In the movie Serenity, Joss Whedon defined “hero” as “someone who gets other people killed.”
Bill Husfelt and Ginger Littleton would have done well to know that. Mr. Husfelt was apparently laboring under the impression that the gun held by Clay Duke was loaded with blanks. After a security officer shot Duke, Husfelt remonstrated the officer as follows:
He had caps, Mike. That’s what he wanted right there, Mike. That’s why I was trying to talk to him: I knew.
Perhaps Mr. Husfelt didn’t notice the very real bullet holes in the floor and wall behind him. When he chose to launch into a condescending lecture to Duke under the impression his weapon was harmless, he gambled the lives of every one in that room.
Then there’s Ms. Littleton. If you’re going to play the hero and attack the bad guy, you’d better be able to stop him, because if you fail, there’s a good chance that you’re the one who pushed him over the edge. Littleton’s impulsive, impotent, and stupid purse-swinging antics could have gotten everyone in that room killed.
I find it even more worrisome that Ms. Littleton was safely away from the scene before she chose to re-enter and engage.
Look, folks: our first clue things are going badly is when a guy spray paints a symbol on the wall and produces a weapon. That generally doesn’t bode well. You don’t have the option of wondering whether it’s loaded, or whether he really means harm with it. You assume the worst and act accordingly, especially when the lives of others are on the line.
When said person starts ordering certain people to leave and others to stay, that historically means that he’s singling out people he intends to harm. When he comes around the desk, gets within arms’ reach, and turns his back, act. It may be your last chance.
Lastly, if you have a chance to negotiate with someone like that, taking a brusque tone and suggesting that they’re trying to perform suicide by cop is not the best way to calm them down. Convincing an unbalanced person that they’re on a one-way street is a sure bet they’re going to agree.
Remember folks, those could be real bullets.
There are some very real questions as to how Mr. Duke got the gun in the first place. He was been convicted of several felonies in 1999, and part of his plea involved an admission that he was mentally defective. Each of those factors is a lifetime bar to firearms ownership.
This case also highlights the need for states to allow law-abiding citizens to carry on school campuses. The last words I utter on this earth are not going to be “please don’t, please don’t” if I can help it. I should have the right to defend myself, especially when everyone around me is doing their best to exacerbate the situation.
2 thoughts on ““He Had Caps, Mike—
Good post.
I’ve seen this notion bandied about that Clay Duke “didn’t mean to shoot anyone.” I think it grows out of the fact that folks who aren’t familiar with guns cannot believe he could have missed. Duke’s own poor skills were demonstrated by the ND he nearly puts into his own foot.
I made some additional observations at http://suburbansheepdog.blogspot.com/2010/12/youve-got-to-be-carefully-taught.html
I’ve heard several robbery victims tell me that the main thought going through their heads was, “is this really happening?” Most people will go through their lives never encountering violence. As such, most people never consider it, nor do they prepare.
On the slight chance they find themselves suddenly not being “most people,” they have no idea how to react. That’s what we saw here.
I’m certainly not suggesting that someone do it if they’re not trained, but there were at least two moments in that video when it would have been very easy to take Duke’s gun. He wasn’t holding on to it very well, and I’m fairly certain he took his hand off it while he was leaning on the counter talking to Husfelt.
Nice site, by the way. I’ll be reading it tonight.