James Shaw Jr. is an American hero. Let me tell you about him, may I?

On this night, this man refused to die in a Waffle House at 3:30 AM. He refused to accept his fate. He took matters into his own, capable, strong hands. His actions saved lives, most importantly, his own. He is a great American.

The Antioch Waffle House shooting was an enormous tragedy, but from it emerged an interesting story – that of James Shaw Jr, an unlikely hero who went mano-a-mano with the gunman and wrestled his weapon from him, throwing it behind the Waffle House countertop thereby stopping the killing spree. At 3:30 AM in a Waffle House in Antioch, Tennessee this man found out who he was and he let us in on the secret.

James is a reluctant hero who makes no bones about the proposition that he was acting in his own self-interest. Faced with the highly likely proposition of death, James refused to go quietly into that dark night. If the gunman was going to kill him, it would not be without a fight. It is a strikingly American thought. We Americans will not go without a fight.

What did he do? He attacked the gunman when the gunman was dealing with his weapon – not clear whether the gunman was dealing with a jam or re-loading. James was smart. James picked his moment and acted.

In this confrontation between good and evil, two 29-year-old men took different sides. One killed four innocent victims, wounded two while the other stopped evil in its tracks, wrested the weapon from the killer thereby saving countless lives.

So what can we do, Big Red Car?

There is a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for James Shaw Jr with an eye toward funding the college education of his 4-year-old daughter.

GoFundMe Campaign James Shaw Jr

I sent the campaign $100. Not a huge amount of money, but it makes me feel good, like I funded his heroism. I am sick and tired of seeing evil triumphing over good. It feels good to reward heroism.

Maybe it will move you also. Make contact and send a bit of money. You can do this. Send $25-100. Vote for heroism against evil. Recognize heroism. Celebrate heroism.

It will make you feel good. I promise.

We need to encourage the James Shaw Jr’s of this world.

Waffle House

I suggest that Waffle House feed James Shaw Jr for free for the rest of his life. Guy deserves it, no? Earned it, yes?

Come on, Waffle House. Do this.

But, hey, what the Hell do I really know anyway? I’m just a Big Red Car. Well played, James Shaw Jr. Well played, indeed! America.