Althouse: "A very brave wee boy."

June 20, 2010

"A very brave wee boy."

Declan Shanley.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...: This is a sad story, indeed, but it says a lot about the dinosaur media. The BBC are there the next day, interviewing a police officer about what happened.

They were nowhere to be found yesterday, when the actual event was taking place.

When it was news.

And they wonder why they're dying.

The media these days seem to be so busy covering the asses of the political elite that they don't have time any more to report the fucking news.

A sad story, badly reported by a piss poor news organization.; 6/20/10, 12:58 PM
Luke Lea said...: A grammar school friend of mine did the exact same thing with his younger brother. And just a few weeks before I had beat him up for no justifiable reason. I've felt guilty ever since.; 6/20/10, 12:59 PM
ricpic said...: How many little girls ever have or ever will jump in the water to save another little girl? Answer: none.; 6/20/10, 1:00 PM
Howard said...: ricpic

Plenty of girls and women rescue strangers in our town. If you had the intelligence and talent required to pay the high mortgage to live in a beach town, you would know that.

Instead, you are an ignorant pusbag.

Perhaps we should be talking about the ignorance of the brave boy as well. The first rule of lifesaving (they teach this to little boys and girls in junior lifeguard programs) is to not create a second victim.

Instead, the focus is on the emotion of the tragedy that should have never happened. Too bad there isn't a French angle for ricpic to exploit for his mental viagra.; 6/20/10, 1:33 PM
ricpic said...: Howard shoots. He scores! With the PC crowd.; 6/20/10, 1:45 PM
lemondog said...: There were two very brave wee boys, tragically one was swept away....; 6/20/10, 1:50 PM
HKatz said...: How many little girls ever have or ever will jump in the water to save another little girl? Answer: none.

After a quick google... all right, the girl in this story is 15, but she did save a mother, three children, and an 'obese man' from a river.
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/india/news/article_1355858.php/Teenaged_Bihar_girl_saves_five_from_drowning

And other google stories brought up a five year old girl fishing out a toddler from the deep end of a pool, a 17 year old girl who couldn't swim saving three neighbor children from a river, a seven year old girl swimming into the ocean after a drowning four year old... and these are just recent internet-archived stories.

But don't worry. Think furiously how to explain all of that in a way that will still put females in a bad light. And keep convincing yourself that you have an all-seeing eye, and know of all things that have passed and all things that shall be...

The first rule of lifesaving (they teach this to little boys and girls in junior lifeguard programs) is to not create a second victim.
This is crucial, I agree... but unfortunately when an emergency is unfolding, and a decision needs to be made in a matter of seconds, people might brave it regardless, as it's not easy to keep a cool head (especially if there's no one to call for immediate help, like a better equipped lifeguard). I understand the boy's decision to dive in, especially as it was a friend he cared about and there were no adults around.

In addition to lifesaving rules, kids should also be taught about currents. These kids were swimming around in shallow waters, so they thought they were safe. It's important to understand how currents work and how powerful they can be, and not to be deceived by seemingly placid waters.; 6/20/10, 1:54 PM
Skyler said...: But according to Ann, he wasn't heroic if he knew the girl he was trying to save.; 6/20/10, 2:28 PM
Cousin Bob said...: Ah! Another heartwarmin' story for Fathers' Day.

I don't know what makes it more engaging: The story itself, or the fucked up commentators.; 6/20/10, 5:34 PM
Lyle said...: The poor girl is going to have to live with this boy's death for the rest of her life. Lordy.; 6/20/10, 6:21 PM
MadisonMan said...: Howard shoots. He scores! With the PC crowd.

How is it that pointing out facts that render your argument laughably wrong a sop to the PC crowd?

(My daughter is a lifeguard).; 6/20/10, 9:00 PM
Daniel Fielding said...: RIP, Declan.
Sorry that you passed away s oearly.; 6/21/10, 10:34 AM