“So I have a request for proponents of unlimited access to guns. Spend some time in a trauma center and see the victims of gun violence — the lucky survivors — as they come in bloody and terrified. Understand that our country’s blind embrace of gun rights made this violent tableau possible, and that it’s playing out each day in hospitals and morgues all over the country. Before leaving, make sure to look at the patients’ shoes. Remember that at the start of the day, before being attacked by a person with a gun, that patient lying on a stretcher writhing helplessly in pain was still whole.” – Theresa Brown, oncology nurse and the author of Critical Care: A New Nurse Faces Death, Life, and Everything in Between.
Jeezzzuss. Don’t read the comments at that link.
I was going to go over there to give my 2 cents, but they closed the comments. Its sickening that people actually think like that; or rather through a lack of thinking arrive at those conclusions. Bruce could do a whole series of articles refuting the trash those people (and the author) were posting.
They don’t think like that, that’s the problem. They feel.
Well, I did go look and believe it or not there were glimmers of hope interspersed within the usual liberal cries for disarmament.
I was surprised.
I’m amazed that people in New York City put their trust in the hands of a man who has nothing better to do than mess around with the size of soda.
Those 80 Americans left their homes in the morning and went to work, or to school, or to a movie, or for a walk in their own neighborhood, and never returned.
Except all of them didn’t leave their home. Theresa Brown is discounting that fact that nearly 60% of those deaths were a result of suicide and didn’t even mention the ones that left their home to go commit a violent crime and got shot in the process.
There is no way to sugar coat it. Gunshot victims are a tragedy and I am confident that all responsible citizens who own firearms desperately wish there would never be another gunshot victim ever again.
Ms. Brown should also spend time with psychologists and group therapy sessions for survivors of brutal physical assaults and rapes where the victims were unarmed. Let her hear about their plight and tell them how it is in their best interest to face the next potential attacker still unarmed. Let her convince them how they should relive their nightmare a second time with absolutely no means to defend themselves. Let her tell them how she is doing everything in her power to insure that future victims will be forced to face their first nightmare unarmed. And let her convince them how great that will be.
“Gunshot victims are a tragedy and I am confident that all responsible citizens who own firearms desperately wish there would never be another gunshot victim ever again.”
Well said sir, and exactly my sentiment. If only we lived in a world where guns were relegated to paper punchers and tin can eliminators. But we dont. So guns will continue to be a defensive tool for the people who refuse to be victims.
+1
In a perfect world, you wouldn’t need guns. This is not a perfect world. — Sheriff Ben Johnson, Volusia County, Florida
Well said.
+9×19
Would she feel better if the people were stabbed to death?
Ms. Brown, like Ms. Fluke, wants her five-minutes-of-fame by jumping on the narrative bandwangon of progressivism. Or, is it that she needs exposure to promote her book? She sounds a bit self-serving.
As an oncology nurse, will she next call for a ban on cigarette smoking? If you want to legislate immortality, go ahead and try. It won’t work, though. It’s been tried before and it didn’t work then.
After reading the article by Nurse Brown that you all linked to, it appears that she paints with a broad brush and fails to provide pertinent data.
She fails to mention that according to CDC statistics the majority of ‘victims of gun violence’ are suicides. Or to mention that the second group of ‘violent gun victims’ are in the 15 to 25 year age range. Can anyone say ‘gang banger’?
In the NYT article linked to, she writes “Many victims never stand a chance against a dangerously armed assailant, and there’s scant evidence that being armed themselves would help.”
She fails to mention that the true victims here are citizens who unarmed due to government laws and regulations. When I hear of a home invasion, or murder-rape, I ask myself, what difference could have been made had that person been armed and trained?
She brushes aside the possibility that the victims being armed could have made a difference. Apparently she is unable to google ‘defensive gun use’ to see evidence how being armed prevented a crime.
Rather than our countries blind embrace of gun rights making this violent tableau possible, I would imagine that it is the failure to fully embrace and enact our second amendment that makes victims of our citizenry.
“Rather than our countries blind embrace of gun rights making this violent tableau possible, I would imagine that it is the failure to fully embrace and enact our second amendment that makes victims of our citizenry.”
+1 for that
Stop healing the gang bangers and see if that doesn’t reduce violent crimes involving guns just a little bit.
from the story:
“Many victims never stand a chance against a dangerously armed assailant, and there’s scant evidence that being armed themselves would help”
— As usual for the ignorant gun-grabbers she is labeling everyone an innocent ‘victim’ and is not distinguishing between violent criminals, truly innocent people, and those who used a gun for suicide and could have used another method. Why can’t she see or get a clue how many more people would die from violence daily without the access to guns for self-defense by law abiding citizens?
Almost all the comments that followed the loonie story at the NYT were made by well loonies (like who else?). Below is my favorite that gave me a good laugh:
nic: CityTrucker
location: San Francisco
“The more avidly a gun advocate insists on the need to have a weapon for self defense, the less likely he is to be a sane and reasonable gun owner”
Shooting one another is just the tip of the iceberg of the evil humans are capable of inflicting upon one another. When shortsighted people of the nurse’s ilk manage to get their gun bans, their inability to see the complete picture means they’ll only be dumbstruck when their laws have little effect and the never ending stream of daily victims continues on unabated.
At this point, with the gun grabbers getting increasingly stupid, maybe we should just give them 1 state where they can all move to and enact all the gun laws they want. Then after 5 years when its still in flames, the ones who survived will maybe see truth and reasonable in a new light.
They already have a number of those.
Lets say we just give them Chicago, since its already a freedom hating place. Let them enact whatever asinine gun laws they want without any oversight. When people are still killing each other, maybe they’ll get it. Probably not, but maybe.
We should first pack up and remove all the collections and pieces at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Field Museum of Natural History, and the Museum of Science and Industry, just to be safe from the resulting anarchy.
Aharon beat me to the comment. What these control freaks really want is their own utopia. All traces of the past will have to be erased so no one can remember the way things were. Of course, such silliness has never worked before, but they want to try again.
Which state?
That’s been done. Idiots of this ilk take over a given state. Those who area actually productive, useful citizens decide enough is enough and move to greener pastures. Eventually, said libtard state gets run into the ground and those responsible also leave for said greener pastures, only to bring with them the same mindset that destroyed the place to begin with.
California, call your office.
These morons are like locusts.
In Rwanda the Hutu’s killed almost a million Tutsie’s in just a few months using—–
wait for it——-
MACHETE’s!!!!
A gun is tool no different than a screwdriver, hammer, or butcher knife
“So I have a request for proponents of unlimited access to
gunscars. Spend some time in a trauma center and see the victims ofgun violencecars — the lucky survivors — as they come in bloody and terrified. Understand that our country’s blind embrace ofgun rightscars made this violent tableau possible, and that it’s playing out each day in hospitals and morgues all over the country.There. Fixed it for her. If only she were smart enough to actually know how to read the stats.
Not to mention the dangerous attitude of car drivers. There’s a law that says I need to yield… I got dual rear wheels, I ain’t gonna yield!
Since when does an ONCOLOGY nurse work in the ER/Trauma center? STFU and stick to what you know.
Theresa Brown, and those who agree with her, miss the hard fact that people will find ways to kill and maim other people no matter what arms are available. Human Kind rose above all other creatures on this Planet precisely because of our capacity to figure-out how to kill more efficiently than any other creature. The “civilized” part of our Societies came along when we realized that wanton killing was wrong, and that is what keeps the larger number of us who are armed acting like the civilized persons we are despite owning the means to efficient killing.
How dare you be historically informed and logical.
It’s a bad habit…I know. I’m going to quit tomorrow.
Can you imagine how nursey would do as a Spartan war bride? And what would she think about the Spartan policy of taking no prisoners?
“So I have a request for proponents of disarmament. Spend some time in a trauma center and see the victims of violent crime — the lucky survivors — as they come in bloody and terrified. Understand that our country’s blind embrace of gun control made this violent tableau possible, and that it’s playing out each day in hospitals and morgues all over the country. Before leaving, make sure to look at the patients’ shoes. Remember that at the start of the day, before being attacked by a person with any kind of readily available weapon, that patient lying on a stretcher writhing helplessly in pain was still whole.”
Fixed it for you.
Dumbass.
Dear Douchebaggette Nurse,
I have spent time in an ER, thanks. I’ve also been to the actual shooting scenes. With that experience, I’ve come to the conclusion that compassion and liberal sensibilities aren’t terribly useful in a violent situation. Call me crazy, but I’d rather shoot the bad guy than have him shoot me. You are still free to use your kind words and healing skills to help rehabilitate him if he survives the incident. Feel free to counsel him regarding his lengthy process of unfortunate life decisions as well.
I’ll keep my guns, and you can keep your scalpels and syringes. All of them are potentially dangerous tools. The difference is that I don’t blame the syringes or the scalpel for medical malpractice. If you lack the understanding to appreciate the difference, I would rather receive treatment from a more competent nurse.
This poor woman is SO utterly irrelevant.
Well as a oncology nurse that has spent time in a trauma center (during clinicals) I can say that all I want is a new M&P shield.
You’ve all said it as well or better than I could. My insight to nurses is simple, my late mother was a nurse. She also went hunting with dad and us and was a decent shot with a shotgun or a 22. She did not preach gun control.
One of mom”s friends, a young nurse was concerned with the way the world was heading and decided amongst other things she needed to get a gun to help protect herself. She had never owned a gun and did a lot of research. This was in that dark time in America after the 68 gca when shall issue was practically unknown. But it was before the total insanity of the awb. Her choice for her first gun was an ar15.
She was not a gun person as such, but she could take that ar apart and put it together like a pro and she was a good shot with it. She had a supply of ammo and a good supply of mags and if shtf she was planning on hooking up with us if she could travel.
For the record, has the NYT ever published a pro-gun editorial from any party?
On a related note, I’m sick of how the NYT went off the liberal deep end after the WSJ went to the conservative deep end. At least Murdoch’s media empire is about business (starting one conservative network to compete with seven liberal networks is just getting market share), whereas the editors / ownership of the NYT actually believe their left wing drivel.
If they want to use an Oncology Nurse to promote gun control, allow me to counter that point. My friend is a Nurse Anesthetist in Yakima, WA. “With a crime rate of 68 per one thousand residents, Yakima has one of the highest crime rates in America compared to all communities of all sizes – from the smallest towns to the very largest cities. One’s chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime here is one in 15. Within Washington, more than 95% of the communities have a lower crime rate than Yakima (http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/wa/yakima/crime/#description).
My friend has worked on many gunshot victims during his time in the area. To illustrate his stance on gun control based upon his experience, he carries a Springfield XD 40 S&W with Federal Hydroshocks.
Wow, I didn’t know Yakima had it that bad. Luckily for him, Washington actually has very good gun and self defense laws.
Lets be real. If we use ER stats to regulate get some new shoes because we are all walking or taking the bus to work.
Human beings are violent. Human beings are ingenuous. Removing one tool of violence only forces us to replace it with another, often more effective and destructive one.
I’d rather be shot, which has a pretty good chance of survival since deadly areas are relatively hard to hit in high stress situations, than be burned alive by a molotov cocktail, or blown apart by a pipe bomb or other IED, etc.
As a potential victim, I hope everyday that guns are never banned, because they’re far less deadly than the alternatives.
If we ban all the guns, do we get phasers and blasters?
I am always surprised when this same passionate outcry ever materializes on behalf of the victims of auto related injuries and death – which far out weigh those of firearms. Sure rage against a persons right to have a gun to protect themselves, but yeah if traffic is a bitch, well what can ya do, durt te durrr.
I have seen many victims of violence, on the street as a Paramedic, and in the ED as well. Oddly, I have not reached the same conclusions as this nurse. Anyone can use their personal experiences to justify their political beliefs and psychological shortcomings if they twist them enough.
A lot of us who support gun rights are veterans, and we have plenty of experience with what people who are shot look like.
I’d much rather it were not me lying on the gurney, so I’ll keep my .45, thanks.
Well, from the flip side I have been shot. Perhaps not sever enough to warrant intensive care, but a bullet did pass through my hand and it hurt like hell. That was when I decided personal defense is the only effective defense there is. I would suggest Nurse Brown head to the gang areas and try to disarm that segment of society if gun violence reduction is her goal. The rest of us are defending ourselves, thank you too much, and do not feel need to be transformed into helpless prey. Disarming honest citizens will only drum up business for the e/r.
“Remember that at the start of the day, … that patient lying on a stretcher writhing helplessly in pain was still whole.” Now, was she talking about the victim of a gang shooting, or one of the the 98,000 people in America who die every year due to preventable medical mistakes made in hospitals by health professionals just like Nurse Brown?
That’s right – 98,000 killed by medical professionals due to preventable errors. How does that compare to the 24,000 gunshot victims, Nursie?