2018
April
23
Monday

Monitor Daily Podcast

April 23, 2018
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James Shaw Jr. is being hailed as a hero after wrestling a gun away from a shooter yesterday at a Waffle House in Tennessee. Mr. Shaw is the first, however, to reject the title. He told the press later that he was only trying to stay alive.

“It feels selfish,” he said. “I was just trying to get myself out. I saw the opportunity and pretty much took it.”

What can’t be denied, however, is the fact that, although the shooter had already killed four, everyone else in the restaurant was saved by Shaw’s quick thinking and action. He took advantage of a pause while the shooter was reloading to charge him, tackle him, take the gun out of his hand, and throw it over the restaurant counter. (The suspected shooter was taken into custody today.) 

In the aftermath of the Parkland, Fla., high school shooting and the debate on arming teachers that that tragedy has reignited, Shaw’s actions have more than symbolic value. On social media, Shaw is being celebrated as the “good guy without a gun.” No gun – just quick wits and courage.

Then later in the day, Shaw created a GoFundMe account to raise money for the families of the victims.

And as for refusing the hero label, that’s “exactly what you’d expect a real hero to say,” noted one Twitter user.

Next up: We’ve selected five stories intended to help you see justice, democracy, and compassion at work.


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Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

Briefing

Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters
A man carries bread loaves along a busy Cairo street near a campaign banner for Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Ann Hermes/Staff
Potential student Bryant Miller (c.) tours classrooms at the first open house at Sattler College, a Christian college in Boston, April 12. The college is starting its inaugural year with 25 students, and its founder, Finny Kuruvilla, is hoping to expand enrollment to about 300 students in the coming years.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
Naledi Thimbela sits with her half sister Pomotso at her grandmother's home in Jan Kempdorp, South Africa. Naledi graduated with honors from high school and hopes to go to college.

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A message of love

Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP
Britain's Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, wave and gesture as they leave St. Mary's Hospital in London with their newborn son April 23. The couple’s third child is fifth in line to the British throne.
( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Jacob Turcotte. )

A look ahead

Come back tomorrow: We’ll be taking a look at French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Washington. The relationship between the two leaders appears to have evolved into something that looks like a partnership. On their agenda this week: Syria and Iran.

More issues

2018
April
23
Monday
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