Heroes rush in…
On April 20, 1999, two boys shot up a high school in unincorporated Denver called Columbine. They killed twelve students, one teacher and injured twenty one others. We all know this.
A little known fact is this: The boys began shooting around 11:19 and killed themselves around 12:08.
And the police left wounded, dieing and terrified children hostage in the high school until almost four p.m. The school alarm, that was set off at 11, continued to blare. Helicopters hovered over the scene. For almost four hours, terrified children and adults hovered in their hiding places. When they were ‘rescued’ they weren’t told that the shooters were dead. Instead, they had to run past the bodies of their beloved friends as they believed their lives were still in danger from gunmen.
That’s right four hours after the gunmen were dead.
For four hours, the adults waited outside, flew overhead, made strategy and grandstanded while the children hovered in debilitating fear and, in some cases, died.
That was Columbine.
When the first plane hit the towers on 9/11, the New York Fire Department didn’t hesitate. They didn’t fly around in helicopters wondering what to do. They didn’t stand outside and make strategy. They didn’t grandstand with politicians.
They rushed in.
And many of them died.
But that didn’t stop more New York police, firepeople, and rescue workers from continuing to rush in. They rushed in to save people. They rushed in to treat people. And when it was all over they rushed in to clean up.
In return, they got ill. After being assured that the air wasn’t toxic, just dusty, many of these heroes are now disabled with respiratory illness.
And what does the GnoP do? They vote down a bill that would provide these brave men and women with the health care they need. Like the Sheriff’s department hovering outside Columbine High School, these politicians wondered about procedure, while people died. They hovered over with their helicopters. They might hear the sirens blaring in the high school but they aren’t brave enough to venture inside.
Who are the heroes here? We should all be this disgusted and outraged.
says we have a 
