They DID Fight Back

[babylonsister]

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/4/18/171917/480

They DID Fight Back
by Meteor Blades
Wed Apr 18, 2007 at 03:49:52 PM PDT

Of all the arrogant ignorance displayed in the past couple of days regarding the Blacksburg Massacre, nothing trumps what John Derbyshire and Nathaniel Blake had to say Tuesday about the alleged passivity and cowardice of students at Virginia Tech. As numerous commenters pointed out, it's easy to pin medals on yourself from the comfort of your parents' basement. Today, we've got more of the same from Mark Steyn at NRO.

While many of us think we would react calmly and bravely in a dire emergency - and it is worth the exercise of preparing oneself psychologically and physically for such circumstances - none of us knows for sure how we would behave until we actually come face-to-face with peril. Would we rush to pry some stranger or some stranger's children from a burning car as the flames sped toward the fuel tank? Would we take on the bully pounding the class nerd behind the school? Would we join the passengers of the hijacked plane and crash the cockpit door? Easy to type "of course" on the keyboard. Easy to be a hero when there's time to ponder it over a martini. Easy to mock people who don't measure up to your never-tested standards. Talk is cheap, and brave talk is cheapest of all.

What we now know is that some of those who faced the gunman at Virginia Tech did selflessly risk their lives to save others.

As reported in the The New York Times (and noted in jhritz's Diary), one of those was Engineering Professor Liviu Librescu, an Israeli Holocaust survivor, who blocked Cho Seung-Hui from entering the room, urging students to escape. Many did. He was murdered on the spot.

Caroline Merrey is one of the students who jumped. ...

In the flurry of students dialing 911 on cell phones, taking cover on the floor and twisting open second story windows to escape, Merrey, 22, glanced over her shoulder before jumping.

"I just remember looking back and seeing him at the door," the Virginia Tech senior recalled of her professor. "I don’t think I would be here if it wasn’t for him." ...

"It wouldn’t amaze me he would do such a thing," fellow engineering professor Muhammad Hajj said. "He’s that kind of person, willing to take care of others, protect others."

Students in Room 207 also resisted:

more...

[TheCowsCameHome]

1. Scumbag talk host Neal Boortz and others have called them cowardly.

The same tough-talking RW radio whores that have the gall to criticize these students would be huddled in the corner after soiling themselves for the third time in fifteen minutes.

God, how I hate those RW talking heads...............

[Joe Chi Minh]

13. The right wing (as epitomised by the denizens of the stock-market)

have actually defined themselves as driven by fear and greed. And we see precious little in their attitudes and conduct to challenge that assertion.

[muntrv]

2. Derbyshire, Blake, and Steyn would be cryin' for their mommies if they

were in the crossfire. Just your average chickenhawks.

[SeattleGirl]

3. These right wing nutballs REALLY piss me off!!

They sit behind their computers, passing judgment on people in the middle of a bloody nightmare. How fucking "manly" of them! :grr:

[babylonsister]

5. I agree, SeattleGirl, and am glad someone is disputing them.

And hi! :hi:

[Rocknrule]

4. "The people in the WTC should've stopped the planes with their bare hands!"

:sarcasm:

[Bozita]

6. iirc, Derbyshire got KO's "Worst Person in the World" award

He deserves it!

[TreasonousBastard]

7. Good thing I missed the pantloads dissing...

the students. Had a tough enough week so far already without hearing that.

Absolutely no one can pass judgement on anyone caught in a situation like that. Some people will find themselves shitting their pants and getting hysterical, others will find reserves of courage they never knew existed, and most will simply cringe, hoping for a way out of the mess.

To blame any of them for being the victims they were is obscene. Even in war, the soldiers losing the battle are not called cowards after their defeat, nor are the civilians caught in the fire. Do we blame the victims of rape and robbery for not being able to fight off their attackers?

No, they were innocent victims untrained for and not expecting the violence that came their way, snd they all did the best they could when it came. To say otherwise is disgusting.

[babylonsister]

8. Great post, and I agree with you. nt

[aikoaiko]

9. Who is John Derbyshire and Nathaniel Blake?

I can't believe anyone could call the victims cowardly.

[KharmaTrain]

10. A Lot Of Heroism Died Untold

The story of Professor Librescu is inspiring...and, yes, he was a definite hero in this incident. Here's a man who faced death and made sure others were able to flee...if that's not a hero, what is???

It's disgraceful to hear/see the words of the right wing chickenshits, but ya know...let's keep them out there. Just like with Imus, if we try to ignore them, or marginalize them, the corporate media won't pay attention. These statements were offensive, we need to call all all these fuksticks and make them appologize to the Blacksburg families. Let's get Steyn to say that crap in the VT auditorium to Mrs. Libescu's face.

[Seen the light]

11. Out of all the things to come out of this, this might piss me off the most

Don't know why I had such a strong negative reaction to this, but I felt physically ill after reading what they had to say.

[Wetzelbill]

12. all I can say about the cowardice of tough talking RWers

is that I met a few, heard them talking tough in front of me, then punked them out. To a person, not one has ever backed up their tough talk when challenged. Now, if they wouldn't have the guts to back up their words to me, I highly doubt any of them would do it to a person with a gun who was on a shooting rampage. It's easy to talk, not too easy to actually go out and back it up.