Letter to the Editor: ‘If violent crime is to be curbed, it is only the intended victim who can do it’

I am writing about your op-ed about Taurean Snoddy.

We have had three beating deaths in Hannibal in the last several months.

Perhaps a couple of old quotes from Lt. Col Jeff Cooper of the U.S. Marine Corps are appropriate:

“If violent crime is to be curbed, it is only the intended victim who can do it. The felon does not fear the police, and he fears neither judge nor jury. Therefore what he must be taught to fear is his victim.”

“The only acceptable response to the threat of lethal violence is immediate and savage counterattack. If you resist, you just may get killed. If you don’t resist you almost certainly will get killed. It is a tough choice, but there is only one right answer.”

“An unarmed man can only flee from evil, and evil is not overcome by fleeing from it.”

“The police cannot protect the citizen at this stage of our development, and they cannot even protect themselves in many cases. It is up to the private citizen to protect himself and his family, and this is not only acceptable, but mandatory.”

J. David Lomax
Marion County Presiding Commissioner
Palmyra, Missouri