A Culture of Passivity
"Protecting" our "children" at Virginia Tech.

By Mark Steyn

I haven’t weighed in yet on Virginia Tech — mainly because, in a saner world, it would not be the kind of incident one needed to have a partisan opinion on. But I was giving a couple of speeches in Minnesota yesterday and I was asked about it and found myself more and more disturbed by the tone of the coverage. I’m not sure I’m ready to go the full Derb but I think he’s closer to the reality of the situation than most. On Monday night, Geraldo was all over Fox News saying we have to accept that, in this horrible world we live in, our “children” need to be “protected.”

Point one: They’re not “children.” The students at Virginia Tech were grown women and — if you’ll forgive the expression — men. They would be regarded as adults by any other society in the history of our planet. Granted, we live in a selectively infantilized culture where twentysomethings are “children” if they’re serving in the Third Infantry Division in Ramadi but grown-ups making rational choices if they drop to the broadloom in President Clinton’s Oval Office. Nonetheless, it’s deeply damaging to portray fit fully formed adults as children who need to be protected. We should be raising them to understand that there will be moments in life when you need to protect yourself — and, in a “horrible” world, there may come moments when you have to choose between protecting yourself or others. It is a poor reflection on us that, in those first critical seconds where one has to make a decision, only an elderly Holocaust survivor, Professor Librescu, understood instinctively the obligation to act.

Point two: The cost of a “protected” society of eternal “children” is too high. Every December 6th, my own unmanned Dominion lowers its flags to half-mast and tries to saddle Canadian manhood in general with the blame for the “Montreal massacre,”  the 14 female students of the Ecole Polytechnique murdered by Marc Lepine (born Gamil Gharbi, the son of an Algerian Muslim wife-beater, though you’d never know that from the press coverage). As I wrote up north a few years ago:

Yet the defining image of contemporary Canadian maleness is not M Lepine/Gharbi but the professors and the men in that classroom, who, ordered to leave by the lone gunman, meekly did so, and abandoned their female classmates to their fate — an act of abdication that would have been unthinkable in almost any other culture throughout human history. The “men” stood outside in the corridor and, even as they heard the first shots, they did nothing. And, when it was over and Gharbi walked out of the room and past them, they still did nothing. Whatever its other defects, Canadian manhood does not suffer from an excess of testosterone.

I have always believed America is different. Certainly on September 11th we understood. The only good news of the day came from the passengers who didn’t meekly follow the obsolescent 1970s hijack procedures but who used their wits and acted as free-born individuals. And a few months later as Richard Reid bent down and tried to light his shoe in that critical split-second even the French guys leapt up and pounded the bejasus out of him.

We do our children a disservice to raise them to entrust all to officialdom’s security blanket. Geraldo-like “protection” is a delusion: when something goes awry — whether on a September morning flight out of Logan or on a peaceful college campus — the state won’t be there to protect you. You’ll be the fellow on the scene who has to make the decision. As my distinguished compatriot Kathy Shaidle says:

When we say “we don’t know what we’d do under the same circumstances”, we make cowardice the default position.

I’d prefer to say that the default position is a terrible enervating passivity. Murderous misfit loners are mercifully rare. But this awful corrosive passivity is far more pervasive, and, unlike the psycho killer, is an existential threat to a functioning society.

— Mark Steyn, a National Review columnist, is author of America Alone.

I'm printing this out and will make sure that other people read it!

You know, he's right…

About five years ago my street was plagued by some local teens who would run through the street on Friday nights and throw rocks at windows and trash gardens for fun.

People moaned, called the cops, nothing happened, the windows kept being broken and the gardens kept being trashed.

Sure enough, 8pm, Christmas Eve, it was our turn, rock through the living room window… did we call the cops? Nah… did we just go' oh teh noes'? Nah…

Me and Mrs Vito charged out into the street after them, me with Mr Maglite, her with a baseball bat…

Sure enough, ten minuetes later along come the cops with blues and twos and stopped us, by this time we had gotten down to dancing on one guys face, the other was curled up in a ball squealing like a stuck pig, Mrs Vito had demonstrated her swing on his face.

Had the neighbors called the cops to report in the vandalism? Nope, they had called the cops to come to the aid of the fucking vandals we were beating the shit out of!!!!.

They were so fucking sheepified they called the cops because they were 'horrified' at the way we we 'attacking' the teens…

To this day most of the street won't talk to us because our 'violence' was 'unneccesary'… fuck em! No one messed with my house after that.

ANdy

wow Andy.

Great article.

Way to give 'em hell vito113!!!! I bet they dont ever screw with you and the mrs. ever again!!!

Quoted: You know, he's right… About five years ago my street was plagued by some local teens who would run through the street on Friday nights and throw rocks at windows and trash gardens for fun. People moaned, called the cops, nothing happened, the windows kept being broken and the gardens kept being trashed. Sure enough, 8pm, Christmas Eve, it was our turn, rock through the living room window… did we call the cops? Nah… did we just go' oh teh noes'? Nah… Me and Mrs Vito charged out into the street after them, me with Mr Maglite, her with a baseball bat… Sure enough, ten minuetes later along come the cops with blues and twos and stopped us, by this time we had gotten down to dancing on one guys face, the other was curled up in a ball squealing like a stuck pig, Mrs Vito had demonstrated her swing on his face. Had the neighbors called the cops to report in the vandalism? Nope, they had called the cops to come to the aid of the fucking vandals we were beating the shit out of!!!!. They were so fucking sheepified they called the cops because they were 'horrified' at the way we we 'attacking' the teens… To this day most of the street won't talk to us because our 'violence' was 'unneccesary'… fuck em! No one messed with my house after that. ANdy

Great article.

Sorry, but college kids are still very much children.  I worked at a big U and I saw very few that I would consider to be mature adults.  Flip flops, slovenly dress, no haircut in six or eight months, these are all signs of immaturity.  Hell, most adults I encounter on a day to day basis are immature.

Looking at the 32 who were killed, I only see one, the cadet guy, who might have had the sand to deal with a life or death situation.  In my experience, very few people are able to think on their feet under high stress.  Most people react to violence by freezing and assuming a fetal position and then dying.  It takes training and courage to resist and it also has a lot to do with your personality.  A bunch of kids in a German class can't be expected to all have those qualities.  Although they were studying German, the language of some of the most belligerent people on earth.

Why do you think men like Wyatt Earp or Wild Bill Hickok are so celebrated?  Because there have always been so damn few of them!  And no, I don't think I'm like them, but I do try to keep my wits about me in bad times.  To quote Josie Wales "You have to get plumb mad dog mean."  It's hard to live in our society on a day to day basis and still keep that well of pre-modern, animalistic brutal fucking hatred that it takes to kill another human being available on a moment's notice.  My father has that quality, but I'm not sure I do.  I've seen him stare other men into surrender--even tough looking biker type dudes. He's the one that you want to be around in an emergency, I have never seen him lose his head.  His background?  Football, race car driving, real type A stuff.  The downside is that he has only two forms of expression:  Silence and rage.

Quoted: Sorry, but college kids are still very much children.

So should the age of adulthood be raised to 21, including eligibility for military service?

ETA:  Good article

Quoted: Sorry, but college kids are still very much children.

As my Father always told me. 'it's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog'…

It's nothing to do with size or age, being a sheep is a state of mind that you can be conditioned into.

Quoted: Sorry, but college kids are still very much children.   <snip>

Spc. Montrel S. McArn was four days away from his 22nd birthday when he died Feb. 19. The tank crewman and loader was a hilarious guy who wasn't scared of anything, said his friend, Pfc. Travis Goodwin. One of the smartest soldiers in the unit, McArn had a noncommissioned officer-type personality, Goodwin added. He served with Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team.

Staff Sgt. Pedro Colon was a "soldier's soldier" who was tough, fair and compassionate, and never dreamed of making excuses, said Staff Sgt. Grant Stafford. He was just as good at sorting out his soldiers' pay issues as he was clearing a room, Stafford added. The former mechanic turned infantryman was quick on his feet and eager to accept any mission. He served with Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, and died Feb. 19 at the age of 25.

Spc. Luis O. Rodriguez-Contrera, was born in Santiago, Dominican Republic, lived in New York and Pennsylvania. He joined the Army because he had a deep love for his country and fellow Americans, and wanted to make a difference for his wife and two children, said Staff Sgt. John Thomas. He was known among his friends as being a passionate basketball fan, a regular Dick Vitale (a college basketball announcer), Thomas joked. Before leaving for Iraq with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, he told his wife, daughter and unborn son, "Don't worry, daddy will be back soon." The 22-year-old died March 2.

Staff Sgt. Paul M. Latourney always knew the Army was his calling, said Sgt. 1st Class John Silva. It was in his blood. The 28-year-old was an intelligent guy who could speak four languages and turned down a scholarship to the University of Illinois for the Army, Silva said. He was the "epitome of what a soldier represents." Latourney was such a soldier, Silva said, that he was probably over the battlefield in Iraq, watching over his soldiers. He served with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, and died March 2.

Sgt. Blake Harris might have been 22, but he was a child stuck in a man's body, joked Sgt. 1st Class Michael Hamilton. He said Harris' wife, Joanna, said he always made her laugh, even when she didn't want to. He was a sensitive, caring and thoughtful person who was one of the most loyal people Hamilton said he ever met. Harris would always tell people the truth, even if it wasn't what they wanted to hear. He served with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Squadron, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, and died March 5.

Cpl. Ryan D. Russell was saving the life of a fellow soldier when he lost his. The 20-year-old medic had the courage it took to put his life at risk for another, Pfc. Glen Leach said, and that takes more courage than anyone could ever imagine. Russell's mom told Leach it was a surprise her son became a medic because he always was squeamish around medication and needles. He died March 5 while serving with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Squadron, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team.

Pvt. Barry Mayo was a small-town guy from New Albany, Miss., who was the kind of person people respected and wanted to emulate. The Army didn't make him that way, said Sgt. David Griffin, but those values were instilled in him by his family. The21-year-old had a great sense of humor and did everything with compassion and a smile, Griffin said. He was assigned to Bravo Battery, 2nd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, and died March 5.

Sgt. Michael Rivera was from a patriotic family from Brooklyn, N.Y., and followed his brother, a Marine, into military service. Rivera grew up in a home where patriotism was not just a word to be used, but to be lived, said Staff Sgt. Matt Martinez. He served in Iraq with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, while his brother was there with the Marines. The 22-year-old died March 7.

When Staff Sgt. and Christopher Webb and Staff Sgt. David Barett first met, they didn't get along too well. They were serving a rotation at the Joint Readiness Training Center when Barett put Webb's soldiers on the duty roster. Webb said to take the names off the list because no one would work his soldiers but him. The two argued and did some noncommissioned officer-negotiating, Barett said, and the names came off the list. After a 36-hour assignment with no sleep, Barett had to make another duty roster for another 10-hour mission. When Webb saw two of his soldiers on the list, he told Barett to replace their names with his. That was the kind of leader Webb was, Barett said. The 28-year-old died March 7. He served with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team.

Spc. Shawn Rankinen, 28, was an athlete who enjoyed karate, running track and swimming. He loved to do physical training, said Sgt. John McMahon. The Missouri native joined the Navy in 1999 and served as a helicopter mechanic before joining the Army in 2006. He was anxious to serve his country, McMahon said. Rankinen died March 7 while serving with Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team.

Pvt. Mark W. Graham loved life and lived it to the fullest, said Sgt. J. Flores. The 22-year-old was outspoken without being abrasive or offensive. He had a positive attitude, smiling face and cheerful heart, Flores said. He was an intelligent guy who became his platoon sergeant's driver shortly after arriving in Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team. He died March 7.

Spc. Jonathan "Jon Jon" Smith was the epitome of what a soldier in the U.S. Army should be, said Warrant Officer-1 David Temple. His spirit, commitment and courage were commendable. Though God granted the 19-year-old only a short time on earth, people who knew Smith must be grateful that he came along and made an impact on their lives, Temple said. Smith was a JROTC cadet in his South Atlanta high school and a section leader of the percussion band – something that helped developed the leadership skills he would later use in the Army. He died March 11 while serving with Foxtrot Company, 115th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team.

There was nothing complicated about Spc. Adam J. Rosema, said Staff Sgt. Denise Bullard. What you saw was what you got with the 27-year-old. The simple, honest man loved his music and anything fast. His music of choice was anything with long hair and loud guitars. He was also a big fan of NASCAR. Bullard said Rosema was the kind of guy people don't realize how much they miss until he isn't there. He was a "great soldier and simple man with a huge heart," she said. Rosema died March 14 while assigned to Echo Company, 215th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team.

Cpl. Stephen Kowalczyk was a wanderer who worked as a lab technician in the Utah desert, traveling craftsman along the California coast and dishwasher and handyman in Jerusalem. The 32-year-old immersed himself in Jewish culture and wanted to join the Israeli army. Instead, he joined the U.S. Army after Sept. 11, said Spc. Daniel Wockasen. As a writer, Kowalczyk captured the kinds of things on paper that a photographer couldn't capture in a picture. He served with Charlie Company, 6th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, and died March 14.

Quoted: Quoted: Sorry, but college kids are still very much children. As my Father always told me. 'it's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog'… It's nothing to do with size or age, being a sheep is a state of mind that you can be conditioned into.

yep
rage can do amazing things.

and i totally agree with the article
the libs have won, a society of sheep.

My father worked on a farm as a child, starting at age 8. He started with simple tasks, but by the time he was in his mid-teens he was capable of operating the entire farm. He was given responsibility at a young age, and as his ability to handle that responsibility grew, the amount given to him grew. Today's kids are given no responsibility, and we wonder why the cannot handle it.

In 30 years they'll be calling anyone under the age of 30 a child.

Quoted: Sorry, but college kids are still very much children.  I worked at a big U and I saw very few that I would consider to be mature adults.  Flip flops, slovenly dress, no haircut in six or eight months, these are all signs of immaturity.  Hell, most adults I encounter on a day to day basis are immature.

Fortunately we have a republic, where the laws protect the few against the results of your views. And "immature" flip-flop wearing college "kids" continue to die in order to protect it.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Sorry, but college kids are still very much children. As my Father always told me. 'it's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog'… It's nothing to do with size or age, being a sheep is a state of mind that you can be conditioned into. yep rage can do amazing things. and i totally agree with the article the libs have won, a society of sheep.

It bothers me to no end to see how so many Americans have lost the way of their forefathers.  What happened to that sense of rugged individualism that was so strong in the heroes of our past??  There are how many people on this site?  Something to the tune of 40,000?  We have a great mix of real balls to the wall people who serve and chairborne rangers.  Aside from the handful of internet tough guys, I believe many here still refuse to give into this pacifist brainwashing and can rise to the occassion.

Quoted: ... It's hard to live in our society on a day to day basis and still keep that well of pre-modern, animalistic brutal fucking hatred that it takes to kill another human being available on a moment's notice. ...

Not if you drive a vehicle on public roads.

It may well be that the default state of man is cowardice.  Fear certainly is.  If so, past societies made it their business to ensure that courage was honored, the discharge of civic and military duty were necessary to the exercise of the rights of citizenship, and that cowardice was shamed and ridiculed.  If one could not be unafraid, one could at least be more afraid of dishonor than death.  Ours gives rights to everyone at birth, does not acknowledge honor, and makes excuses for cowardice.  Completely unsurprisingly, we get more of it.  The men who fought on Iwo Jima or at the Somme were as young as those who died in Norris Hall, but more was expected of them.

here's an interesing question...

mister cho wanders into a building in a barrio in east la and pulls his stunt... anyone wanna guess how long he surivives? or what the age of his killer is....?

you can replace the barrio with various ghettos in various large cities in the us....

you can replace the barrio with an israeli school i suspect...

its attiude .. and whitebread feminized american males are missing something.. essential or at least necessary in many cases.. and whats scarry is the cho incident will bring out those who wish to further feminize the american spirit in order to prevent more chos.. but what they will do is just create more victims.. sheeple..

I tend to agree with what was said.  I feel alot of what we see in society is a result of the Bystander Effect.  People entrust their safety and any responsibility onto others and feel there is no need to take any personal action.  We are constantly taught that we must feel helpless and are not responsible for our own situation, that in turn it is someone else's doing that got us here in the first place and someone else will take care of the problem.  Unfortunately we also see a sue happy nation and as a result we feel the best way to avoid any ramifications or personal liability is to  withdraw ourselves from the situation in its entirety.   It really is a sad state of affairs.  

Quoted: Quoted: ... It's hard to live in our society on a day to day basis and still keep that well of pre-modern, animalistic brutal fucking hatred that it takes to kill another human being available on a moment's notice. ... Not if you drive a vehicle on public roads.

who me??????

Too many people have that "it can't happen to me" attitude.  Thus, when it DOES happen to them, they freeze like deer in the headlights.

There's a difference between being immature and being a child.  College aged student that act in the manner described above fit into the first category and not the second.

Quoted: My father worked on a farm as a child, starting at age 8. He started with simple tasks, but by the time he was in his mid-teens he was capable of operating the entire farm. He was given responsibility at a young age, and as his ability to handle that responsibility grew, the amount given to him grew. Today's kids are given no responsibility, and we wonder why the cannot handle it.

As a parent I've learned that kids will achieve the lowest standards you enforce for them.

That's one reason that my kids excell in comparison to many of their peers.

Quoted: It may well be that the default state of man is cowardice.  Fear certainly is.  If so, past societies made it their business to ensure that courage was honored, the discharge of civic and military duty were necessary to the exercise of the rights of citizenship, and that cowardice was shamed and ridiculed.  If one could not be unafraid, one could at least be more afraid of dishonor than death.  Ours gives rights to everyone at birth, does not acknowledge honor, and makes excuses for cowardice.  Completely unsurprisingly, we get more of it.  The men who fought on Iwo Jima or at the Somme were as young as those who died in Norris Hall, but more was expected of them.

I think one can draw a distinction between cowardice and survival instinct.

That would be an interesting study, Cowardice, Courage, and the Survival Instinct.

My generation, was always taught to tell someone else about a problem, and never try to act on it yourself. It should be even more par for course for these kids right behind me.

If you cant follow the rules how can you fit in with the lovely socialist society?

Quoted: Quoted: My father worked on a farm as a child, starting at age 8. He started with simple tasks, but by the time he was in his mid-teens he was capable of operating the entire farm. He was given responsibility at a young age, and as his ability to handle that responsibility grew, the amount given to him grew. Today's kids are given no responsibility, and we wonder why the cannot handle it. As a parent I've learned that kids will achieve the lowest standards you enforce for them. That's one reason that my kids excell in comparison to many of their peers.

True. No one seems to be holding up the standards anymore.

Kids are not challenged with anything unless it's a popularity contest or
a video game.

What are kids challenged with these days except how popular they can become
among their peers?

People in general have gone from merely passive to utterly helpless in the space of just a decade or so, and it's only going to get worse as the American Idol Generation comes of age.

Our National anthem will have to be changed to "WAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

When Snyder wrote "A Nation of Cowards", he had NO idea how bad it could get...

While I'm not surprised many of the VT victims failed to act in their own defense simply as a result of being stunned by the situation, I find it very difficult to fathom that out of 32 people, no one, other than one old man, had the wherewithall to act, to pick up a desk and throw it or charge the SOB especially when you see people around you being executed like cattle.

Better to die rushing the fucker than cowering under a desk.  Obviously, I wasn't there and doubtless (I hope) there were reasons why so many allowed themselves to be slaughtered.  All it would have taken was for one or two people to have rushed this asshole and that would have ended it.

I'm just dumbfounded by it.

That's a great article, I must print it out and put it where my blissninny coworkers can see it.

Excellent article, Brohawk.

Mark Steyn has never written anything that I can remember, that I disagreed with.

Quoted: Sorry, but college kids are still very much children.

14 years olds can and do, breed. And get welfare.
16 years olds can be trusted with jobs and cars.
18 years olds can and are sent to war............

But twenty something year old college students are "kids", and cannot be expected to react to violence with anything but passivity..............

Gimme a break.

ckmorley

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