Discuss: “We would have loved to knock his head off, too, but we had nothing to knock it off with.”
I can’t get this story out of my head and heart.
How do you feel about the quote by the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department’s spokesman at the very end of the piece?
“It sounds like there was nothing anyone could have done.”
Nothing?!?!
***
I’m reminded of eleven-year-old Xochil Garcia, a brave little girl who rejected the idea that there was nothing she could have done to stop a 6′2″ attacker. If more of the adult witnesses who outnumbered the monstrous Sergio Casian Aguiar had adopted Xochil’s attitude, an innocent two-year-old boy might still be alive today.
First rule for instilling a culture of self-defense: Be prepared.
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- Yes, Lady, but You Watched Him Kill that Boy… | The Sundries Shack
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- Opposite ends of the parental story, both equal more government | BitsBlog
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- The DaleyGator » Blog Archive » Outrage of the year!
- Michelle Malkin » His name was Axel Casian
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I do not know that it is true but I heard that passing motorists actually had attempted to forcefully stop the attack only to be beaten off. I will have to look at it further, but regardless, the shooting does seem to be justified and the headlines were way out of line.
That’s why they (the bystanders) are worthless godamn sheep and deserve what happened to that boy happen to them.
Forgive me for cussing, Michelle, but I have a son…
It would be nice to think that my husband and I would have tried to stop the man…but I honestly do not know what I would have done.
My husband, who has some training in Karate, may have tried to tackle the guy…but who knows??
Another reason to support citizens carrying guns??
But what was nearly as stunning for many people was that none of the motorists and their passengers who stopped and saw the attack tried to tackle the man.
Police officers and psychologists familiar with violent emergencies, however, said they weren’t surprised at all.
Aguiar refused to halt the attack and raised his middle finger at the officer, who shot him to death,
I have to agree halfway with the comments of the witnesses. Unless you are prepared for something like that either through training or forewarning, you do freeze.
But that freeze should only be momentary. It should NOT mean you just stand and watch.
Should they be prosecuted/punished? I have to say no, just because what would you charge them with?
Hate to say it but I think that their guilt is going to have to suffice for punishment.
Nobody had a jack handle in their vehicle?
That fireman and his buddy’s couldn’t just tackle the guy?
Noone had a concealed weapons permit? Oh wait this California.
I’m sure glad those people weren’t on United Flight 93.
I’m sure those REAL heros are turning in their graves at what SHEEP some Americans have become.
Reason #989,898,094,856,098 why citizens should be allowed to carry concealed weapons. That story could’ve easily been changed to a story about how a bystander stopped the attack.
Evil is evil! This piece of dog crap should NOT have been shot…he should have been stomped, and kicked, and thrown off a bridge breathing and cognizant. Good riddance, baboso!!
Had someone (a concerned citizen) shot this criminal, they would currently be in jail awaiting trial. Think again about what you would have done. It is fine and dandy to sit here and suppose but when the rubber hits the pavement, views often change.
One bystander didn’t want to get involved because they thought the attacker “had something in his pocket.” So, you don’t intervene to stop this man from kicking his child to death instead you stand there and watch him to do it because he may or may not have something in his pocket. And you didn’t want to get hurt… the more I learn about this tragedy the more I wish I didn’t know.
Talk about an impotent group of people.
2 years old!?
I vividly remember my daughter at two and she was and still is the most precious thing on earth.
I dont care what the dipstick phycologist says, anyone witnessing this and doing nothing is as bad as the person doing the beating.
grrrrrrrrrr. blood boiler is right.
We have been discussing this on another forum all week, and the consensus of opinion has been that the “Fire Chief” waving his badge was an absolute idiot, and that even if he managed to distract him for a couple of minutes, why didn’t anybody else go over and retrieve the boy? That would have at least gotten the child out of harm’s way, and possibly saved his life. The death of this child can be laid not only at Aguiar’s feet, but also at the feet of EVERY SINGLE BYSTANDER who did nothing!
It’s easy to judge these people and say, “Well, I would have done this or that…” but no one knows how they will react until it happens to them.
I remember once my son was swimming with his cousins and one of the cousins started to drown. I was at the poolside watching it happen and I froze. I saw her drowning, but my body would not move.
My sister-in-law dove in instantly and saved the girl, who was tangled in the strings of a raft.
Why didn’t I dive in? I still do not know the answer to that question. In another situation, I had helped give CPR to a man having a heart attack. Why did I react then and not at the pool??
Each person reacts differently to different situations. We are human, after all.
I saw this yesterday and it broke my heart. I too was wondering what the people were doing who “witnessed” this. Nobody had a tire iron / crowbar in their trunk? Nobody had even so much as an umbrella in their car? I admit I might hesitate if I was driving alone with my own young daughter. I might fear for her safety if something happened to me. But I like to think that I would not hesitate long. At least we won’t have to pay for this animal’s trial.
Ordinary liberals maybe… I would have pulled out my Glock 26 and filled him full of lead myself and been justified for doing so in saving the life of another. In fact that is a classic question in most conceal & carry courses is ‘when are you justified in shooting in the defense of your life or the life of another’ and rape-in-progress and cases like this clearly apply.
I agree. Nowadays, there’s more to this story than just “Kitty Genovese” syndrome, there’s the genuine reality that if a bystander had shot this animal, that bystander could very well be looking at prosecution for “vigilanteism”.
I am not sure what to make of the bystanders inaction. I am sure they are struggling with thier conscious if they could have done somoeting but failed to.
What I am worried about is what is going to happen to the officer. I fully support the officers actions but I am afraid we are going to see a wrongful death suit coming sooon.
People don’t get involved because of the consequences. Let’s hope the system does not punish the man who’s job it was to take this perp down, because we know for sure that nobody else was going to do it.
baloney.
You mean standing by while a little boy was beaten to death.
There’s a similar story from just a few days ago here. At least the boys were not harmed. But where is the father?
i mean bologna!
The only consequences were his inevitable death because no one chose to help him.
There was a time , when I was a kid in Philly, that no one, no one, could have ever perpetrated this act in our neighborhood. On a country road…… it wouldn’t have mattered. But, people and times have changed. I’m really scared for our population and our values. We have become so afraid to do anything. Would I have gone after the guy?…. probably… but I can’t pass that ability to anyone else or judge them…. We have got to change… people! and soon.
Please have some sympathy for these witnesses. No one says, “If I see a man beating a child to death I’m going to stand around and do nothing.” Everyone thinks they’re a hero when it’s nothing but talk.
I can’t imagine how disorienting it would be to be confronted with something so horrible. If you’re dealing with a violent psychotic, who can blame someone for not wanting to get physically involved?
This story just sucks all around.
Exactly. When I was in college, late one night I heard noises outside the kitchen window and saw 2 drunk guys fighting on the street. One of the guys was hammering the other one very badly. He was banging the other poor guy’s head against the concrete curb. I screamed at him from my window to stop, and he just yelled at me to shut up, and I called the cops. I then went to the door with a cast iron frying pan, and yelled to him that I was going to whack him if he didn’t stop. He stopped enough to come to the door in a threatening manner (I’m a female, 5′1), but it did divert him enough to stop beating the other guy, and then the cops came and arrested him.
Back then I was not a gun owner, or even a gun rights advocate. Now I am.
I would have shot him. Put me on trial. There isn’t a jury in this land who would have convicted me for ridding the world of a heartless child abuser.
I would have freakin’ pummeled the S.O.B. – or my husband would have, while I grabbed that poor child and got him out of there. My son is 15 ½ months old. I can’t imagine harming him in anyway – let alone so violently and brutally. Heck, I got his fingertip with a nail clipper when he was really little and I cried for hours.
This is unconscionable. Shame, shame on those people who did nothing (and on the liberal, touchy-feely culture that taught them to be defenseless sheeple) and may God have mercy on Aguiar’s soul.
Preparation is not merely important, it is crucial.
I had a job where I carried valuables on the streets. I did a lot of thinking about what I’d do if I was ever robbed. Eventually I was robbed at gunpoint and mannaged to do well (I got out of it without injury, and prevented the scum from getting the larger portion of what I carried).
Thinking and planning prepare you for emergencies. It must be done beforehand, too, because once you face an emergency there is no time to think (it’s obvious, yes, but lots of people don’t think through the implications).
So, what would you do if faced with a situation like the one described above? Think about it.
That’s because you’re a coward, Rusty.
I am going to go home tonight and give my little 1.5 year old baby boy an extra big hug. The thought of someone being capable of doing anything remotely like that brings a chilling grip to my heart.
Dkian,
I know what I would have done.. I would have shot him. Then, I would be arrested, tried, acquitted and, for the rest of my life, harrassed.
It would be worth it to save the child.
Maybe the next time your jumped or robbed at gunpoint you’ll think twice about the liberal laws (that you support oh so well) and people who push them that lead to the state of fear and powerlessness you were in. If you were allowed to have a gun and use it to defend your life when needed maybe the outcome would have been different for you.
This is northern California we’re talking about here. I agree with you on shooting the bastard, but sadly, we’d be jailed for doing it.
Two words: Concealed carry. Really.
Reminds me of the recent Conneticut traffic accident video where a guy gets run over by a speeding driver on the wrong side of the road and dozens of other cars and people pass by him lying in the middle of the road without stopping. One person even turns his car around and drives off in the other direction upon realizing that there is a body lying in his lane…
http://www.scienceblogs.de/frischer-wind/2008/06/video-fahrerflucht-und-hilfsbereitschaft.php
As if we need more justification for widespread access to concealed carry permits! Had anyone on the scene had one, it would have been over… just like that.
Jump in & take the SOB out. I would rather be judged by 12 than carried to my grave by 6.
My apologies, but my sympathy is for the little baby boy who died.
Speak for yourself. I’ve sent my mother’s boyfriend to the hospital; as a result, of catching him beating on my mother. I was thirteen years old and he was a grown man (I use the term loosely).
I’ll try not to judge these people but asking me to drum up some sympathy for THEM is a stretch.
So you stand there and watch a little, helpless baby die. Why am I not surprised that you care more about the people who watched this atrocity occur than you do the little boy?
Come to think of it, there’s going to be a heat wave the next few days. Prepare to see more of this.
Exactly, well said.
A fire chief that freezes??? I hope your house isn’t burning down in this guys area.
Sorry no sympathy for anybody but the poor child who lost his life at the hands of the very person who should have been protecting him and by a class of people so trained to be submissive that they allowed it to happen.
You said it.
Coming from a person who supports the murder of the unborn, it’s no great wonder that Rusty doesn’t give a damn about the child.
I wouldn’t care.
You don’t stand by and allow such a f-ing coward to beat the hell out of a 2-year-old.
Besides – northern CA is more conservative. I can only imagine the smear campaign a good defense lawyer could wage against anyone who tried to get me on more than a misdemeanor.
alaskangrizzly,
Rusty was recently robbed yet all he can think about is – how great of a person he is because he doesn’t want the robber to do any jail time.
People always make excuses for their own cowardice.
This example is no different. I’m waiting for someone to put a “racial” spin on this, as the reason no one stepped in to help. “I would have helped, but, you know, he was a Mexican…and you know how they are….!”
C’mon libs…now’s the time…spew!
This is not a tragedy. This is liberal America at it’s worst. You see it in their politics, and in their business practices. Had we a Democrat President before 9/11, we would still be trying to figure out how to respond. Saddam would still be in power in Iraq, and flipping the free world, the bird..
Why? Because, in a liberal’s mind, their own safety is more important than the safety of the helpless, under the control of a dictator.
That is NOT the case with people who cherish conservative values. Our military is filled with them, and they sacrifice their own lives daily, for the helpless.
Now apply that to this incident; all the California liberals stood by watching this dictator, Aguiar, stomp the helpless toddler, while he flipped them “the bird.” Their response doesn’t surprise me, but it sickens me greatly.
Sure, and while we have sympathy for the witnesses who just stood there watching the horrific act, lets also express our sympathies for the
bystanderscowards in Hartford, CT who saw a man get ran over by not one, but two vehicles who illegally passed an SUV on the wrong side of the road. I’m sure it was very traumatizing to them too./end sarcasm.
I agree 100%. I hope the cops didn’t get a “great” shot off so the animal had to suffer.
The day I am afraid, will soon come when we all have the opportunity to put up or shut up or sit down and take it. I fear we are closer than many of us would want, admit or care to acknowledge.
I still do not remember clearing a two meter barrier with a shot to the back of my leg. When the “”it hits the fan, we will all react differently. My brothers still joke with me about an incident I do not remember. That’s just the way it is.
In this case, you are referring to civilians forced to react to a situation that they do not deal with on a regular basis. The officer was trained and did react. Let us hope and pray that he is not held to account for what he did no matter what any of us would have done.
This is absolutely disgusting!! I have no sympathy for anyone involved except the child.
I hope the idiot cowards who stood by and did nothing to stop what was going on take their thoughts and the images of this horror to their graves, and beyond!!!
This story turns my stomach, for many reasons. The turd that did this got what he deserved, albeit he got off way to easily. I have nothing but contempt for the people that stood around and watched a baby get murdered. They were/are cowards.
As effed up as Kalifornia is, no one would’ve gotten arrested for shooting the turd dead. Maybe in San Fransicko or LA, but not the rest of Kalifornia. It would’ve been legally justified.
I don’t doubt that at least one or two of the bystanders would have been willing to risk personal injury to help, but may quite possibly have been deterred by the thought of being prosecuted themselves, and facing a lawsuit to boot. Let’s face it. Modern society doesn’t encourage people stepping up.
Rusty,
I’m going to have to disagree, sir.
While there are alot of people who can say that they would do something and not, there are others that simply WOULD take action…because its the RIGHT thing to do.
This b@st@rd’s bones can break like everyone elses. i want to say I’d have not been terribly restrained with respect to turn this guy into a sticky paste on the pavement. But I would be…and still be sure not to let someone else stomp a small child to death because of my unwillingness to act. That’s what the onlookers had. Unwillingness. I also would call it being spineless.
As much as I teach students to be controlled, sometimes its hard to hold back and not visit violence upon those to whom we may believe its due. But even a little control goes a long way, and in saving the lives of others…h3ll, even the bible (which again, not a fan..and this is a paraphrase) says in John “Greater love has no man, that he would lay down his life for another.” And all they could do was watch? This has no excuse.
However, it takes nothing but a willing spirit to move and help others in their time of need, especially when its the life of a child in the balance. This is a time where the need was incredibly great, and a group of weaklings stood by while this monster killed this child. May the planes receive them in the same measure that they let this child go to his final reward.
Shame on you, and anyone else with your mentality, for being a spineless coward.
along with the first aid kit I carry in my trunk I have a 16″ piece of closet rod. it is 1.25″ thick of oak, makes a nice equalizer just in case.
Well, you can hate me if you want to, but I don’t blame the civilians watching this as much as some people here apparently do.
People can freeze up when they are seeing something that their brain simply doesn’t know how to process. You look at something that makes no sense, as this obviously was, something so much out of your expierence and you can stand there a long time with a stupid look on your face wondering what’s really happening.
I would like to know the time frame that this took place, other factors, when did the firefighter arrive on scene, field of view, you know people, the facts. The main fact is a sweet little kid was killed. The other is the scum that did it was rightfully put down like a dog. But as to how much the people on scene can be thought of as cupable is debatable.
When our society had more military vets in it and also the populace had not their minds muddled by not only political correctness, but the possibility of thousands of alternate scenarios, people reacted more decisive.
I was a Marine and I am a former police officer. I know what I would have done, which is what the police on scene did. But I was lucky to grow up in a different era, wasn’t turned into a PC metrosexual, dependent on the government to make all my decisions. And I had the training and expierence that far few in society now have.
Believe me, if there is any decency in the people that saw this, they will punish themselves until they die.
The root of the problem is an environment has been created in which a citizen is faced with four options. One, getting involved and being sued by lawyers afterward. Two, getting prosecuted for getting involved. Three, confronting the guy and losing. And four confronting, err sneaking up on the guy and knee capping him, you don’t confront a psycho head on. I learned to fight fires in the service but that doesn’t necessarily qualify me to subdue a madman. If you think a volunteer firefighter is some kind of super man you are wrong they are mostly digging fire breaks lighting backfires and such, containment, not offensive fire fighting, were not talking the Audie Murphy of fire fighting here. Another thing is I once saw a guy go nuts in the barracks, surrounded by strong smart young men, it wasn’t that easy to contain that guy even in that situation. Me, I would have capped him , provided what medical care was appropriate to the boy and then moved on. I prefer to act but I also prefer to remain anonymous, but that’s just me.
Where I lived, anything south of Doyle and west of 395 is Southern California. We would have made sure the body (and not of the child) would never have been found. However, that does not change the rightful fear that many people have of our government as it has become.
We have “candy dishes” that we use as ashtrays in the bar. People who start anything are taken out back and “talked to” and we do not make any bones about it. When people have cause to be concerned, they will be. When they feel that all of their needs will be cared for, they become lackadaisical. When they are required to take action, they will.
It is the government that must be changed, not the people.
To people calling me cowardly and saying to wait for the day when I get mugged…I was mugged 10 days ago. My first time! And I, probably foolishly, didn’t allow the muggers threatening me with a gun (probably fake) to get my phone or iPod.
But who can blame someone for just letting them take $300 worth of stuff? And who can blame a witness for not getting involved when a crime is going on if they don’t know a lot of details. My witness didn’t know if my muggers had a gun. Why should he make a run at them?
By the way, the Hartford video, people did act. Four people called 911. Some people drove past and there’s no excuse for that, but a lot of people did what they could. If you’re not medically trained you’re not supposed to come to the aid of an injured person anyways.
EQ, re your child’s finger, there’s a great moment on the show Freaks and Geeks where a mother is flipping out because her teenage son had an allergic reaction. She was wondering if her smoking and drinking during the pregnancy (the show was set in 1980) led to his allergies. Another mom, sensing her friend’s remorse, responds that she once dropped her son head first onto some concrete.
Kids can take an awful lot and there are going to be all sorts of accidents like that. My parents were on a first name basis with poison control because my little brother kept eating mushrooms in our yard.
Children are, thank God, shockingly durable.
Rusty – why the outrage – it was just a very late term abortion. You HYPOCRITE.
and your little experience matches up to a TWO YEAR OLD getting beaten to death how?
Actually, you CAN blame people for not getting involved. You’re just showing the lack of backbone people have in general. Thanks for pointing all of that out.
Why not? Someone is injured, and you’re just supposed to stare at them till they bleed to death? Way to be vigilant.
Tell that to the child this man curbstomped to death.
Um. I definitely want them to do jail time. Armed robbery and aggrevated assault in front of my home? Of course I want them in jail. Those are two major felonies.
Of course they’d never go if their parents have a bit of money and because no one was hurt and they only got $23 out of me and my roommate.
If they have a broken neck and you move them, they could die or be paralyzed. Someone who doesn’t know CPR could break four ribs. There are plenty of reasons.
You are right that my sentiment to EQ about children’s durability is totally out of place in light of the story MM linked to. I realized that after I posted and I hope no one took offense.
This story makes me sick as much as anyone, but not because of the witnesses who yelled at the man. They feared for their lives. I’m shocked that someone had such a break from reality that he could do that to a defenseless toddler. It’s horrible.
This all occurred in the boundaries of the 9th Circuit. Had he not been killed, he could’ve gotten off with a warning had he made it to the courts, especially if he was an illegal alien.
Or, as sick and twisted as the 9th circuit is, they would classify it as a “late-term abortion.”
As Obama would say, that poor man has a hole in his heart. (too bad it wasn’t sooner)
Except when their skulls are being crushed during a partial birth abortion, or when they are ripped into pieces and being vacuumed out of the womb, which you support.
And that’s fine. But these people made no moves to try and help regardless. Yes, medical professionals should be the ones to make moves. But helping to stop bleeding…hell, just being there close to comfort someone so they dont go into shock…you dont have to be Hawkeye and Pierce to administer help.
Thankfully, i am trained in cpr
and you can still break ribs sometimes, regardless…but point taken in that respect.
Ugh. It doesn’t. I was responding to this:
(Rereading that it seems like I already mentioned I was mugged sometime in the past, so, sorry for being redundant).
But that was in response to another comment, so give me a break.
#17 jeddite..would you go to jail for vigilantism in order to save an innocent life?
Sorry, those people were pu%%ies! If that had happened here in Oregon and I was a witness I can guarantee would would have died from acute lead poisoning because I would have pumped a few rounds in him. There is no excuse for not trying to stop that man except cowardice.
This doesn’t prove you’re not a coward, in fact by your own account
you ran and the mugger still managed to get in a few shots at you. It’s good thing he was an amateur or you would be dead right now.
You support the liberals who make the laws that make people afraid to respond with appropriate force and turn them into the powerless sheep they were in this instance.
A person carrying concealed would have deterred your situation and certainly the topic at hand. But insane liberals taking away the rights given by the Constitution in the second amendment are eroding society into sheeple who are too afraid to stand up to any kind of violence.
This pro-life Californian supports people like William “Bill” Russell (running against Murtha).
said:
Do you all see why this Californian supports conservative-patriotic candidates nation-wide??
1.) I don’t have a choice
2.) their votes – when they are elected–affect me and mine.
http://www.iraqvetsforcongress.com/
ok, break given, but material items getting taken even if you take a blow or two is simple, hand em over. a two year old getting beaten to death and people doing NOTHING is insane.
I am not going to condemn the witnesses. First the sight of what was happening had to be shocking and repulsive. If you saw a videotape of it, you probably would avert your eyes, and not be able to watch. Then, while it’s happening in front of you, to confront an evil man who obviously is insane, without knowing if he will pull out a gun and shoot you dead, is not something most people can easily do. Most of us are not martial art experts, and if this guy was a big guy (unknown) it would have been very risky to try to take him down. He was obviously out of his mind.
A totally different samaritan situation was the video all over the news 2 weeks ago with the fellow who was hit by a car and people, though there was no danger to them, did not help him. THAT was disgusting, and unforgiveable.
I would like to think I would have done something, and I probably would have tried to do something, but I’m not 100% sure I would have confronted him face to face with no weapon, especially if it appeared that the victim was dead. Perhaps I could have tried to get him away from the child; taunt him to coming near my car, and run him over. If I was with more than one person, then I would have likely jumped on him, though the risk of him having a weapon would have still been a concern.
I am very pro gun and this is why. As poster #8 pointed out, a bystander with a gun would have ended this horror. If I was there with a gun, I definitley shoot this monster. But again, until you are in this situation, you never know; and you should not so quickly condemn the people that didnt physically intervene.
griz…
in playing devils advocate, had he pulled a gun on the robber, he’d have been jailed for breaking the law as well.
i agree, he should have, but DC is jacked up. law abiding citizens dont carry guns in those parts, unfortunately.
God forgive me because I normally do my best to not wish ill on any human being but I personally wish that Sergio Casian Aguiar had survived to be thrown into “general population” at any prison. If I’m the guard, I make sure that every inmate has a copy of the newspaper that morning detailing his crime and accompanied with his picture. I’ll leave it at that…
BS.
Last year I came out of a store and heard screams across the parking lot. A thug was beating a 70 year old lady. I ran to help but he took her keys and drove off before I could close on him. I did not know if he was armed or not but that was a secondary concern. Standing by while a thug beats a two year old is unacceptable.
I understand, but it is the liberal mindset that turned DC into the “jacked up” city it is. Which was my point, that I carried over into liberal California.
Maybe not for much longer though. Fingers crossed regarding the SCPTUS decision!
Also, shooting two kid muggers is a bit different than shooting someone who is murdering a child. If a civilian took down this guy that they would not be prosecuted.
rusty and griz,
Fair enough. And yes, point was taken.
If the courts relinquish the gun ban, which they should, perhaps some sense of law will be returned to the district.
Does that make me extraodinary, by default, since I think I would be willing to intervene?
The cure for people standing around watching in shock is training. Back in the good old days that kind of training happened in organizations like Boy Scouts. While nothing in the Scout manual directly addressed situations like the one in Turlock, the gist of the book and the organization was to “Be Prepared” for whatever life throws your way. There are other organizations out there that similarly prepared kids for adulthood, but my experience was with the Scouts.
These days kids are just trained to dial “911″.
I am sincerely glad I did not witness this senseless murder on the side of the road. I am going to teach my kids that if they ever come across any situation like that (or the one in #26 above) they take action to assist the victim. I know I will be thinking about what I will do should I ever be in the situation to help someone.
Actually, there could be problems if a civilian shot and killed the bastard by pumping him full of lead.
If they shot him enough to stop him from killing the boy, there would be no problem, and the case would probably be dismissed. But shooting him full of lead would create questions as to the use of so much lethal force.
Not my opinion, but legally speaking, that’s how it works.
Yet you support abortion. What is different about this than an abortion?
Yes. I’ve been involved in two violent situations, once as a witness and once as victim, and on both occasions my first reaction was simple shock: I couldn’t believe what I was seeing/experiencing, and on both occasions I locked up. In the former case I stumbled upon what became a court-martial incident of a Sergeant First Class assaulting a First Sergeant, and in the latter incident I got mugged by three guys who hit me with a bottle and split my jaw in two before it even occurred to me to begin defending myself. Both incidents ended so quickly that I never did snap out of my “trance” before they ended.
Disagree.
Human nature is such that when unexpectedly confronted with something so shocking that it seems to defy reality, the first response is to hesitate if not freeze. Recall that on the other three fateful flights on 9/11, there was evidently no resistance to the hijackers; and on Flight 93 it was only after the passengers became aware of what had happened to those other flights that they finally stirred to action.
Sometimes, even when you think you are prepared for a thing you have not actually encountered, you aren’t.
For example, studies conducted in World War II and the Korean War, for example, revealed that when confronted by Japanese “Banzai” charges or Chinese “human wave” assaults, typically 7 of every 10 “green” (i.e., not yet combat-experienced) American soldiers didn’t even fire their weapons: they just stared at the incredible spectacle of an onrushing mass of humanity, bent on killing them. Spectators to their own fates.
And this stunned reaction took place even after these soldiers had been given extensive military training, and had been deployed to places where they no doubt expected to be engaged in combat.
Now, if even soldiers will tend to freeze up when initially confronted with violence, imagine what an “Average Joe” will — or won’t — do when confronted suddenly with a dangerous or possibly lethal situation he’s not prepared for. Someone we’d call a “hero” will overcome the shock; but I wouldn’t be too quick to condemn someone who froze.
It’s only human.
It sounds like mental illness to me, like Andrea Yates, David Berkowitz, or Michael Moore. OK I slipped that last one in as a gratuitous shot. You caught me.
Nicely reasoned post Regulus #83. I am just glad the individual responsible for murdering this child is no longer breathing. The Deputy that put this mad dog down with one shot just gave the minions of hell another evil twisted soul to torment until the end of time. This story has been bothering me since I first saw it on Sunday.
So the ACLU may say he was exercising his Freedom of Religion.
Move on everyone. Nothing to see here. Just another senseless death brought to you by the American Bar Association and their friends in the democrat party.
He is 30. The liberals who have emasculated the men (successfully on there side) and attempt to emasculate all boys (school) have not learned the lesson: the strong take care of the weak (which makes them strong). This case is an easy one…people who have no principles have nothing to stand up for.
Instead of just reflexively blaming liberals, perhaps y’all could remember that there’s a lot of California outside of LA and Berkeley. Stanislaus county, and the city of Turlock where this happened, are in the central valley, which is very conservative. Stanislaus county voted 59% for Bush in 2004. This isn’t a liberal issue.
I think a right hand up side his ear would have gotten his attention, then maybe a quick kick to the groin area. Had I witnessed this incident and not acted, I am afraid I could not live with that.
If you’re not ready to give up your life to save a small helpless child, what are you ready for?
In this state you’re ready to marry your homosexual parter and say its the moral thing to do.
No doubt a lot of the warrior class folks out there would have made this piece of filth a reloading drill, but most people are brainwashed into believing inaction is the best reaction.
Even police agencies got into the mindset of surround the perimeter and call in SWAT rather than engage in immediate intervention. Now police administrators allow the ‘active shooter’ response and have started waking up to reality.
I was watching some WWII vet interviews the other day, and one of them said that during the D-Day invasion he was more afraid of not doing his duty and failing his comrades than he was afraid of dying. We need that belief system back.
When our guys finish up in Iraq, I am hoping they bring some of that mindset back into the culture.
bulls-eye!
Regulus,
I agree. No one truly knows how one would react to a crises situation. As much as I’d like to believe that I’d do the “right” thing, I really can’t say for sure…
I would have jumped on the guy’s back and dug my fingers into his eyes, kicking and fighting with every inch of my fiber, so that others could come and scoop up the boy and carry him to the safety of a locked car.
Or I would have picked up dirt and thrown it in his eyes to distract or immobilize him so I could pick up the boy myself and carry him to safety.
Or I would have run up behind him and planted my foot so far up his crotch that he wouldn’t have been able to walk for 3 days.
If I had done none of these things, or something else like these things, I could not live with myself.
I know this as sure as I know my own name.
Those that stood and watched in horror, yet did nothing….I hope all their
dreams are nightmares from now on.
I could NOT live with myself knowing that I could have made a difference and didn’t do ONE DAMN THING!!!!!!!!!
I have a tire iron and an aluminum softball bat in my trunk. I have used both on scum in in past. I’d have really hurt him.
I have no sympathies for those who watched, and I hope they are haunted by it forever.
All they needed was for one to distract him while someone hit him from behind with tire iron, if the were worried a weapon.
You mean your roommate didn’t freeze with shock and awe?