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Professor Liviu Librescu – Hero
Posted by Duncan on April 17th, 2007
Professor Liviu Librescu.
WASHINGTON – Prof Liviu Librescu, a senior researcher and lecturer at Virginia Tech, is among the 32 people who were killed during a shooting rampage at the university Monday.
His wife, Marlina, and two sons, Arieh and Joe, have already begun making arrangements for his burial in Israel.
…
One of Prof Librescu’s students, Alec Calhoun, who was with him at the classroom when the shooting started, told AP that at about 9:05 am, he and classmates heard “a thunderous sound from the classroom next door, what sounded like an enormous hammer.”
When students realized the sounds were gunshots, Calhoun said, they started flipping over desks for hiding places. Others dashed to the windows of the second-floor classroom, kicking out the screens and jumping from the ledge of the room.
Calhoun said that just before he climbed out the window, he turned to look at the professor (Librescu), who had stayed behind to block the door.
Misha over at the Anti-Idiotarian Rott said that the would give the man the Medal Of Freedom, the highest award that can be given to a civilian. That got me thinking. Hell yeah this man deserves this, which honestly doesn’t even come CLOSE to repaying him for his sacrifice. But we sure can honor that sacrifice. There is also the Congressional Gold Medal, which is the civilian equivalent to the Congressional Medal of Honor. Both are appropriate in my mind. So I went and sent traffic to my congress-critters asking them to award Professor Liviu Librescu that said honor. What he did is no different than a soldier jumping on a grenade for his buddies. Professor Librescu prevented the murdering pyschopath from freely walking in and gunning down the prof’s students. And he paid with his life.
You can contact congress here and here. Make sure that you send it to both senators and your representative. This man deserves no less.
April 18th, 2007 at 7:59 am
In addition, will his family be compensated for his loss? Other victims of foreign nutjobs were; why not his family?
Big brass ones. Helluva guy.
April 18th, 2007 at 8:24 am
Heroes are rare these days. Where have all the cowboys gone? Have they all turned into liberals or what?? Who would just as soon stand and debate their killer than fight back, or do what this MAN did.
April 18th, 2007 at 4:59 pm
He fufilled the duty of teachers to keep their students safe. I say he went above and beyond the call on that duty.
But on the other hand, why was it up to an old academic (and, interstingly and ironically, one who belongs to a group often thought of as cowardly behind-the-scenes manipulators by academia) to fend off the nutjob?
April 18th, 2007 at 7:29 pm
Most academia are cowardly and wimpy. But there are few, from the old school who are not. They’re getting to be a rare breed to these days.
Brass balls isn’t the right word….
April 18th, 2007 at 7:38 pm
You’ve never been to the classrooms, so you folk have no idea what you are talking about. The killer opened the doors to the rooms of Norris and started shooting. There was no talking, no speeches. From all accounts, people were dead in only seconds after seeing the murderer.
This is not like Columbine. This killer calculated and planned to kill as many people as possible. He chained the exit doors to prevent people escaping. He had two guns, but used one gun at a time, and had an ammo vest on.
Those classrooms have one door. As the teacher, Dr Librescu was the closest to the door, and probably the only one standing when the carnage broke out. Again, it took seconds for the murderer to open the doors down the hall and start to kill people. As a holocaust survivor, Dr. Librescu had seen true evil in his lifetime, and recognized it for what it was quickly. He sacrificed himself, holding the door shut while being shot through the door, and telling his students to escape and jump through the window.
Students in the other rooms tried to block entry to the classrooms when they realized what was going on, at great risk to themselves. It is unfortunate that they did not realize what was going on more quickly, but how could they?
Again, the whole shootings in Norris took minutes, and those rooms have one door. If you think you can rush a man with a gun, who is hell bent on killing, and not just end up getting shot dead and accomplishing nothing, then you have an overactive imagination. We would like to imagine that we could have made a difference if we’d been there, but short of having a gun in hand, there’s nothing better that could be done in that immediate situation. Dr Librescu would have known that.
April 18th, 2007 at 7:43 pm
CK,
Regardless, Professor Librescu is a hero who took action when it needed to be taken. As you said, he didn’t have much time to decide, and when it came to fight or flight, the brave man chose to fight. The man had an inner courage and strength that not many possess.
April 18th, 2007 at 8:00 pm
Absolutely, Duncan. My comments were mainly in response to Ranba Ral, asking “why was it up to an old academic?” I know many professors and students at Tech who would do the same, and many students did what they could, and they too are heroes.
April 18th, 2007 at 8:03 pm
I am very sory for this tragedy! I have in my prayers all victims and their families. God will give them peace and love!
As romanian, I am proud of a good romanian – Professor Librescu – a man who gave us a good reason and example for living in this… cruel and selfish world.
Let’s light a candle and let’s try to be more secure for the future!
All love from Romania!
April 19th, 2007 at 7:00 pm
All the love and lighted candles of the world will not keep evil at bay. Hardly. We need to educate people as to how to stand up and defend themselves. We need to stop coddling the attention seeking freaks like Cho- and put him in his place, all by his lonesome ass…in a locked up forever prison cell…or a coffin. BEFORE he takes the life of even one person.
We need more heroes, which up until a couple generations ago, were everyday men. Now they are rare. We can thank the liberal establishment for THIS. They who HATE heroes.
April 20th, 2007 at 9:14 am
Rename Norris Hall.
http://www.petitiononline.com/04172007/
April 21st, 2007 at 7:58 pm
CK,
Where do you get the idea that I would want to rush the guy in a similar situation? I’m not exactly that stupid, especially having grown up around firearms. Defense does not automatically equal offensive action or counter-action. There were clearly options available that would have worked, which you yourself pointed out.
Raven sums it up perfectly, so I’ll quote from post 9: “We need to educate people as to how to stand up and defend themselves.” and “We need more heroes, which up until a couple generations ago, were everyday men. Now they are rare.”
Thus my comment on why it is sad that there were only a minority, in that case someone from the older ‘hero’ generation, who did anything. Yeah, some were screwed by sheer surprise factor. From what I’ve been reading, a lot of the ones in other rooms didn’t even duck behind their desks*, much less try to defend themselves (for example: the guy who said they recognized gunfire down the hall and just sat there, nobody even taking cover until Cho opened the door and ripped into them; and really only him taking cover behind a girl who was already shot while the rest just sat there). Then there’s the reports of some of the kids having to be shamed into helping the only student in that room trying to move the desks to barricade the door.
This sitting duck mantality tells me something is definitely wrong, and not just with Cho.
*for the inevitable “but the desks aren’t bullet proof” argument, I preemptively counter with, at least it would show the students at least had a flight response, which would be better than the apparent “oh, there’s a gun going off repeatedly down the hall, I think I’ll just sit here”
April 22nd, 2007 at 9:52 pm
I worked with a student in Professor Librescu’s class. By some divine intervention, my student’s grandfather died one hour before his class began; thus, I did not attend Librescu’s class 4/16/07. Instead, I worked in Randolph, the building approximately 500-1000 feet from Norris Hall.
I was devastated at the news of his murder; however, I was not at all surprised at the manner in which he was murdered: protecting the students he genuinely cared for. He was a brilliant, kind, dignified, unassuming gentleman for whom I felt a great deal of affection. I don’t know why God chose to spare my life at the expense of this great man; but I do thank God that he allowed me to know this man–the only true hero I’ve ever me.
Goodbye, dear Librescu. You have touched and inspired me in ways I am only beginning to understand. Through some twist of fate, I was not with you that day; however, you will always be with me. LYM