HE didn't do the safe thing!
That's it in a nutshell. We are always told (and expected) to do the safe thing. Well, I've got news for those who don't already know, that when someone robs/assaults you at gun point,
THERE IS NO SAFE THING!
All there is, is the hope that non resistance will keep you safe. That's all. A hope. And all to often it is a false hope.
Once upon a time, there were very distinct differences in the penalties for armed robbery and murder. Today there aren't. Once upon a time if you robbed a store (or a bank, or etc.) you got XX years in jail (20 was common). If you killed someone, you got the needle, the chair, the gas chamber, or in more barbaric locals, the rope. That just ain't so today. A few places still execute murderers, but not most. And with "life" in jail often meaning 20 years (with good behavior) then release, just what is the incentive for the criminal not to shoot the clerk, iin order to keep from being identified?
The video systems virtually all stores have today are a help, but there is a big difference between a B&W video (often not clearly showing the face), and a real live person to testify.
"Do what the man with the gun wants and you won't get hurt!" is BS, and large numbers of dead victims would tell you that if they could. Large numbers of wounded survivors (many crippled for life), and raped women can tell you the same thing. Passive compliance to the goblin with the gun sure helped all those kids at Columbine and Viriginia Tech (to name just two) didn't it?
I'm not saying you must charge in to the guns like Marines, don't be stupid. Just understand that doing nothing, even when you have the chance doesn't mean you will be safe, or spared.
It ain't PC (like I care!), but remember the old bumper sticker "Fight Crime, Shoot Back!" If more people could, and would, I think we would be better off.
