This, from Megan McArdle (via Chait), makes its way into the Daily Beast, which suggests that the publication is no mere whimsical eponym of Evelyn Waugh's whimsical parody of such wretchedly poor journalism as to leave one stunned and agape:
I'd ... like us to encourage people to gang rush shooters, rather than following their instincts to hide; if we drilled it into young people that the correct thing to do is for everyone to instantly run at the guy with the gun, these sorts of mass shootings would be less deadly.
The profound imbecility of that passage is simply indescribable.
Of course McArdle is well known for "profound imbecility" but she is not the first to make statements like these. I forget who it was after the VT shootings that said if the students had just thrown their textbooks at the shooter and then rushed him, deaths would have been avioided.
This is all part of the "blame the rape victim for the rape" mentality that is seen on the right. The Party of Responsibility has always refused to live up to its name when they look at themselves.
Posted by: japa21 | December 18, 2012 at 10:10 AM
She wasn't serious was she? I thought that was how the principal got killed? Easy to instruct others what to do in that situation when you've never been in it yourself.
Posted by: AnneJ | December 18, 2012 at 10:49 AM
Profound imbecility is McMegan's stock and trade. This is really bad even by her extremely low standards though. At least her worst enemies - numbers and arithmetic - aren't involved.
Posted by: Turgidson | December 18, 2012 at 12:33 PM
Josh Marshall pegged McCardle in TPM earlier today: "breezy contrarianisn" is her stock in trade.
Posted by: Bruce Adams | December 18, 2012 at 12:46 PM
Jonathan Chait's article was pure joy. That was one for the ages.
The final line was the icing on the cake.
Posted by: MinneapolisPipe | December 19, 2012 at 01:46 AM
As written it's terrible advice - we certainly should NOT encourage "young people" to rush gunmen. And McAardle reminds me of Easterbrook in her reflexive attempts to be contrary (whatever happened to him...?)
However it doesn't take much imagination to think of a situation where an adult or adults should gang-rush would-be spree killers. To each their own and it's impossible to predict how one would actually respond, but if I were one of those teachers who had gathered the kids into a corner or a closet, I'd like to think I'd have the courage or desperation to at least attempt to ambush the gunman and go beserk on him if he blew his way into my classroom. Risky, yes, but the alternative surely couldn't be worse, right?
Posted by: sleepy | December 19, 2012 at 03:30 PM