John Derbyshire adds to his portfolio of cowardice
The most interesting thing I find from people like John Derbyshire is that history will judge he and the neocon brigade to be among history’s greatest cowards. Here he adds to history’s wrath by questioning why Virginia Tech students allowed themselves to be shot.
Spirit of Self-Defense
As NRO’s designated chickenhawk, let me be the one to ask: Where was the spirit of self-defense here? Setting aside the ludicrous campus ban on licensed conceals, why didn’t anyone rush the guy? It’s not like this was Rambo, hosing the place down with automatic weapons. He had two handguns for goodness’ sake—one of them reportedly a .22.
At the very least, count the shots and jump him reloading or changing hands. Better yet, just jump him. Handguns aren’t very accurate, even at close range. I shoot mine all the time at the range, and I still can’t hit squat. I doubt this guy was any better than I am. And even if hit, a .22 needs to find something important to do real damage—your chances aren’t bad.
Yes, yes, I know it’s easy to say these things: but didn’t the heroes of Flight 93 teach us anything? As the cliche goes—and like most cliches. It’s true—none of us knows what he’d do in a dire situation like that. I hope, however, that if I thought I was going to die anyway, I’d at least take a run at the guy.
Honestly, can you imagine scholars 50 years from now looking up people like John Derbyshire, John Podhoretz, Bill Kristol, et al? Can you imagine their shock that a group of such weak-willed, inherently cowardly men held such sway.
They are writers who have shown a complete unwillingness to confront an enemy on their own, but are too terrified of civilization to let go of their fantasies of barbarism. After so long, it has moved past ridiculous the lamentations of Derbyshire and his ilk. To the modern person, they have become parodies of themselves, shouting out to a dwindling fringe. But history will see them as but cowardly war propagandists, at the very best.
–WKW