There was a shooting yesterday at a STEM school in Colorado, but the shooting could've been much worse had it not been for the actions of brave students who fought back. As of this very minute, I'm not totally comfortable writing about the shooters themselves until we know a little bit more. A lot of these losers become murders for the attention and notoriety they get from media. I'll pass. Instead, let's praise the actual heroes, Kendrick Castillo and Brendan Bialy, who saved lives through personal courage and sacrifice.

From NBC News:

A U.S. Marine recruit and other teens rushed one of the shooters at a Colorado school, helping to disarm him, according to police and witnesses.

One of the students, Kendrick Castillo, 18, died while lunging at the shooter, according to a classmate at STEM School Highlands Ranch in a Denver suburb. Eight other students were injured in the shooting Tuesday.

We hear a lot about toxic masculinity, about how boys are basically societal cancer. Yet here we have at least two young men who stepped up to save the lives of their fellow students. In Kendrick's case, he gave the ultimate sacrifice so that others could live.

"We're going to hear about very heroic things that have taken place at the school," Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock said Wednesday.

"Brendan’s courage and commitment to swiftly ending this tragic incident at the risk of his own safety is admirable and inspiring," the 8th District Marines said.

You're damn right it is.

For every blithering moron student leveraging a tragedy to launch a political brand (ahem, David Hogg) there's at least one Brendan Bialy. For every Tide Pod challenge twit, there are even more Kendrick Castillos.

We can sometimes get into a nasty habit of focusing solely on the losers, the miscreants, the hateful shit sticks who make so much noise as they attempt to twist our culture into something it isn't. Unfortunately, an unintended consequence of such news coverage is a false idea of what our culture is and who we are as Americans. Yes, there are terrible people who want to shape our way of life into something perverse, something without morals, virtue, or even heroics. But for every lousy person out there, I have to believe there are more people who're filled with goodness who want to -- and will -- fight for what is right. Even if it means giving their lives.

So here's to you, Kendrick and Brendan. I raise my mug, my glass, my heart to your good souls.

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