Jonathan Wayne Taylor and I were sharing Cuban cigars at TTAG’s secret above-ground bunker (limestone dontchaknow), discussing civilian disarmament proponents’ perspective on armed self-defense. “They simply can’t imagine someone wanting to kill them,” JWT opined. “Because they couldn’t imagine doing it themselves.” Which is just as well, I suppose. The “I couldn’t kill anyone” perspective I mean. As for the idea that an attacker could be swayed by reason or simple compliance, that is one dangerous let’s-call-it-what-it-is fatal assumption. Check out this New York Times report on the most recent terrorist attack on Kenyan students . . .
GARISSA, Kenya — Elosy Karimi curled up in a crawl space, immobilized by fear.
Her classmates were flooding out of the dorms, in boxer shorts and thin nightgowns. Gunfire was ringing all around her. People were screaming. It was predawn and pitch black.
“If you want to survive, come out!” the militants yelled. “If you want to die, stay inside!” . . .
New details emerged on Friday about how a handful of fighters from the Shabab militant group, with just a few light weapons, managed to kill nearly 150 students in Kenya’s worst terrorist attack since the 1998 bombing of the United States Embassy in Nairobi.
Survivors said many students had fallen for the militants’ trick, voluntarily leaving their dorm rooms and obeying commands to lie down in neat rows, only to be shot in the back of the head.
What more do you need to know? This: that terrorists aren’t the only ones who kill for sport – or for some other reason you won’t know before it’s lights-out.
Having been mugged twice, having looked into the eyes of criminals with no regard whatsoever for my life, I can attest to that fact. Yes, I gave them my money and survived. Others victims haven’t been so lucky. If I knew then what I know, if I’d been armed and had a chance to counterattack, I would have done so.
Gun control advocates don’t see it that way. You might not see it that way. You may think that my survival is proof that compliance IS a viable strategy. But consider this . . .
The militants seemed especially cruel and gleeful, ordering some students to call their parents on their cellphones and tell them that the attack was payback for Kenya’s military intervention in Somalia.
Students who hid during the attack said they had heard their classmates whimpering as the militants taunted them. Then a single gunshot. Then silence.
“They were shooting people as they came out; they were making others lie down,” said a doctor who was not authorized to speak publicly. “They had so many people lying in one place, it was easy killing.”
African terrorists are evil people, obviously. In this they are not alone. Not too put too fine a point on it, someone who breaks into your home is not a “misunderstood” youth gone wrong. Someone who holds a knife to your throat is not a reasonable person on any level. They are your enemy.
There is no bargaining with evil. Giving evil people the power of life-or-death over you is a huge mistake that could easily be your last. And the last for your family, friends and community.
Don’t do it. Don’t put yourself in a position where you could be killed easily. And if you find yourself in that position, don’t do it. Don’t be killed easily. Gun or no gun, fight back. Stop evil any way you can. If you have a gun and there’s even a small chance you can bring it to bear in a counter-attack, do it.
You could die fighting evil. Just as you could die not fighting evil. The choice is yours. As for those who would remove your right to armed self-defense, they may not be evil per se. But they are not on your side. Never have been. Never will be. That is all. Except this:
The attack on Thursday exposed just how powerless this industrialized, westernized country is in the face of a ruthless terrorist organization. Many fear that Kenya cannot stop the Shabab, who are clearly trying to fan a religious war.
On Friday morning, a dozen local young men, all Muslim, marched down Garissa’s main road to show solidarity with the victims, the vast majority of whom were Christian and hailed from other parts of Kenya.
The only demonstration that evil people understand is the projection – or use – of lethal force. [h/t mister3d]