Posted on 05/26/2008 9:38:09 PM PDT by moderatewolverine
“Killing an Unarmed Man.” That is how the front-page headline in the New York Times characterized an incident in which a man tried to run over a policeman with his car and was shot by three policemen on the scene, including his intended victim.
An automobile is a deadly weapon. If you are killed by an automobile, you are just as dead as if you had been shot through the heart.
A phrase like “an unarmed man” makes a talking point— as if matters of life and death should be discussed in terms of how you can spin a talking point.
The biggest and most common talking point when the police fire at someone is counting how many bullets they fired. There are politicians, media people and— above all— community activists who can work themselves into a rage over how many bullets were fired.
If we stop and think— which of course the demagogues hope we will never do— it is hard to see any moral difference between killing someone with one bullet or with dozens of bullets.
People who have never fired a gun in their lives say that they cannot understand why the police fired so many bullets. If it is something that they have never experienced, there is of course no reason why they should be expected to understand.
But, even after confessing their ignorance, such people often proceed to spout off, just as if they knew what they were talking about.
It is very easy for a pistol shot to miss, even in the safety and calm of a firing range, much less in a desperate situation where a decision must be made in a split second that can cost you your life or end someone else’s life.
(Excerpt) Read more at primetimepolitics.com ...
I've never fired a gun personally (which I know is a shame), but I don't think people understand what it's like to be in that situation and have to make that life or death decision.
Just imagine what the faux Black leaders would have done if any of the cops involved were white!
Like the morons who wail, “Why didn’t they just shoot to wound?”, as though the encounter was a cowboy movie in slow motion.
Dr. Sowell is right on the money again.
she was an air force brat though.(o.k. it wasn't a hellfire).
i'd much rather have a scoped rifle.
p.s. in cincinnati, off duty officers have to wear a badge that says "concealed carry permit." i ran into one at a gas station. i told him that the badge really defeats the purpose of a "concealed" carry. he said the city officials were f'in idiots.
p.p.s. recent regulations require off duty cops to wear the badge if they are carrying a concealed gun.
You should check the laws in Oregon, a "shall issue" state.
As a civilian, I do not have to tell anyone when I carry, not even if I am pulled over by a cop.
This list of places I can't carry is very, very short, and it does not include schools. (High school football games are popular in the small towns here.)
The only real problem is that OR recognizes permits from no other states at all, which throws out a lot of reciprocity states.
I would really like to see a Federal "shall issue" permit. Fat chance of that...
There’s nothing shameful about not firing a gun. It’s not compulsory. Be thankful rather that you have never needed to.
Shhhhhhh. Don't tell the libs that vehicles can be used as weapons. As long as they don't know it's like carrying concealed.
>>p.s. in cincinnati, off duty officers have to wear a badge that says “concealed carry permit.” i ran into one at a gas station. i told him that the badge really defeats the purpose of a “concealed” carry. he said the city officials were f’in idiots.
The Cincinnati riots in April of 2001 were what made me a confirmed FReeper. They were started as a “protest” to a string of police shootings, which, when analyzed, mostly consisted of “Perp actively commits mayham, is challenged by the police, ignores police, perhaps actively assaulting them, perp takes the eternal celestial dirt nap via police action.”
I’m sure that rule is partially residual PC nonsense from the riot aftermath. The event was not well reported in the MSM (surprise!) and was very much overshadowed and forgotten after more important events in September of that same year.
Here’s a link to a summary of threads on Cincy.
http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3ad646ad6811.htm#9
Lots of material that never made it to the MSM in those, we had local FReepers reporting police radio traffic, that sort of thing.
Phony excuses for criminals doesn't allow phony excuses for police officers. Firing dozens of times at unarmed suspects is total incompetance while firing dozens of times at armed suspects shows a total lack of control and panic. It also shows a disregard for where the errant bullets are going which can endanger other people's lives.
I hear you and concur.
With respect, this guy wasn’t unarmed: he had carefully strapped himself into a powerful semi-armored machine capable of killing or maiming dozens of people in a few seconds. He was a small target moving more swiftly and powerfully than a Grizzly Bear. I think we would all fire dozens of shots in those circumstances.
I like Thomas Sowell, but here I may have to disagree slightly. Cops firing at a dangerous criminal dozens of times is one thing. Cops getting off rounds in the hundreds where they had to reload is excessive (IMO). Most of these guys carry 40’s, 45’s and 9mms that have magazine capcities in the double digits. After finishing off one magazine’s worth and feeding another it might be appropriate to see what damage you have done before squeezing that trigger. Misses and richochets can have consequences.
For liberals to understand what it's like to be killed by a "car-as-weapon", the reporter should have said how many bullets could be made from the metal in a car. I'm sure it's in the " ten thousands" range...
"Armed criminal shoots at policeman with 10,000 bullets..."
“i’d much rather have a scoped rifle.”
Amen.
I own and shoot pistols regularly. Been doing it for 30+ years. They are HARD to hit with, especially under pressure.
In addition, even the stoutest pistol rounds will fail to do the job (unlike a high powered rifle) even if it’s a close miss.
TV idiots who’ve probably never fired a weapon.
Glad you’re such a fine shot.
Have you ever been shot at?
And just for the record this creep was armed and was actively attempting to kill people.
L
“I would really like to see a Federal “shall issue” permit. Fat chance of that...”
Already there. See the Second Amendment.
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