240 seconds or "If I had been there, I would have..."

[babylonsister]

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/2/23/1744206/-240-seconds-or-If-I-had-been-there-I-would-have


240 seconds or "If I had been there, I would have..."
By djohn817
Friday Feb 23, 2018 · 11:48 AM EST


4 minutes. 240 seconds. In that time, 140 large caliber shells exploded, tearing through flesh, bone, Brick walls, doors, desks. 17 people died.14 more were injured. Holes big enough to put your fist through. 240 seconds.

snip//

5 minutes. The time spent at a stop light. 150 shells exploding in flesh and brick. Enough time to breathe in and out 60 times. 80 heart beats. The time it took for an IED to blowup our sons Humvee and kill those with him or permanently injure them and pass out by the wayside, injured himself for the second time.

The only "action" our President ever saw, was if he walked in on Barron playing Warcraft on his Xbox, yet he calls a Vet who had Taken 60 breaths and heard explosions reminiscent of Battlefields in Vietnam, a "Coward"? Bodies being ripped apart with a military grade weapon of war, designed to kill with maximum efficiency, firing 3o rounds in 3-5 seconds as it was designed to do. Yet a small caliber handgun he believes will "make" a big difference against a gun he may never have even been able to get close enough to hit the owner, If he had tried.

Was he a coward? Did he react different than Rambo or the Road Warrior or Death Wish? I don’t know. Was he different than Warcraft players and World of Tank players? Yes. BUT the "movies and games" don’t fire back, your friends don’t die. You won’t die, if 150 shots are fired. You turn them off and go to bed and wake up tomorrow to try again. The students and teachers won’t. They won’t gain new health. They won’t come back to life.

So before we condemn a man’s life for not taking actions "you" would have, "if" you had been there, think.

5 minutes. The time it took Trump to repeal the bill preventing mentally handicapped people from legally buying a weapon of war. The time it took The NRA to condemn the police, the FBI, The media. The Time it took Paul Ryan to refuse to allow any weapon laws to be voted on. The time it Trump took to tweet his Russian denials. The time it took to tee up a ball, as the funerals were starting. The time our son spent flying through the air and passing out from the IED.

The time it took Trumps kids to tweet about silencers and blame the kids of the school for being paid.

The time it took to walk Cruz to a police car in handcuffs. The time for a short prayer. The time it took a man to decide the proper course of action against a high powered weapon of war. The time it took to kill seventeen teens and adults and wound 14 others. The time it took a man in body armor to kill and wound dozens in a church in Texas. To kill 50 in Vegas and wound 500 more. The time it took to kill those in New Town and San Bernadine. Sadly, the time it will take to kill many more any day soon. Over 50,000 people killed just last year with guns in our Country. Our response? Nothing.

But when one person has three to five minutes to decide whether to use his handgun on a mobile target using a high powered weapon of mass destruction, we label him a coward.

Its time to put the blame where it belongs. The weapon of the killings, their weapon of choice. The AR15. A 30 shot magazine. A flash suppressor. Trump may have seen it on Barron’s PlayStation, but that the closest he has ever got to one. As a confirmed coward and draft dodger, I ignore his "opinions" mostly. But I won’t condemn a Veteran for a three minute delay. For NOT dying. For PTSD. For choosing to wait for help. Unless you have lived it yourself, don’t act like your any better or would have done any more. 4 minutes. 240 seconds. 60 breathes. 80 heart beats. That’s the length of time. Did people die? Yes. Could he have prevented it? I don’t know. He could have been number 18. We don’t know. Why because we weren’t there. The time spent at a stop light. That was it . Then it was over. Too late. What would you really have done? I’m a Vet. My family is full of Vets. I don’t know. T can tell you how I think I would have reacted; but I wasn’t there. Neither were you. 4 minutes. 240 seconds 60 breaths and 80 heart beats. That’s it.

[malaise]

1. A brilliant OP

Get thee to the greatest page

[babylonsister]

18. Well, I liked it, so

am thrilled you did!

[Angry Dragon]

2. KICK

[gratuitous]

3. I would have used the magical powers automatically conferred on the Good Guy with a Gun

I've heard so much from Second Amendment aficionados about the amazing powers holding a gun bestows on a good guy. I would automatically know how many Bad Guys with a Gun there were in the vicinity. I would know where they were and what kind of weapons and ammunition they had. I would know where the other Good Guys with Guns were so I didn't shoot them accidentally (and vice versa, under the Code of the Good Guys). Every round I squeezed off would unerringly target the Bad Guy, inflicting either a mortal wound or a disabling wound, depending on the severity of the Bad Guy's actions up to that point and the immediate danger posed to any Innocent Victims who might be around the Bad Guy. Naturally, none of the Innocent Victims would be hit inadvertently, unless they were Bad in some other way.

Either that, or I don't have the faintest idea what I would do in that situation, and I hope I never have to find out, and then be judged by a bunch of people who weren't there.

[liberal N proud]

4. Not to condemn the man, but rather, use it to make a point

The good guy with a gun or more guns will keep you safer analogies are false and deadly ways of thinking.

[Arkansas Granny]

5. K&R

[blake2012]

6. it is sad this guy has to live with what occurred and that he did nothing. HOWEVER

I want to state the main reason why this is so sensational and important is it comes out that this guy was there as a good guy with a gun and still the tragedy was not averted.

it gives lie to all of the lying spewed by trump and NRA the past few days as they work furiously to deflect from the real cause:

TOO MANY GUNS and TOO MANY GUNS OF WAR on our streets.

That is the main point here for me and as for the Sherrif's Deputy (not a low level rent-a-cop security guard as some have stated) may peace be with him.

[babylonsister]

10. "TOO MANY GUNS and TOO MANY GUNS OF WAR on our streets."

Yes, and not enough common sense solutions.

Welcome to DU!

[blake2012]

12. thank you. I'm enjoying it.

[EffieBlack]

7. Mr. Big Man

[babylonsister]

8. Repulsive comes to mind. nt

[Decoy of Fenris]

9. Tragically hilarious that we have DUers who say the same thing as Trump.

"Coward. I'da grabbed my pistol, jumped into action, done a sweet 360-no-scope and taken out the shooter, while all the hot ladies fawned over me. And, and, I would walk away from a cool explosion and be awesome!"

Idiotic.

[mcar]

11. So happy to rec this

Guns are the issue, not the supposed failure of the "good guy with a gun." This is all distraction and deflection.

[aikoaiko]

13. Even his boss thinks the cop screwed up.

The Sheriff didn't call him a coward, which is good. Trump was deplorable.

[babylonsister]

14. Hmmm. Maybe his boss needs to read this. nt

[aikoaiko]

15. I'm not saying the resource officer needs to be humiliated or crucified.

I'm just not going to apologize or make excuses for him not following protocol.

He lost his job and probably won't be hired as a cop again. Those consequences are appropriate.

[dumbcat]

16. "... 140 large caliber shells exploded,..."

WTF?

[rustydog]

17. Thank you. Well said

People who have never been in those situations need to STFU. Being a sniper on Nintendo is not reality. Firing thousands of rounds of paintballs doesn't make you a marksman in a shooting situation.
Unless you walked the halls looking for the bad guy with a gun, shut up.

[USALiberal]

19. Wait....a bunch of DUers know what should of happened!!! Many posts! nt