You might want to think twice next time before swooping in on that perfect parking spot. According to the Springfield News-Leader, a young woman allegedly pulled out an ice-pick and stabbed a man repeatedly after she felt he stole her parking spot at Chili’s Grill and Bar on Sunday.

Luckily for the victim, his injuries were not life threatening. The woman was caught after fleeing the scene but has not been charged yet.

Now this article does leave some unanswered questions. Did she argue with the man first, before pulling the ice pick, or did she just come at him with it immediately? Why did she have an ice pick with her, anyway? How good of a parking spot was it? 

In any case, you know the holidays are almost here when people start stabbing each other over parking spaces. Still, an ice-pick to the baby-back ribs is nothing compared to what people will do to get a Christmas deal on Black Friday (like pushing over a 78-year old woman at Toys R’ Us, or trampling a Wal-Mart employee to death). Unfortunately, sometimes it seems we live in a road-rage, move-it-or-lose-it society. Common courtesy extends only to those we know or like; everyone else be damned.

I guess I should count my blessings, though.

A couple months ago, my truck battery died while my wife and I were parked in the TJ Maxx parking lot. I called my uncle to give us a jump, then pushed my truck back so it was in two stalls so he would have room to pull his car in to jump me. We were just sitting there waiting (obviously with some problem to my vehicle) when I saw these two female teenage Maxxinistas in the rear view looking for a spot to park.

I honestly think they considered ramming me before they noticed the two of us in the vehicle. Instead, they literally crammed into the spot behind me with their tail half out in the road. In the rearview, I see them flipping the bird. As they walked by going into the store, they yelled all manner of profanities our way.

I came out of that situation with a stabbing feeling of how callous and selfish people can be, but perhaps I’m lucky I didn’t come out with a stab wound.

Editor-in-Chief

Mutually assured destruction.

That’s the best way I can sum up why I support the legal right to carry concealed firearms, both on campus and otherwise.

Remember the Cold War? We had two super powers, vying for power and supremacy, both with an arsenal of nuclear warheads capable of destroying the world several times over. What stopped each of them from blowing the other to kingdom come? Mutually assured destruction.

Have you ever seen the classic 1980′s movie war games? The only way to win the game thermonuclear war is not to play the game at all.

It’s pretty simple psychology and is valid at an interpersonal level as well. Really, who is going to rob a store if they think the clerk, as well as the other patrons, may be packing heat? It changes the whole risk-reward equation for a lot of crimes.

Sure, it is always best to call 911 and wait for the police to diffuse a situation, but sometimes that is not possible. Quick action can save lives.

It is well-known that if a person wants a gun, he or she can get one easily through various channels, some legal, some not. If a criminal wants to carry a concealed weapon, no little sign on the door or outside of campus banning the practice of concealed carry is going to deter them. But law-abiding citizens will respect those regulations.

Suddenly, in areas where concealed carry is banned, criminals only have to fear deadly repercussions from other criminals. All the law abiding citizens are now just blanks. So where do you think a criminal is more likely to strike? An area that allows legal concealed carry or one that bans the practice?

A lot of debate has been going on about whether the government should allow concealed firearms at the Missouri State University and other college campuses. Some students argue that allowing deadly weapons on campus will make the school a more dangerous place. But what about the thousands of deadly weapons already here (and out in the open)? Seriously, what is more dangerous than a raved lunatic in a motor vehicle?  Road rage happens. Maybe we should ban cars? Or sharpened pencils (those can hurt)? Really, I’d rather that people not have guns. But we don’t live in a perfect world and I’m a realist.

A drivers license is fairly simple to obtain, but not so with a CCW permit. An individual must be at least 23-years-old, have completed a training program and be fingerprinted at the Sheriff’s office.

Much of the debate has focused on how concealed carry may have stifled a campus massacre like the one at Virginia Tech. While I think it may have made some difference in that situation, these incidents are few and far between. Let’s look at a more likely scenario. Burglary. Assault. Rape. From 2005-to-2007, MSU police reported 144 robberies on campus, 8 cases of aggravated assault and 18 incidents of forcible sex offenses.  Shouldn’t students be allowed to defend themselves?

While I don’t know if I’d carry a gun myself, if my wife was out on campus after dark for classes, I’d feel a heck of a lot safer if she was carrying a concealed weapon. What rapist is going to attack a women if there’s a possibility he gets his dick blown off? If it happens a few times, I bet potential campus rapists might think twice.

Mutually assured destruction. You hurt me and I’ll hurt you. I wish this type of logic wasn’t needed in the world. Maybe someday it won’t. But for now, we should allow concealed carry of weapons in most public places, including campus. It could save lives.