Mark Steyn on Virginia Tech
I love Mark Steyn. I've read his books and followed his articles for a while now. This article, however, is really awful. He denigrates the men in VT who did not fight back against a crazed lunatic armed with two handguns. I can't speak for Mr. Steyn, but I think most people when confronted with bullets coming your way would attempt to flee not charge. He compares the VT students with Flight 93 passengers. That's a completely unfair comparison. The people on that flight were complacent until they knew they were on a one way trip. That's not an indictment. The hijackers that day broke the mold. They did not take hostages as bargaining chips. They wanted a huge manually guided cruise missile.
He also obliquely compares the students to the men in Canada who, as noted, left the room without a fight while a gunman killed fourteen women and then left unmolested.
I can only imagine the panic that ensues when you're in a classroom and some maniac is shooting people left and right. I'd love to think that I'd have the courage to charge him and subdue him. I have a sense that unless cornered, I'd flee. If that makes me a coward, then so be it. If Mr. Steyn's first reaction to gunfire is a steely jaw and a pouncing attack, then kudos.
As soldiers will tell you, you never know how you're going to react when the shooting starts. That's coming from people who train for combat for months and even years. Can a 19 year old student in a classroom reasonably expect gunfire?
He applauds Professor Librescu for his bravery. As do I. What makes his bravery laudable is that it was exceptional.
The only think that Steyn gets right in the article is the subjective infantilization of 18, 19 and 20 year olds. They are alternately "children" or "adults" depending on the context and political agenda of the person making that determination.
He also obliquely compares the students to the men in Canada who, as noted, left the room without a fight while a gunman killed fourteen women and then left unmolested.
I can only imagine the panic that ensues when you're in a classroom and some maniac is shooting people left and right. I'd love to think that I'd have the courage to charge him and subdue him. I have a sense that unless cornered, I'd flee. If that makes me a coward, then so be it. If Mr. Steyn's first reaction to gunfire is a steely jaw and a pouncing attack, then kudos.
As soldiers will tell you, you never know how you're going to react when the shooting starts. That's coming from people who train for combat for months and even years. Can a 19 year old student in a classroom reasonably expect gunfire?
He applauds Professor Librescu for his bravery. As do I. What makes his bravery laudable is that it was exceptional.
The only think that Steyn gets right in the article is the subjective infantilization of 18, 19 and 20 year olds. They are alternately "children" or "adults" depending on the context and political agenda of the person making that determination.
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