First, do no harm
by Joe Baker
(Posted 11/11/2009 05:15 am)
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News of the tragic massacre at Ft. Hood has been disturbing and unsettling for all of us to follow.
There are so many questions that remain unanswered.
How could a military psychiatrist – a doctor – do something like this?
In the Hippocratic Oath, an oath traditionally taken by doctors swearing to ethically practice medicine, there is a line that says, “I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone.”
Never do harm to anyone.
How is it possible that a military doctor could cause so much harm in such a short amount of time?
From the accounts that I have heard, he did not act like a madman, but rather he acted in a cold and calculated way as he set about the task of killing as many people as he could in as short a time as possible.
Sadly, the people of Killeen have seen this kind of massacre before.
It became known as the Luby’s massacre, an incident of mass murder that happened on October 16, 1991 in Killeen when George Jo Hennard drove into the cafeteria, shot and killed 23, injured 20 and then killed himself after being wounded and cornered by police. It was the deadliest event of its kind in the history of the United States until the massacre at Virginia Tech.
My cousin was in that restaurant when it happened and he was one of the more fortunate people who escaped without injury.
After the incident, there were many who argued that the killer could have been stopped sooner and many lives could have been saved if the law at the time had not prohibited people from carrying concealed weapons in public places.
The Texas Legislature reacted by passing a “shall issue” gun law, which requires that all qualifying applicants be issued a concealed handgun license.
As tragic as the incident at Ft. Hood is, it is easy to imagine how much more horrifying it might have been if not for the fact that armed police officers were able to arrive quickly and stop the shooter.
Human beings, for the most part, are peaceful, but there will always be the risk of this kind of thing happening.
I for one am glad the Legislature changed the law allowing people in the State of Texas to carry concealed handguns.
Although I don’t carry one myself, I feel safer knowing there are those who do carry them and if needed, would use them to protect the lives of their fellow human beings.
editor@thecountywide.com
by Joe Baker
(Posted 11/11/2009 05:15 am)
There are so many questions that remain unanswered.
How could a military psychiatrist – a doctor – do something like this?
In the Hippocratic Oath, an oath traditionally taken by doctors swearing to ethically practice medicine, there is a line that says, “I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone.”
Never do harm to anyone.
How is it possible that a military doctor could cause so much harm in such a short amount of time?
From the accounts that I have heard, he did not act like a madman, but rather he acted in a cold and calculated way as he set about the task of killing as many people as he could in as short a time as possible.
Sadly, the people of Killeen have seen this kind of massacre before.
It became known as the Luby’s massacre, an incident of mass murder that happened on October 16, 1991 in Killeen when George Jo Hennard drove into the cafeteria, shot and killed 23, injured 20 and then killed himself after being wounded and cornered by police. It was the deadliest event of its kind in the history of the United States until the massacre at Virginia Tech.
My cousin was in that restaurant when it happened and he was one of the more fortunate people who escaped without injury.
After the incident, there were many who argued that the killer could have been stopped sooner and many lives could have been saved if the law at the time had not prohibited people from carrying concealed weapons in public places.
The Texas Legislature reacted by passing a “shall issue” gun law, which requires that all qualifying applicants be issued a concealed handgun license.
As tragic as the incident at Ft. Hood is, it is easy to imagine how much more horrifying it might have been if not for the fact that armed police officers were able to arrive quickly and stop the shooter.
Human beings, for the most part, are peaceful, but there will always be the risk of this kind of thing happening.
I for one am glad the Legislature changed the law allowing people in the State of Texas to carry concealed handguns.
Although I don’t carry one myself, I feel safer knowing there are those who do carry them and if needed, would use them to protect the lives of their fellow human beings.
editor@thecountywide.com
