The Importance of self protection

After the recent shooting in Colorado there are calls for gun bans and more security, if only we had more protection, if only other people did more for us............
If only he did not have an "assault rifle" if only he was not wearing a bullet proof vest, if he did not have access to such things surely this massacre could not have happened?
People saying such things seem to look past bus bombs, they fail to remember that the sword has probably killed more people than any other weapon on earth to date.
The simple fact of the matter is there is nothing you can do to stop a determined attacker but you can be prepared when he strikes & that happens first in the mind.
In isreal people have mentally been trained to not be victims, some time ago a man walked into a wedding party with an M-16 and a grenade launcher, logic says he has the upper hand, but not in isreal, he was rushed and beat to death with folding chairs.
Would that happen in America? Probably not although people are not always the sheep the media makes them out to be.
In an oregon school shooting well over a decade ago a young hero recognized the type of .22 rifle being used, he hid around the corner and counted the bullets, when he knew the attacker must reload he tackled him.
In one of the Pennsylvania shootings a principle had a pistol in his car, he retrieved the weapon, stopped the shooter and held him until police arrived, a man who owned a cafe nearby also came with a shotgun.
We do not need to be victims, find out your local laws and get a concealed carry permit, but most importantly take a class on firearms safety, then take another on how to properly use the pistol, hell, take more than one class, and practice practice practice, besides its fun.
If you do not wish to own a gun, maybe get a knife and again, take a class in how to use it, take a self defense class if that bothers you, carry pepper spray, carry a taser, anything to not be a victim. 
In the end the only way this will stop is for us to not give the media the ratings it wants, quit tuning in being glued to the channel when something like this happens, it is tragic, but move on, care for yourself and others, the more attention you give these nutjobs, the more you enable the next one.