I do not think it means what they think it means.
Friday, August 01, 2008 Filed in:
Current Events
I wasn't going to comment on the story about the decapitation on the Canadian bus, but something bothers me about the whole incident.
A Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) spokesperson characterized the actions of the passengers - who ran screaming from the horrific scene - as "brave".
Now do not misunderstand me here: running away from danger is a normal, human reaction. Saving oneself is a perfectly legitimate response to a life-threatening situation, and is nothing to be ashamed of.
But it's not "brave."
"Brave" would have been tackling the murderer and beating him senseless; "brave" would have been hopping on the lunatic's back and holding him from stabbing while someone else pulled the victim to safety.
Running away? Not so much.
I'm not sure just when our society lost track of the true meaning of words like "brave" and "hero", but I for one am tired of the trend.
-=[ Grant ]=-
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