Oh give me a break with that:
But the story of Crum, then a 40-year-old floor manager at a nearby bookstore, and the other vigilantes is complicated. On the day of the shooting, many of the armed men were reckless and unorganized. At times, they put police in danger.
“There were lots of people carrying guns, mostly young men, mainly rifles,” said Ann Major, who was a senior at the time. “There was a mood of insanity, of wildness, of craziness in the air, of pent-up frustration, of adrenaline — a wanting-to-fight-back feeling.”
Yea that was very helpful as you can see above. That was a 20th century answer and not a good one to a 21st problem.
I was a journalist for nearly 30 years and covered a few riots. What you see on TV isn't anything like what's going on, the chaos and fear, and lost of panic. Over the years we would undergo demonstration training with police. To prove a point, the trainers had some gun owners come by and armed them with paint ball guns. Then, with us watching, staged a riot, just exploded as riots do and they were screaming insults, threateningly waving signs, sticks, spitting....just like the real full meal deal.
They gun owners all had the same reactions, they backed up rather awkwardly then one pulled a paint gun, then all of them. Then they were out of paint balls and only about two rioters were hit. The police said this crew of gun owners was 'above average.
The thinking of the Royal Canadian Police is that if you have one tool and no training, you will use that one tool which would, in the case above, would have been inappropriate and a waste of ammunition. We like to think we could remain calm, but I can assure everyone, unless you have training, not just experience you will not. The flight or fight syndrome is more powerful than a few bulldozers.
I will close with a description of a riot, in Montreal for no reason. A massive crowd, a hot sweltering night, a bottle smashes and "boom" suddenly people are running past...in all directions. A small bomb goes off, smoke rises, you are knocked face down from behind, your hand stepped on. More small explosions, you rise to your feet just in time to get a whiff of rotting peppers and your eyes begin to water. You try to head for the edge, or "out" and find you are being propelled by the crowd, not everyone going the same way.
Now there is more smoke, the smell of plastic or something burning, you are slammed against the side of a car, it's windows smashed, it is where the smoke is coming from. You see an opening in people and lunge for it only to smash your face into someone's back, who turns to retaliate. But you're down again and he moves off. Then there is an opening and you half crouch half run for what seems like a 100 yard dash....and finally you have space, you are not touching anyone and have your back to a wall and shoulder in a corner. Your shirt has no buttons, one knee is bleeding through the ripped pants, your left hand is hurting, no numb for some reason. Sirens wail for the first time. It has been four minutes since you heard the bottle break.
