Please write a letter to the editor of the Pocono Record

[bill gray]

The print version of the Pocono Record today (6-11) has an article on page 2 with the headline "Armed Samaritan prevents robbery set up on Craigslist." Paragraph 6 says "An armed Samaritan saw the struggle taking place and pointed a gun at the robber, police said."
The Pocono Record cannot stand to say "Good" Samaritan in connection with a citizen with a LTCF who stops a crime. They cannot say anything complimentary about a legal gun carrier. They seem to choke on the idea.
I already used up my ration of letters to the editor (one per month) griping about their 6-4 anti gun cartoon and "Washington Merry-Go-Round" hit piece. (Examples: The cartoon shows an FFL selling a box of handguns and saying "Here you go, kid, and no background check..." The column, which ran below the cartoon, has the sentence "Semiautomatic firearms, once confined to the battlefield, are now aggressively marketed for civilian use." and more)
You can submit a letter to the editor at letters@poconorecord.com. They will publish your name and you must include your telephone number and address so they can verify you wrote the piece.

[Democrat Gun Owner]

I see the offense in the cartoon you mentioned. However, I do not see the problem with the article you mention. I have copied it below for those interested in reading it.

Good Samaritan is actually redundant. Is there such a thing as a bad Samaritan?

As for me, I like that the title reads "Armed Samaritan" and not "Good Samaritan". I know your point is that it should read "Armed, Good Samaritan", but that is a little verbose for an article title.

Armed Samaritan prevents Stroud Mall robbery set up on Craigslist

By Chris Reber
Pocono Record Writer
June 11, 2014
A man who made arrangements to sell a cellphone through the website Craigslist was instead robbed and immobilized with a stun gun in a parking lot at the Stroud Mall on Tuesday afternoon, according to police.

The alleged robber fled the scene in a red Subaru, according to Lt. Kevin Transue of Stroud Area Regional Police.

The suspect is not believed to be a danger to the public, police said.

Police said a man had come to the mall, in the area of the J.C. Penney parking lot, at around 3 p.m. to sell a cellphone to a man he had made arrangements with on Craigslist.

At some point, the prospective buyer hit him with a stun gun and took the phone, police said.

An armed Samaritan saw the struggle taking place and pointed a gun at the robber, police said.

The man, who was legally licensed to carry the weapon, did not fire, but he got the robber to drop the phone.

The alleged robber then drove off. No further description of the suspect was available.

Transue said that Craigslist robberies are a growing trend.

He advised prospective sellers to take precautions to prevent an incident like the one that occurred Tuesday.

"You really need to make sure you feel comfortable with the individual. Just being smart about the transaction. This gentleman was brazen enough to do it in the middle of the afternoon," Transue said.

[bill gray]

Word Nerd Alert!! The two dictionaries I consulted both said "The New Testament parable of the Good Samaritan reflects a proverbial hostility between Jews and Samaritans." The Jewish authors of the Bible were insulting the Samarians by pretending to be surprised that there was even one "good" Samaritan in the whole tribe. What is the Record saying about gun carriers by not using the word "Good?"
Someone please write a letter and complain about the faint praise.

[Boots_DE]

... The Jewish authors of the Bible were insulting the Samarians by pretending to be surprised that there was even one "good" Samaritan in the whole tribe. ....

Not really.

It is true that the Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans due to religious differences. When a man asked Jesus "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus answered with a parable, using the animosity between the Jews and the Samaritans to make His point.

In the story, two Jews, a priest and a Levite, passed by a seriously injured man in the roadway and offered no help. Later, "a certain Samaritan" on his journey saw the injured man and had compassion on him and took care of him (Read Luke 10:25-37 for the whole story).

Then, Jesus asked him "Which of these three was neighbor unto the injured man?"

"The one that showed mercy on him," he answered.

Jesus said "Go and do likewise."

We call this the Parable of the Good Samaritan, however, the word "good" is never used in the story. He was merely "... a certain Samaritan, ...."

Nowadays, just calling someone a "Samaritan" invokes the image of someone going out of their way to help their "neighbor."

[Grey Bearded One]

He was merely "... a certain Samaritan, ...."

Depends on the translation. Mine just says "a Samaritan," the point being that Samaritans would be much less likely to help a Jew than others.

The sad reality of our illiterate society is that Samaritan has become a synonym for "helpful person." Down in the DC area, CVS used to sponsor a "Samaritan Van" to help stranded motorists. Interestingly, it was a rabbi who pointed out to me how Samaritan was being misused.

[90volts]

Nowadays, just calling someone a "Samaritan" invokes the image of someone going out of their way to help their "neighbor."

I don't agree. Samaritans were a tribe of people. As with any group there are good and bad. When one does something helpful/positive they are referred to as a good samartian, as opposed to a bad samaritan i guess. if they purposely used the word samaritan they should have used 'good' as a descriptor in my opinion. otherwise they should have just said citizen instead.

[Boots_DE]

... Mine just says "a Samaritan," the point being that Samaritans would be much less likely to help a Jew than others. ....

I think you missed the point. Didn't you notice the victim was unidentified as being either a Jew or a Samaritan?

Two very religious Jews, a priest and a Levite, passed by and were unwilling to render aid to this unidentified victim. It was a Samaritan, whom the Jews looked down upon, that showed true compassion to the victim.

Christ was clearly pointing out the self-righteousness of the two religious Jews, who should have known better, and contrasting it with the actions of a reviled Samaritan who showed the compassion for his fellow man that Christ expects ALL of us to show.

The fact we refer to him as "good" is not in comparison to other Samaritans, but in comparison the the religious Jews in the story.

[knight0334]

I don't agree. Samaritans were a tribe of people. As with any group there are good and bad. When one does something helpful/positive they are referred to as a good samartian, as opposed to a bad samaritan i guess. if they purposely used the word samaritan they should have used 'good' as a descriptor in my opinion. otherwise they should have just said citizen instead.

As a proper noun, "Samaritans" were a tribe of people.

As a noun, "Samaritan" is a person who is generous in helping those in distress.

"Good Samaritan" is asinine because there is no such thing as a "Bad Samaritan"(that would be counter-intuitive, an oxymoron).

[Exbiker]

The only people that will see the article are the fish that get wrapped in the paper.

[Boots_DE]

... "Good Samaritan" is asinine because there is no such thing as a "Bad Samaritan"(that would be counter-intuitive, an oxymoron).

Perhaps we call it the Parable of the Good Samaritan because the Samaritan in the story is indeed a 'good' example for us to follow.