Nicholas Winset was fired from Emmanuel College in Boston last week for leading a discussion about gun control and what he termed "prissiness" in our society. Professor Winset responded with a rambling 4-part video on YouTube.
Winset hit the nail right on the head, but no one is comfortable with facing the reality of his words. The only person who stood up to the crazed gunman at Virginia Tech last week was Liviu Librescu, a holocaust survivor who gave his life so his students could escape. While none of us knows what we would do in a similar situation, does it bother you that no one fought back? If you were being lined up against a wall to be shot, would you offer resistance?
You know "prissy" people; you probably work with some. They are the people for whom any strong emotion is a sign of instability. Any strongly-held belief is a sign of dangerous fundamentalism. Supporting a cause larger than oneself is foolish; support of one's nation is jingoism. Life is to be lived in the safe middle, where nothing is felt, everything is analyzed and no one is loved, hated, adored or abhorred.
I'm about to blame this on liberalism, so get your keyboard warmed up. Do you know what the politically correct response to a robber in your home is? Go hide and let him take what he wants. I'm not kidding. Logically applied to Virginia Tech, the student body did exactly the right thing: they offered no resistance---and they died. Five students (or fewer) acting together could've ended the entire thing. I was not in college when I was 18-22, so I have no idea what my attitude would've been had I been in that situation with other students. However, I can say that the men I was serving with when I was that age would not have stood idly by while someone picked us off one at a time. To quote Bernie Mac, "there'd be some furniture movin' goin' on up in there."
I'm not trying make light of the situation. My hope and prayer is that the tragedy at Virginia Tech does not reflect our society as a whole.
Posted by Matthew at April 23, 2007 09:24 PMTrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.opaquelucidity.com/movabletype/mt-tb.cgi/1098
Thank you! I used your post as a spring board over at my blog.
I will have to find my original post last year on a similar subject.
Thanks again...
bryans
Hi Matt,
I'm not sure I'd go generalizing people who hid under their desks and were 'lying low' to possibly escape detection as 'prissy'. I saw an interview the next day with a young man who, along with a few other fellow classmates, barricaded their door and held it shut while the shooter fired through the door, stopped to reload and then moved on. Are these guys prissy for not opening up the door and confronting him? If that's the case I bet the rest of the students in that class are glad they were.
And while I have nothing against hold strongly held beliefs - I have many of my own - I think the benefit of that is strictly in the eye of the beholder. Those people blowing themselves up for their cause every day in Iraq are sure not prissies are they? No shortage of support for causes greater than themselves. While strong emotion, and unwavering support might, at times be great, cautious objectivity should not be undervalued. It could be used to great benefit in so many situations around the world.
Very thought provoking post.