Where Do We Find Such Men? (Prof. Liviu Librescu)

AOL News ^ | Apr 17th 2007 6:12PM | by Paul Mirengoff

[SolidWood]

Imagine if Professor Librescu would have been armed.

[Kenton]

When I first heard about that guy, the first thing I thought was that God had a purpose for his life...

[Basheva]

This Professor - this real hero - didn’t ask his students if they were “infidels” or “believers” - he did what a G-Dly person does - without asking.

He came from a tradition of values - Judaism - that doesn’t ask who and what you are before trying to help.

Christians have also taken up those values.

Islam has not.

[USMCWife6869]

I love this story. I have read the story of this professor many, many times. God bless his family, and God rest his soul.

[2banana]

I wonder if Professor Liviu Librescu last thought was “Damn, this is the third time I should have had a gun, but have been disarmed by the powers in charge...”

[Thrownatbirth]

People experienced in adversity will react better than most.

[pillut48]

Yes, indeed.

God put all those who were killed on the path to those moments—there will be many more stories such as this in the days to come of good overcoming evil in many of these horrifying circumstances.

[I still care]

My first thought on hearing this was what isn’t being said - that the professor was Israeli, and thus understands the nature of evil and terrorism and how people cannot remain passive or afraid if they wish to survive.

[meg88]

well said.

[panthermom]

Bingo!

[presidio9]

In this photo released by the Librescu family in Israel, Tuesday, April 17, 2007, Romanian-born lecturer Liviu Librescu is seen in an undated photo. The Israeli lecturer killed in the Virginia Tech massacre was a Holocaust survivor who later escaped from Communist Romania. Relatives said Librescu, an internationally respected aeronautics engineer and a lecturer at Virginia Tech for 20 years, saved the lives of several students by blocking the gunman before he was gunned down in Monday's shooting, which coincided with Israel's Holocaust remembrance day. (AP Photo/Librescu Family, ho)

[Brujo]

Evil triumphed yesterday, ...

No, evil did not triumph. Evil challenged us that day. As long as we have examples such as Professor Librescu who meet the challenge head on, evil will never triumph.

[vladimir998]

You wrote: “When I first heard about that guy, the first thing I thought was that God had a purpose for his life...”

That’s exactly what I thought too!

[JOHN ADAMS]

I wonder if Professor Liviu Librescu last thought was “Damn, this is the third time I should have had a gun, but have been disarmed by the powers in charge.

It would have been the third time he wanted a gun, but only the second he didn’t have one. The middle time was in Israel. They have ‘em there, thank G-d.

[2banana]

It would have been the third time he wanted a gun, but only the second he didn’t have one. The middle time was in Israel. They have ‘em there, thank G-d.

I count:

The Nazis
The Communists
The crazed asian killer

And on all counts - the government in charge disarmed him before trying to kill him...

[thesearethetimes...]

“No, evil did not triumph. Evil challenged us that day. As long as we have examples such as Professor Librescu who meet the challenge head on, evil will never triumph.”

I hope you don’t mind, but I have paraphrased, and credited your quote for my tag line.

Thank you for such a concise and eloquent post. I only wish I could have posted it in total.

tatt

[PeterFinn]

If only.

[Brujo]

I hope you don't mind, but I have paraphrased, and credited your quote for my tag line.

Thank you for such a concise and eloquent post. I only wish I could have posted it in total.

Thank you for the kind words; you do me an honor.

When I read the story about Professor Librescu, I thought ”Would I have had the courage under those circumstances to act as he did?“

I have seen some postings here on FreeRepublic chastising (to a lesser or greater extent) those who did not act as decisively. I realized I couldn't say that I would have been able to act thusly myself. I don't believe anyone truly knows what they will do in such a stressful and terrifying situation until they have been through it themselves.

In Professor Librescu's case, we know. He faced down evil and paid the ultimate price to preserve those in his charge. He triumphed over evil, not the reverse.

Other stories of bravery are beginning to seep out but they will never get the mainstream publicity that, e.g., the renewed debate on gun ownership will. That's truly unfortunate because it's stories such as these that show us the very best that lurks within us. All we have to do is reach deep down inside and pull it out. The example set by Professor Librescu shows us that we can triumph over evil if only we have the courage to do what's right.

I apologize for this long-winded response to a post praising brevity (what irony!), but the notion of holding up examples of excellence for others to emulate is a hot button for me. I am neither discouraged nor diminished by being shown that someone else has excelled. On the contrary, I am encouraged to redouble my own efforts since I have clearly seen that excellence is possible.

[Tokra]

It would have been the third time he wanted a gun, but only the second he didn’t have one. The middle time was in Israel. They have ‘em there, thank G-d.

I see this a lot: "G-d". I'm curious - why is the middle letter left out? Is there a reason?