Michael B. Duff

And while I'm dishing out praise for Ana Marie Cox, I think I might as well follow her out on a limb.

I've been holding my tongue for a few days, waiting until I had time to write a full post about the Virginia Tech shootings.

I wanted to write a neutral, balanced look from all sides of the issue, linking liberally to gun control and gun rights bloggers alike.

But AMC pushed one of my buttons , and I'm going to zip straight to the punchline.

There is a certain school of thought, common in right-wing circles, particularly common here in Texas, that wants to blame the victims for what happened at Virginia Tech. Some people think these kids died because they weren't “tough enough” because they didn't “cowboy-up” and charge their attacker en masse.

Maybe they could have. I wasn't there. I hope that if real danger struck at my school or my workplace I would have the presence of mind to charge in and put my life on the line.

But I've never been in that kind of danger, and I can't say how I would behave if I was. No one can. I have enough libertarian left in me to wish one of those victims had a concealed firearm, but I'm not arrogant enough to judge the character of unarmed kids.

For the record, I don't think stricter gun laws could have saved those students, and I don't think anyone has the right to judge the victims of this tragedy.

Bottom line: This atrocity was committed by one person, and blaming the victims is just as stupid as blaming the guns.