When the massacre was first reported, I read many posts giving India’s relatively disarmed nature (as compared to the United States) as a factor in:
1. Why it occurred.
2. Why the villains were so successful.
Given that, I think it is defeatist to marginalize the benefit of honest, well-trained folks in that situation. There’s a reason why a soft target is chosen. Even if each sentiment about handguns vs. rifles is correct, these guys didn’t pick a high-risk location, didn’t plan to get rounds returned them. If nothing else, it would put them off their plan. At any rate, if I was stuck in a location like that, I’d want to be armed. That’s the bottom line. You can’t always pick your battles, and some will be pretty miserable. The fellows in 1776 thought “it” worth the effort, not that it would be easy. If you can take a rifleman out, his weapon might become yours. If you are unarmed, it won’t be. The problem of how to distinguish yourself from the bad guys remains, but that is not a reason to cower and wait to be killed. Anyway, no one chose to be assaulted there.
Sorry for segueing onto the War of Independence, but if oppression comes, as it has and will again, it is worth the fight even if the odds are long. I’m not saying “let’s be stupid about it”, only that it is worth the fight.
As a reply to post #1, there will be those that agree with the basic arguments given but wonder why there were directed to post #1. They were not. I’ve been reading many posts and articles on threats ahead or experienced in the past, and once in awhile I read a posted opinion that is something like:
The fellows you are resisting are 10 light years beyond you with 6.5 billion more firepower than you have. So, go home.
We do not have to see our way to success to attempt to preserve our freedoms. These have been taken away, slowly, from us for decades, and we are like the frog in the pot.
Do what you need to do to preserve your freedom. Don’t wait for permission. Don’t do it only if it is safe. Don’t be stupid about it. Being outnumbered can be measured in emotional righteousness, geography, or sheer numbers of boots on the ground. I have a problem with the motorcycle helmet law here. I’ll wear one, but it should be MY decision. I don’t want to not wear one, but I hate the law. I’m adult enough to make this call. The results of not wearing helmets is easy to ascertain. John may have a long mustache, and you may not like it, but it isn’t your business to tell him to shave. The results of oppressive laws which stifle human spirit are more difficult to measure.