“Or perhaps I should phrase the question differently, why were all the male students in those classes so sheepishly waiting to be shot dead rather then taking action to save some lives if not their own?”
first, no one knows what happened in those classrooms and no one knows how many died as a result of trying to get to the gunman. At least two men died giving others a chance to live when the gunman entered their specific rooms.
second, the gunman was able, by eyewitness accounts, to change clips in under 2 seconds. considering the gunman shot people in the front rows, by eyewitness accounts, and considering the amount of desks, books, bodies and other stuff in the way, the chances of someone actually being able to get to him from the rear of the room are remote.
third, HAD the students KNOWN he was going to enter their room and were prepared, I could see your point, but at the risk of being flamed, if you don’t know where he is or where he’s going, the first reaction is to get away.
The best option was to have people there who were armed and willing to confront this monster, but they aren’t allowed by law. this killer had a “kill-free zone” in which to work. he picked his building and his targets very carefully to inflict maximum damage.
“first, no one knows what happened in those classrooms and no one knows how many died as a result of trying to get to the gunman.”
Worng! We have survivor accounts that indicate no one attempted to stop the shooter other than those two individual mentioned.
Three survivors in one classroom who had not fought back, braced their feet against the door to keep Cho from reentering the classroom to finish them off.
You need to read the reports of the survivors who when face with a (I hope you will forgive the psychological reference) the choice to fight or flee, chose to hide in closets (which apparently did not work very well) and jump out second story windows while the 75 year old professor tried to bar the door.