Fight or Flight

When things like the Boston Marathon bombing which happened yesterday happens there are generally 2 reactions by the people around the tragedy. Fight or Flight.

When the bombs went off you could see people immediately running toward the blasts to aid those hurt. They were cops and firemen and medics. That's their job. They are paid to be in the way of danger and help people.

Then there were others who were running away from the blasts. Self preservation is a powerful thing. They are thinking about getting back to their families or their kids who would be left behind if they died. Concern for your loved ones is the thing that will put them between danger and the safety of their own.

With the world as fucked up as it seems to be with mass shooters and people blowing things up, I wonder how I would react in this situation. In Tucson the fucknuts who shot Gabby Giffords was stopped when he was changing clips. People got up off the ground and prevented him from doing any more harm. They were heroes but never intended to be. They were trying to survive and saw the chance to stop a madman.

I don't know which I would be. I generally keep a calm head in stupid situations and a gunman would probably make me angry. I think I would get on the ground and wait until he had to reload. I have been shooting for years and have a good idea how many rounds many guns hold. There is also a distinctive sound when a magazine is empty and the bolt locks back. It might take someone 5 seconds or a bit more to get the next clip and release the slide. The NRA says it takes a second to change mags. The video they show of someone doing it that fast is of someone who had shitloads of practice and wasn't in a situation where he was killing people.

I think I'd take the chance and rush him. There's lots of ways to stop someone quickly; eye gouging has always been a favorite of mine. Can't shoot if you can't see. If a shooter was distracted even for a moment, others might rise up and stop him.

Heroes are normal people in extraordinary situations. Anyone can be a hero in the right circumstance.

Facebook Vagueness

Facebook is an odd thing. I get annoyed with people who are purposefully vague about their posts so that  people respond to them and they can explain more.

 For example: A "friend" on my FB feed had a status change and was in a "relationship" with "so and so."

Um, excuse me, but aren't you married to my college friend? Shouldn't you announce that you are separated or single and maybe there should be a post about, "I left my husband." Or maybe "My marriage is over." To go from "Married" to "in a relationship" with someone not your husband of 18 years is odd.

I saw her status change but since I'm not friends with my college friend on FB, I couldn't verify what I was reading. (I'm friends with him by phone and email rather than reading crap in my news feed.) I haven't called to ask what happened. I figured if he wanted to call, he would. Also I don't really know  how to broach the subject. "So I see on FB you wife left you." That seems cold and mean.

So for the past 4-5 days her posts have been about forgiveness and maybe she could have been a better wife. I, and everyone else, has not engaged these posts to ask for clarification. I only met her a month ago when I was in Tucson for my friend's illness. The semi public wallowing on FB of "I suck" is odd to me. I wallow here, or in private writings, or in a bar over a drink. Call a friend if you need to talk, but sharing that on FB would never cross my mind.

Because when you click "like" or make a comment it shows up in all your friend's feeds on the side. Or at least it does on my FB page. I see all their activity on the side. It's like being a stalker into the minutiae of their online life.

Then there are other "friends" on FB. They do very vague and pseudo spiritual posts. "The Phoenix spreads her wings." Beautiful. Poetic. What does that mean? Something in your life changing for the better? Great. You could post "I'm having a great day today," or "Great things are happening to me." But the yogic double talk is confusing.

Then someone this past week, the same one who left her husband, announced, I'm not kidding, "I like cheese." Well, let me inform the media. If you are a foodie, and I have a good friend who posts about and works int he food industry, then posting about food makes sense. If you  are suffering a pique of boredom and can't think of anything to write on FB, then don't write on FB.

For if someone were descending into madness and the only baseline for sanity was what was previously posted on social media, you wouldn't be able to tell when they lost it.