After
last week’s post (“Religion, Rape and Slavery,” 8/21/15), what could be more
uplifting than the story of three young Americans, whose heroic efforts to
subdue an armed terrorist saved the lives of over 500 people aboard a crowded bullet train
between Amsterdam and Paris? Alek
Skarlatos, a National Guard specialist from Oregon was vacationing in Europe
with a friend in the Air Force, Spencer Stone, and another American, Anthony
Sadler, when they saw a man carrying an AK-47.
Another passenger had already thrown himself on the armed man, and the
gun had fired several times, shattering glass and hitting a passenger. “Let’s go, go!” Skarlatos shouted to his friend
Stone, a powerfully built martial arts practitioner. Stone chased the heavily armed gunman, and
with the help of his friends, pinned him to the ground. Barely twelve hours later, Skarlatos remarked
in an interview: “I mean, adrenaline mostly just takes over…. I didn’t realize
or fully comprehend what was going on.”
Maybe
adrenaline and incomplete comprehension played a role in the heroics of these
three brave Americans. But I’m guessing more than adrenaline motivated them to
protect themselves and the other passengers. What happened to the adrenaline pumping
through the veins of French passengers and train personnel? Well, we can see what the personnel did with
their adrenaline-driven fight or flight reaction: they
ran away and locked themselves in the
engine room without trying to help passengers. Clearly, adrenaline isn’t the
answer. The qualities that separate heroes from selfish and cowardly people are
courage and caring about others, even strangers on a train.
But there’s even more to learn from
this story. Stone—the first to grab the
gunman by the neck—was cut and slashed so badly that his own thumb was nearly
severed. Despite being wounded and bleeding, Stone continued to pin down the
gunman in a choke hold until his friends disarmed the
man, Skarlatos hitting him
in the head with the AK-47. After Skarlatos,
Sadler and a British citizen finally succeeded in subduing the resistant
gunman, Stone went to the aid of a gunshot victim—despite his own serious
injury. According to Sadler, the
passenger “would have died without his (Stone’s) help.” Stone took heroism to an even higher level
when he helped save the life of a stranger. After the immediate danger of the
gunman had been eliminated, the young American could have nursed his own wounds
and still been hailed a hero. Surely,
one of the many unscathed French passengers could have pitched in to help? But
that’s not what happened. Instead, the
ferocious determination of one American hero would not allow him to rest until
he had done everything in his power to correct the evil perpetrated by the train
gunman.
The
gunman, a 26 year old Moroccan named Ayoub El Kahzani, was known to Spanish and French security
services, and had reportedly travelled to Syria last year. Spanish authorities notified French
intelligence services in February 2014 that El Kahzani had joined “the radical
Islamist movement.” The French then classified him as a security threat and
gave him an “S” profile. France has about 5,000 people on their “S” list,
according
Agence France Presse, but
apparently nobody knows how many "S" profiles are active or how the list has
expanded over the years. (!?!) What does that even mean in light of the fact
that El Kahzani continued to travel freely among European cities? Some so-called experts and officials have
suggested that the gunman wasn’t a terrorist because he was ill equipped and
poorly trained to shoot up a train, or because his Kalishnikov was jammed and
his pistol incorrectly loaded.
Really? Does the fact that the
shooter was incompetent make him
less
likely to be a terrorist? (There’s a
chilling thought.) Unfortunately, watching the investigation unfold in the
American news media, I feel compelled to
point out that the train incident was NOT a scene from a Pink Panther movie,
but a real life tragedy only narrowly averted—no thanks to the French police who are allowing
armed "S"listers to ride their trains. Doesn’t the world deserve a deeper, more
intelligent analysis and investigation than the one conducted by a collection
of Inspector Clouseaus?
All
three American heroes have been honored, as they should be. President Obama called them “to commend and
congratulate them for their courage and quick action.” French President
Hollande phoned Obama “thanking him warmly” for the “exemplary conduct of the
American citizens” who had prevented “an extremely serious act.” The French president also awarded all three
Americans with the Legion of Honor, France’s highest decoration created by
Napoleon in 1802. The award is intended to honor meritorious deeds of ordinary
people, rather than chivalrous acts linked to nobility. Will the gratitude of the French government
expressed toward our brave young Americans be echoed by French citizens, who
tend to be snobbish and condescending toward Americans in general? Or will the
negative stereotype of boorish American prevail? When does “boorish” transmute
into heroic, and when does stylish politesse and nonchalance devolve into self-absorption
and betrayal of your fellow man? (Hint: on a train with an armed gunman.)
I’d
really like to think that the world can learn from the handful of heroes on our planet. We ought to be using social media to cultivate courage and humanity in children,
instead of standing by while ISIS recruits vulnerable youths in pursuit of insanity
and evil. Somehow the best and brightest
minds must come up with strategies to nurture and reward heroic behavior, while
finding ways to discourage evil and violence.
If you think there’s something more important we humans need to be doing
at this time in history, think again.
In the meantime, it would be nice
if the French would develop a kinder, more appreciative attitude toward the USA. After
all, hundreds of their citizens are alive today because of the bravery of three
young Americans.
Will
the French remember our heroics on their behalf? Stay tuned until next summer when I plan to
travel to France.
Labels: adrenaline, American heroes, Ayoub El Kahzani, France, Hollande, Inspector Clouseau, ISIS, Legion of Honor, Napoleon, Obama, Pink Panther, Sadler, Skarlatos, social media, Spain, Stone, Syria, terrorism, train gunman