In the comments to this post yesterday, Stormy Dragon (a regular reader, but who usually only comments when I step on a nerve) took me to task over my use of the term sheep, especially in the context of the post. I suspect we're just going to agree to disagree, but I thought I should elaborate on the theme.
Fuzzybear Lioness, in trying to explain her understanding of the comment, spake thusly:
Unless my understanding of the sheepdog/sheep dichotomy is mistaken, the designation of sheep is not a description of mindlessness or stupidity as the word is often used. Rather, it refers to the idea that they are placid and unaware of the dangers that lurk at the edge of the flock; they are concerned with simply living day-to-day. This is in contrast to the sheepdog who is constantly aware of the wolves prowling at the edges and is mentally and physically prepared to do what must be done to protect his sheep. It may have a certain edge to it, but I classify myself as a sheep because I don't have the skill or will to do most things that would fall under "sheepdog."
I mean nothing quite so harsh, really, though she gets my view mostly right. The real thing I have in mind is that generally, the sheep either wait passively for the authorities to show up and make everything all right, or, run streaming away (which, often enough *is* the correct thing to do), but they don't *act* to save themselves or affect the situation. And sometimes, you simply are screwed. That's true for sheepdogs, too. Just as sheepdogs need to be aware that sometimes acting on your own, especially in small confrontations, will make things worse. Each situation is unique in it's details. That's why it's tough to be a professional sheepdog sometimes. Ask any policeman who has undergone an investigation into an officer-involved shooting.
The events at Virginia Tech do serve as a stark reminder that the nanny state *can't* be everywhere all the time, even if they would like to be - and a little self-reliance can go a long way.
It's becoming clear that there were sheepdogs in the student body and faculty - and among, no doubt, the victims. Who, if not able to take down the shooter, were able to assess and act in ways that diverted him to other targets and places. And even though overall that had the effect of shifting who the victims were and where the casualties occurred - that counts nonetheless and should not be a source of guilt to the survivors. You protect what you can, as Professor Librescu did, and hope that other sheepdogs will do what they can down the hall and across the campus.
As Fuzzy pointed out yesterday - there were at least three sheepdogs in this classroom:
Zach Petkewicz said he didn't recognize the sounds that pierced the door and cinder-block walls of his classroom as gunshots until he heard a scream from the hallway of the engineering building."The girls in my class peeked out in the hall and saw a gunner come out of a classroom with his gun pointed down," Petkewicz told CNN.
"They immediately slammed the door shut, told us, everybody kind of went into a frenzy, a panic. I hid behind the podium and then just kind of looked up at the door. Like, there's nothing stopping this guy from just coming in. And so I said, 'We need to barricade this door.' "
Petkewicz described his state of mind unabashedly: "I was completely scared out of my mind originally, just went into a cowering position, and then just realized you have got to do something."
Petkewicz and two other students shoved a table against the door and held it there as gunshots continued to ring out from the hallway outside the classroom.
The difference between sheepdog and sheep?
"I was completely scared out of my mind originally, just went into a cowering position, and then just realized you have got to do something."
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