Now Our Idiots Are Heroes?

Ginger Littleton's 'heroic' handbag attack caught on video...

Says CNN on the Florida school board drama:

"We're at a board meeting, and we're talking about technology and head lice, and next thing we know, this guy's got a gun in our face," Bill Husfelt, superintendent of Bay District Schools in Panama City, Florida, said Wednesday.

Clay Duke sprayed a 'V' for Vendetta on the wall, terrorized the school board for a while, fired some shots and ended up shooting himself. Luckily, he was the only one killed or injured. But not for want of trying on one 'hero's' part:

Just after the room was cleared of everyone but the six men, board member Ginger Littleton crept back into the room behind Duke and attempted with her purse to knock the gun from his hand. She did not succeed, and she and Duke struggled. Littleton wound up on the ground, and Duke cursed her and pointed the gun at her, but he did not fire and allowed her to leave the room.

Naturally, the news media love this story. They're promoting Ginger Littleton as the personification of all-American pluck. But shouldn't they be concentrating on the fact that small woman with purse v. big psycho guy with gun is a really, really bad match up? At least give us a "don't try this at home" caution? Far from hero, this menopausal ninja was a f*cking idiot and extremely lucky to be alive.

But no. You can't go saying grown-up stuff in America these days. The newsers have turned on a constant gush of hero blather to titillate the masses instead.

I guess my opinion would put me in a small minority. But her own kids, who narrowly avoided losing their mom, make the point fairly well:

Littleton told reporters Wednesday she has three daughters, "and they said, 'Mom, are you just stupid? What were you thinking?'" She said she didn't have an answer.

Maybe in a rapidly dumbing-down nation, the dumbest amongst us are destined to be heroes.