I read somewhere that when a unit of US soldiers engages in an armed conflict, its members create a pool of risks. Each member takes a lot of risks for the other members of the unit because it is understood by all that sharing great risks improves each one’s chance of getting out of the battle alive. Also, those who are about to end a tour of duty tend to reduce their contribution to these risk pools of combat.
This kind of behavior is not intuitive. It has to be drawn from experience. You have to learn when a risk is worth it, when it’s better to run toward danger rather than from it—the more instinctive thing to do.
With this in mind, let’s consider Jon Meis…
[T]he Seattle Pacific University student who jumped in and disarmed the shooter Thursday afternoon…
Wedding registry for SPU hero, Jon Meis http://t.co/DHYWcYHXqQ (@DoriMonsonShow)
— KIRO Radio 97.3 FM (@KIRORadio) June 6, 2014
With the recent escalation of mass murders and the consequent constant coverage by the media, have we reached a point where the counter-instinctive (to run toward and challenge a shooter no matter), which is learned, is replacing the intuitive (to run for your life)? Have we consciously rewired the unconscious to now reflexively read the risk of attack as far better than the search for safety? Something like this happened after 9/11…
Southwest Airlines Flight 722 passengers performed a heroic act on April 14, when they stopped a man from opening an exit door on the airplane mid-flight from Chicago Midway International Airport to Sacramento International Airport. Witnesses say the man appeared to be intoxicated and was attempting to jump from the airplane. Some passengers noticed that his pupils were dilated, and his speech was slurred. A group of male passengers ran down the aisle and tackled the passenger to the ground.
What we learned from 9/11 is that the risk of ganging on a possible terrorist or whatever is always better than just sitting there and hoping for the best.
