Given this truth, I would counsel anyone who is asked by law enforcement to surrender or come forward to do so in a non-threatening way to the law enforcement person. Given the fact that his life is in jeopardy each and every day and at a time he may or may not expect, docility by innocent citizens is required. Do as they say!
But just watch these French heroes!
4 comments:
The best I can say is that I do hope the French people begin making better decisions so as to avoid such horrors in the future.
The police in France, as elsewhere, do their job. Sometimes they are in the firing line and get killed. One of the more ridiculous comments I have read on this blog is that if all civilians were armed the terrorists would not target them. It would not have mattered if all the victims of 9/11 had had 'concealed carry' permits. The only option they might have had would be to shoot themselves rather than jumping to their deaths.
In August 1979 eighteen soldiers of the Parachute Regiment were killed by two roadside bombs at Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland. The fact that they were armed to the teeth and highly trained did not save them. And the IRA terrorists were not suicide bombers; those that were blown up by their own bombs were so as a result of accident.
'Mass casualty' attacks by terrorists are likely to continue, in the US as elsewhere. I have to admit that after the Boston bombings I wondered if any Irish-Americans of that city had second thoughts about having contributing to Noraid in order to allow the IRA to set off bombs in other people's cities, now that they had experienced terrorism at first hand.
If suggesting that police should not shoot unarmed civilians, or insisting that they be subject to the rule of law if they do, is ignorant or disrespectful, then let's have more of it. It's great to support police -- they do a difficult and dangerous job. But they are no more infallible than politicians or doctors or lawyers or priests and should not be above criticism or accountability.
John Nolan:
For my own part I have to admit that I have often had the sort of thought you articulated in the final paragraph of your comment. I have refrained from expressing it for fear that it may cut too close to the bone and give serious offense. Perhaps, however, it needs to be said and I do not want to leave you standing alone in this. This said, the vast majority of Americans surely would not have supported the evil actions of the IRA.
Post a Comment