While reading this week's Chatological Humor (a.k.a. Tuesdays With Moron, hahaha) there was mention of a recent incident near Lincoln Park here in DC, wherein a gunpoint robbery at a wine and cheese party was foiled by offering the would-be assailant wine and cheese.
My thoughts on this are scattered...
* This is the sort of thing that a screenwriter or novelist could have written, using the "imagine what's expected, then imagine the opposite of that" rule.
* It's a beautiful example of humanity and kindness overpowering antagonism. The only thing that could have made it better is if the robber left the wine glass behind.
* Actually, it's just a beautiful example of humanity and kindness period.
* Not to mention poise and courage. It takes courage to watch someone put a gun to the head of a 14-year-old girl and not exacerbate the situation with your fear. That they not only composed themselves, but went so far as to be civil to this person, is astounding.
* On the flip side, I wonder how many people are sincerely outraged that none of the victims thought to disarm the guy during the "group hug" sequence. I wonder if those same people have considered what consequences their suggestion would have had on the story, or whether they themselves would have been successful.
* Weingarten's point was spot-on: how likely is it that the gun was loaded? Probably not very. Would the victims have considered this in their calculations?
* Were they calculating at all? Was this truly spontaneous, or did this just happen to be their collective fight-or-flight mechanism in all its weird glory? (I never knew that "food" was an appropriate answer to "fight or flight.")
Either way, it makes for great reading.
Two things:
ReplyDeleteThe assailant is most definitely bi-polar, and off his meds.
The victims now have party anecdote currency to last a lifetime, a la Six Degrees of Separation.
He did leave the glass, in the alley. FWIW.
ReplyDelete