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July 31, 2006
The Seattle terrorist attack
With the authorities blathering on about the "disturbed" lone gunman and their doubts that his attack on a bunch of Jewish women constitutes terrorism, Kim Du Toit notes that normal Americans have begun to realize that -- notwithstanding September 11th -- terrorists may indeed be trying to kill us. And that there's something we can do -- and he can help.
Looks like a few hitherto-unarmed people are thinking about buying a gun, in the wake of this little escapade:
The man suspected in a fatal shooting rampage hid behind a potted plant in a Jewish charity’s foyer and forced his way through a security door by holding a gun to a 13-year-old girl’s head, the police chief said Saturday.
Once inside, police say, Naveed Afzal Haq opened fire with two semiautomatic pistols. One woman, Pam Waechter, 58, of Seattle was killed at the scene. Five more women were wounded.
Haq, 30, was ordered held on $50 million bail Saturday pending formal charges of murder and attempted murder.
Haq, a Muslim, told authorities he was angered by the war in Iraq and U.S. military cooperation with Israel.
“He pointedly blamed the Jewish people for all of these problems,” Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske said at a news conference Saturday.
So, just out of curiosity, let’s just imagine that two of the eighteen people inside the Center were Tech Support with her High Power, and Makarov Mami. Anyone think that the outcome would have been about the same?
Nope? Me neither.
As for the people who are still “thinking” about buying themselves gun, I have only one more question to ask: How many more random massacres like this will it take to get you to buy a gun? Do you think this kind of incident is just going to magically disappear in the future?
If you’re looking for some personal advice, my email addy is kim - at - kimdutoit dot com. Or, for even better (albeit more public) advice, go to the Forum to ask your question. Or for any anonymous questions, you can go to Anonymous Q. Generic advice can be found at First-Time Shooters and at General Gun Advice.
And, of course, to look for some ideas, you could look at the beautiful guns in the Gratuitous Gun Pics.
To recap:
1. Private and confidential: email
2. Public, getting lots of feedback: Forum
3. Anonymous, with quite a lot of feedback: Anonymous Qs
4. Generic advice: First-Time Shooters and General Gun Advice
5. Make your own choice: GGPs.And if you live in the DFW area, I’ll even go to the gun store with you.
How's that for lending a helping hand?
More than anything else, terrorism highlights the effectiveness of an armed populace. When I was in Israel in the 1970s, it was jarring at first to see Uzis and M-16s everywhere, hanging from the shoulders of commuters on the bus, or on a father's shoulder while on a picnic with his family.
But soon enough, it just became part of the background. The upside was no street crime, and an instantaneous response time to terrorists.
Pamela Waechter
It's hard to imagine the Seattle shooter would have shot as many of his victims if he'd faced a couple of women with guns. And maybe Pamela Waechter would be alive and the gunman, whose name shall be erased from the memories of the living, would be in the morgue instead.
Posted by Mike Lief at July 31, 2006 07:54 AM
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