[IsraelTimes] I got my gun. It was an understandably painstaking bureaucratic process that I had started and stopped twice before, but this time I saw it all the way through. It took about half a year from start to finish, but here I am – my permit folded carefully in my wallet, and a brand new Glock semi-automatic on my belt.
Privately owning a pistol in Israel is no doubt a great responsibility. And I’ll admit, that sitting here typing with this bulge of nylon-based polymer in it’s leather holster digging into my side after only having the weapon for 24 hours is pretty nerve-wracking. Yes, it’s uncomfortable physically, and it will take some time getting used to, but it’s even more then that.
‘What if it accidentally goes off and I shoot myself in the foot? What if a kid gets his hands on it? What if I need to defend myself and despite the shooting lessons, I miss or worse hit an innocent bystander?’ I’m sure these are all legitimate and normal thoughts that first-time gun owners have until they are comfortable packing heat.
But at the end of the day, because I’m a Jew, live in Israel, and specifically live in Gush Etzion (Judea) it’s worth all of those risks whether real or imaginary. Am I happy or excited to bear arms? No, but as a result of the security situation I feel that it’s the most prudent action I can take as a civilian for my personal protection.
No doubt coming home with a gun yesterday did evoke strong emotions. My first thoughts turned to my family on my father’s side — nearly 100 members, all but four (my grandparents, father, and uncle) wiped out by Nazi sympathizing Ukrainian police during the Holocaust in 1941. If only they were able to properly defend themselves when the evil entered their shtetl and marched them to an adjacent village before torturing and murdering them, dumping their bodies in a mass shallow grave. I’m certain that if they had the weapons, the tragedy might have been prevented.
But this morning, putting on my talit (prayer shawl) and tefillin (phylacteries) before reciting the morning prayers (Shacharit) with a minyan — that’s when I had to fight back the tears. The image I had at that moment in my mind while tying the straps was of one of the victims from last months’ massacre at a Har Nof Synagogue. Draped in his talit and tefillin, there he lay in a pool of his own blood, dead, butchered by Jihadists along with three other worshipers in addition to a Druze policeman who responded to the attack.
If only one or several of those in attendance were armed, the incident could have had a very different ending.
Just to be clear, being armed isn’t foolproof. Plenty of Israelis over the years were murdered while in possession of a weapon. While that is certainly true, I now can go through my day knowing that I’ve done at least the minimum to protect myself. We always say “Never Again.” Now I’ve done my part to make sure that “Never Again” isn’t just an empty slogan.
#1
It's called insurance. Just like car insurance. Car insurance doesn't impel you to go out looking for an accident. It's there in the odd chance you need it. You drive safely obeying the laws and hope you never have to use it.
This loathsome scumbag Bill de Blasio showed up to mouth prepared words tonight after the execution of two NYPD officers. He could have been reading a press release for all the emotion he showed, which was none.
The cop-hating lowlife was shown the proper respect.
#1
I would like to see more on the group that the shooter belonged to. It doesn't sound like Weblos to me. I don't know that shooting two minority will achieve the race war that the jerk intended to touch off. I wonder what his girlfriend's family thinks of excessive police violence with regard to minorities.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/21/2014 0:59 Comments ||
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#2
It is the result of our decrepit educational system that allows scum like this to be elected to the highest offices.
We are going downhill fast.
These Officers are the lifeblood of Our Civilization and so much more respect is due to them than this.
I AM really heartbroken that this is what we are offered.
GOD Bless the NYPD, these two Officers, and their Families.
#4
A cultural demonstration of (Danger Will Robinson) 'we don't have your back', as 'we won't take one for you, you bastard'. You don't want to 'go out on patrol' in these situations. Looks like the mayor is going to have to hire some palace guard. Not good when (those who can not be named) terrorists look upon the city as a prime target for political show acts of violence and the NYPD has, it appears, been better in picking up such threats than the PC crowd in the Beltway (see- Boston, Ft Hood, et al).
#10
We can now expect Mr. Brinsley to be awarded Lone Wolf status by the talking heads in the MSM, as he is another recruit in the Army of Lone Wolves.
#13
He could have killed himself at the crime scene. He was attempting to make a subway getaway and apparently was cornered by other NYPD personnel. It might be instructive to investigate just where he might have been headed, or if anyone else might have been assisting his efforts.
#14
"When we said to kill police officers, that was, like, a metaphor."
God bless the officers and their families. And I would say good luck to their lawyers, but they won't need it.
Posted by: Matt ||
12/21/2014 12:24 Comments ||
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#15
Why don't they prosecute lawyers?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
12/21/2014 12:39 Comments ||
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#16
It's a guild thing, Redneck Jim. They protect their own.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/21/2014 13:26 Comments ||
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#17
He spoke Arabic. According to his Facebook page, since removed, he featured and commented on passages in that language. Walid Shoebat has claimed that Brinsley was an Islamic jihadist (his middle name means “servant of Allah") and a fan of a radical cleric named Yusuf Estes, though Shoebat provides no documentation to support that claim.
The Obama administration may represent “Peak Left” in American politics. As a result, what we are getting from the left these days is a mix of bewilderment and anger as it realizes that this is as good as it gets.
As the United States staggers toward the seventh year of Barack Obama’s tenure in the White House, a growing disquiet permeates the ranks of the American left. After six years of the most liberal President since Jimmy Carter, the nation doesn’t seem to be asking for a second helping. Even though the multiyear rollout of Obamacare was carefully crafted to put all the popular features up front, delaying less popular changes into the far future, the program remains unpopular. Trust in the fairness and competence of government is pushing toward new lows in the polls, even though the government is now in the hands of forward-looking, progressive Democrats rather than antediluvian Gopers.
For liberals, these are bleak times of hollow victories (Obamacare) and tipping points that don’t tip. For examples of the latter, think of Sandy Hook, the horrific massacre in Connecticut that Democrats and liberals everywhere believed would finally push the American public toward gun control. Two years later, polls show more Americans than ever before think it’s more important to protect gun access than to promote gun control.
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#1
They're always losing, but they never seem to leave. The political equivalent of herpes.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
12/21/2014 8:58 Comments ||
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#2
These aren't 'Liberals' but socialist who've copped the name and are allowed to get away with it by virtually everyone (including you Rush). About the only thing close to classical liberals are the RINOs (who've institutionally captured the Trunk party apparatus).
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