech Professor Liviu Librescu rest in peace: he a husband, a father, a teacher, a survivor, a learned man, a risk taker, a fighter, a good man among good men, a hero among heroes - no greater loyalty could he have shown, no greater sacrifice could he have made. We need more people like him; I can only hope the lesson he taught was well learned by many.
All the best,
Glenn B
