Date: Thu, 13 Sep 2001 15:27:18 -0400
To: Matthew Gaylor <freematt@coil.com>
From: Matthew Gaylor <freematt@coil.com>
Subject: Sarah Thompson M.D.'s Response to Suicide Bombings
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed"

[Note from Matthew Gaylor: Sarah Thompson is a psychiatrist in Salt Lake City.]

To: righter@yahoogroups.com
From: Sarah Thompson <righter@therighter.com>
Date: Thu, 13 Sep 2001 13:15:35 -0600
Subject: [righter] Response to Suicide Bombings
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/righter>righter Main Page

The following was originally sent to the Utah Gun Owners Alliance email list.

Utah Gun Owners Alliance joins with all Utahns and all Americans in
mourning the terrible tragedies that occurred yesterday.  Our thoughts and
prayers go out to the dead, the injured, and their families - and to our
elected leaders who will be making some difficult decisions in the days and
months ahead.

While we feel obligated to point out that much of the carnage could have
been prevented by armed citizens, law enforcement officers, or sky
marshals, we also believe that there are no simplistic solutions to
terrorism.  Remember that ordinary ammunition is considered hazardous on an
airplane because it will penetrate the hull and lead to
depressurization.  And firing a gun in an extremely cramped and  crowded
plane also risks injury to innocent passengers.

More relevant is the fact that Americans have been indoctrinated to be good
victims.  We're told over and over again that we should never resist
criminals, that we should passively submit to being robbed, raped, mugged,
or hijacked.  Women's centers teach women not to fight back, even though
fighting back with a firearm is the most effective way to avoid
injury.  Employers require their employees to be disarmed, and to agree to
whatever a criminal demands.  Those of us who are willing to take
responsibility for our own safety are shunned, persecuted, and generally
made to feel like second class citizens who are not welcome in "civilized
society".

The reason that a few hijackers armed only with knives and box cutters were
able to murder tens of thousands of innocent people is less a problem of
physically disarmed passengers, and more a problem of psychologically
disarmed passengers.

Had the passengers been taught that fighting back is the honorable and
appropriate response to thugs, things would likely have turned out
differently.  It now appears that this is exactly what happened on the
flight that crashed in Pennsylvania - the passengers attempted to subdue
the hijackers.  They gave their lives, but prevented the deaths of
countless others, and the possible destruction of Camp David, the White
House or the Capitol.  They upheld our proud tradition of American heroism.

In a pinch, pocket knives, cell phones, pens, books, laptop computers,
keys, etc. can all be used as weapons.  All that's needed is the will and
courage to fight back.

We do not say this to dishonor the dead, who almost certainly had no idea
of what the terrorists planned.  We're sure that had they known, they would
have willingly sacrificed their lives to save thousands of others.  We will
probably never know how many heroic people did exactly that.

But we must resolve - right here, right now - that we will stop our
idolatrous worship of safety above all else, and return to the values of
individual responsibility, community responsibility, courage, and
resistance to evil that made our nation great.

In the days and months ahead, we expect to see unprecedented attacks on our
G-d given rights - not just the right to keep and bear arms, but the rights
of free speech, of assembly, of privacy, of travel, and of due process.  We
expect to see calls for more gun control, more Carnivore type surveillance
of the internet, more wiretaps and surveillance of cell phone
traffic,  more warrantless searches and seizures, more face recognition
technology, more fingerprinting, more restrictions on peaceful assembly,
and increasing demands for some sort of high-tech method to track
everything each and every person does.

We must have the courage to oppose these attacks on our rights.  We cannot
preserve our freedom by destroying it.  If we allow the acts of vicious
criminals to turn the United States into a police state, they will have
won, and we will lose everything.

Nearly 250 years ago, Benjamin Franklin wrote: "They that can give up
essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither
liberty nor safety".

Yesterday, President Bush said: "America was targeted for attack because
we're the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world.   And
no one will keep that light from shining."

We pray he keeps his word.

Not only must we not give up our essential liberty for false promises of
safety, we must ensure that our nation remains that "brightest beacon for
freedom".

Utah Gun Owners Alliance suggests the following:

Write to your Congressman, Senators, and state legislators and let them
know that you are not willing to sacrifice your liberty for promises of
safety, and that you expect them to protect and defend our Constitution and
Bill of Rights.  Also let them know that so long as our government protects
our liberties, we will support them 100% in the difficult days ahead.

Check your preparedness status.  Do you have adequate food, water, medical
supplies, lighting, batteries, radios, and self defense equipment should
you need them?  We're not trying to be alarmist here, but we think citizens
have the obligation to be prepared to be useful and self sufficient in time
of crisis, rather than becoming additional burdens on social services.

Fly your flag!  It's simple, free, shows your support for our country, and
will encourage your neighbors to get into the patriotic spirit.

If you're in good enough health to donate blood, please give the gift of
life.  Also consider donating to the religious and charitable organizations
that are helping victims.  The American Red Cross web site has a lot of
information at www.redcross.org

Don't stoop to hatred based on anyone's nationality, ethnicity or
religion.  Justice is the most noble of human endeavors.  Bigotry is not.

Don't let terrorists define our nation, and make sure that those who died
did not die in vain!

Pray for wisdom, courage, and strength for the injured, the families of
victims, President Bush, our Congress, and all Americans.

May G-d bless America, land of the FREE, home of the BRAVE.

Copyright 2001
Sarah Thompson, M.D.
<http://www.therighter.com>

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