Politically Correct Lack of Tools

JayG, over at MArooned, posted a link to a wonderful example of everyday citizens stepping up and taking action to save a family in a horrible car wreck. A bunch of Average Joes, and some off-duty firemen, risked their lives to save a little boy from a trashed SUV that was burning up.


There's pretty amazing video at the CNN news story link. Go watch it if you haven't and then come back here for a minute.


I noticed something while watching the video, beyond the fact that those were all some really brave folks.


There's at least 6 adult men that you see trying to save the little boy from the overturned SUV.


I'm astonished that not a single person had so much as a simple fucking pocket knife on them.


ARE YOU SHITTING ME???!!!!


They managed to bash out the front window to get to the boy, but apparently he's hung up in his seatbelt. They spent more time trying to get him free than they did bashing out the front window.. all while everyone scrambles around screaming "WE NEED A KNIFE!!!"


Somewhere along the line it became "unfashionable" to carry a pocket knife. Knives have come to be seen as "bad" to some people. I guess it's not enough to bestow malevolent intelligence to guns.... now it has to be knives as well.


When I was a kid, not only did every boy (including me, of course) carry a knife to school, they were actually given away as prizes in fundraising activities for groups like FFA. That's because people recognized their value as a tool, and didn't assume that their mere presence would cause someone to loose their mind and go on a stabbing spree.


I carry, on my person, at least one knife all the time. Usually, I have more than one (right now I have three :)). I have knives in my vehicle, including a Res-Q-Me device that hangs from a lanyard on the driver's side door handle.





It has a razor sharp seatbelt cutter and a window punch on the other end - all in a package small enough to fit in your palm. A quick jerk and its free of the lanyard and ready to go. There's an identical arrangement in every vehicle of everyone that I can convince to get one - and I've bought and "installed" them in the cars of both my Wife and my Daughter.


As brave and selfless as the rescuer's were... I was stunned at how close the little boy came to being burned alive just because nobody had a knife. What a freaking waste that would have been.


And don't get me started about the policeman at the end being the only person around with a fire extinguisher.. :)