Yeah I'd like to be a tough guy too.

In the wake of the tragedy of Virginia Tech many pundits are weighing in on the politics behind the mass slaying. Whether it be gun control, minority life, and school bullying media talking heads can and will go a little far with their analysis while they try to make sense out of a senseless act.

Not to be outdone Neal Boortz asks the questions of why the 'wussification of America' was so evident in this case. He comments that he doesn't understand why someone just didn't rush him. John Derbyshire goes even further suggesting what someone should do in case of such an attack, stating "It's not like this was Rambo, hosing the place down with automatic weapons. He had two handguns for goodness' sake—one of them reportedly a .22. At the very least, count the shots and jump him reloading or changing hands.....Yes, yes, I know it's easy to say these things: but didn't the heroes of Flight 93 teach us anything?"

Now I have some training in self defense. I've been trained in the martial arts and have some specialty in weapons disarmament. I'm no expert by any means, but I do have knowledge of how to hurt people severely if I feel the situation warrants. Having shot firearms I know a little about guns, but again I'm no conessiour in the field of weapons.

Having said that I have to poke some holes in the Segal fantasy Boortz and Derbyshire paint for themselves. Having been around semi-automatic handguns it doesn't take much training for one to learn to reload quickly. I've heard people shoot and without looking they changed magazines without me knowing. As far as counting the shots are concerned there's no way to tell how many bullets are in the magazine. Magazines differ as do guns.

Most disarment techniques are only effective if the firearm is held to you within arms reach. Most instructors will give you three options if someone is firing at you from arms length 1) dive for cover, 2) if you have a weapon fire back, and 3) run like hell.

Comparing this situation to the brave passengers on Flight 93 is ludicrous. The students at Virginia Tech were bombarded by a madman who walked in quietly and started unloading. All decisions had to be made at a split second and to ask the average person to be able to react according to Boortz's VanDamme like philosophy is unfair. The passengers on Flight 93 had one thing going for them in their rush to the cockpit and that is time. The people on that plane had time to analyze the situation, plan, and execute accordingly, something the students lacked.

Now Boortz and Derbyshire aren't all wrong in their ideas that American youth aren't trained in the art of self defense. I believe it's the responsibility of every parent to ensure their kids are at least given the basics of the martial arts. Still it's unfair to paint the students as less than anything they were in that situation, which are victims of a horrendous random act.

"As the cliche goes—and like most cliches. It's true—none of us knows what he'd do in a dire situation like that. I hope, however, that if I thought I was going to die anyway, I'd at least take a run at the guy." - John Derbyshire

Boortz, others blame VA Tech victims for not fighting back