a discussion was raised on another board i frequent about the fact that chivalry is dead.  through conversation i learned that a guy can't predict how he will act when confronted with pure evil.  

i wonder if anyone can?  the 80 year old holocast survivor tried to stop the mayhem and dozens of red blooded young men and women didn't.  i can't know all of what happened in those rooms and buildings, and i mean not to judge them.  however, at what point do we stand up and fight?  the government protects us plenty, but they can't be there all the time.  when born, we are wired to do two things: avoid death and multiply.  eating, sleeping, fighting, or flying all fall under "avoid death" IMO.  

do we teach our young conformity or do we teach them they have the responsibility to act when the time comes?

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
-- Martin Luther King

The shortest and surest way to live with honor in the world is to be in reality what we would appear to be.
-- Socrates (edit)

We are what we repeatedly do, excellence then is not an act, but a habit.
-- Aristotle (edit)
 

I would have to say that most have been taught conformity. I base this on what I remember from school. My freinds and I all got into trouble for wearing T-shirts of bands that were considered obscene, ie: Marilyn Manson, NIN, and the like. Those are instances where conformity was the lesson. When it came to social interaction, being from a small town, we were shunned by many for the simple fact that we were not fake. We smoked and stunk like cigarettes, and a few times we smelt like Vodka after running in gym class. I can see the how and why these disturbed individuals go down a very dark path, but in the end it was their choice to continue and ultimately destroy their's and others' lives.

I'm not quite sure when, but possibly during my deployment for OIF, did I decide that there is a better way to live life. The best example of this would have to be my own internal fight over a CCW. I do believe it is my sole responsibility to ensure my family's safety and mine, but am I prepared and able to handle the aftermath of a defensive shooting. This was never an issue to me until I came home.

Although the events that unfolded at VT are tragic, it sounds like some might be realizing that 1 legally owned and carried gun, might have stopped the events that will forever scar the lives that it touched.

Quoted: Although the events that unfolded at VT are tragic, it sounds like some might be realizing that 1 legally owned and carried gun, might have stopped the events that will forever scar the lives that it touched.

this isn't quite the point i was trying to make, but i believe you to be right.  CCW is very important and i believe if somebody would have been carrying legally the outcome could have been different.  whether one is armed or not, i'm concerned the most about the herd mentality.  i don't want anyone to think that packing a gun and having an authority problem are the keys to success, but i am saying that we need to recognize when is the time to act and do something - anything.  yeah, putting a couple holes in cho would have been the best option, but in times when you're without a gun, you can improvise.  

again, i don't want anyone to think i'm judging young men and women as cowards.  i'm simply reflecting on what appears to have happened.  i hope if something like this happens to me that i'm carrying.  if not, my next hope is that if i don't survive i end up with a little cho under my fingernails...

I hear yah.  I think we are all taught to go with the flow, don't cause trouble, and leave the thinking/doing to a higher power.  As a lad, I went with the flow while keeping my eyes and ears open.  As an adult, I've unfortanutely been in situations where I found myself reaching for whatever was in reach, whether it be a tire iron, 3/4" drive breaker bar, aerosol carb cleaner, etc.  When trouble comes looking for you, it's killed or be killed.  Even in a defensive mode, you had better be ready for what's comming at you.  Fortunately, I've never been in a situation where another gun would have been involved, but only a few under-armed people would have the calm thought process to hunt down a crazy killer that had loaded gun.  I'd do it, but I hope I'd never have to make that decision.  

edited- Did anyone even pull the fire alarms in either building to warn others?  A fire extinguisher would have been an easily aquired tool to slow down that moron.  They'll suck the air right out of you and blind you.  - yah, I know 20/20 hindsight

I believe we have been "tamed" so much and possibly become so self involved that we hope and wait for someone else to make the first move.  Essentialy not enough leaders and too many followers.  

I too am not judging what anybody did or didn't do as that type of situation is something that I have never faced nor hope to ever face. I would only hope I would do the right thing.  

This is a very unfortunate event with the loss of so many lives, and at the same time more fuel for the fire of anti gunners.

My question is  if a stundent did have a CCW and was carrying in class that day, would they be on trial now for killing that guy because it is illegal to carry on school grounds. I think they(lawmakers) should rethink the law about not being able to carry on college grounds, I've thought that for a long time now everyone is an adult(or very close) in age anyway, maybe not maturity. just one of my many thoughts