In the aftermath of 9/11, somebody said that a person with a bag of flour and a crop duster could do more damage at a football game than anybody with a gun. As the man in the movies once said, a person is smart, but people are panicky animals.
Today, most folks in central Arkansas are just happy that nobody was seriously injured at War Memorial Stadium over the weekend. Something happened Saturday night--few know exactly what--that set off a panic at the Salt Bowl. In passing, and only in passing, let's mention that a football game between Bryant and Benton was canceled in the third quarter.
The papers are still full of rumors. Somebody was quoted having heard a shout of "gun!" or "shooter!" during the panic. Maybe there was a fight. Maybe a ruckus knocked over something that sounded like a shot being fired. What's safe to say now is that folks were sent scrambling over barriers, onto the field. Some people were knocked down, and what was supposed to be one of the biggest nights of the fall turned into . . . this. And that was just at the stadium. Now imagine all the parents getting phone calls at home from screaming, crying, confused children who were cowering in the stands--and not being able to do a damn thing about it.
Now imagine, if you dare, that at War Memorial the other night, there were 15 or 20--or 1,500--people with concealed carry weapons under their shirts. There was actual thought of allowing handguns at football games when Arkansas' legislature met last year. The NRA, and those lawmakers in its grasp, didn't cotton to an exemption to the law banning guns at these games. Thankfully, the amendment passed before the UofA was kicked out of the Southeastern Conference. But it does show that to some lawmakers, an A rating by the NRA is more important than the safety of their constituents.
What happened Saturday night during the Salt Bowl could've been much, much worse--especially if folks started pulling out their Glocks and playing Protector of the Public, causing even more panic and confusing the real security officers there. It could have been the end of Reservoir Dogs times 10.
There are many lessons here. The first: Let's all keep our heads. And that includes our betters at the Ledge.
Editorial on 08/28/2018