Wheelshot: Hero, or Menace?

[ObscuredBeyond]

I only do this as a myTake because the story requries some detailed analysis. Otherwise, this would be a question.

Who is this mysterous "Wheelshot"?

The vigilante referred to on Facebook as "Wheelshot" is an as-of-yet-unnamed woman from Auburn Hills, MI, who has nearly broken the internet due to her sparking of yet another gun rights vs. gun control debate: how far is too far for gun rights? Looks like we won't have to wait until spring 2016's latest Marvel movie release to see a civil war, the way that arguments have been heating up.

The situation

Some crooks were about to make off with $50 or more of merchandise from the Auburn Hills Home Depot store. They were roughing up the loss prevention agents that were chasing them, and managed to get inside an SUV they were using as the getaway car, and were about to drive off.

That's when Wheelshot, with a concealed carry permit, and not bothering to stop and think twice, took out her 9mm and tried to shoot out the tires. Her plan was simple: disable the tires, and the crooks would be stranded. However, she failed to shoot out all four tires. She got one tire, and the crooks maneuvered away in such a way that there was no way she could continue shooting, without endangering others. So she had to give up and let them get away. Furious that she couldn't get her angles right the first time.

This happens a lot

I know from personal experience that sometimes, when you try to be a Good Samaritan, you fail at it horribly. My effort to save a hallmate from getting a DUI by fishing his car out of the ditch for him nearly got both of us in the slammer. I was able to talk my way out of it. He was screwed. I also tried to tackle a fire extinguisher case vandal. I got 3/4 of the way to his dorm on the opposite wing of the residence hall, got a physical description that would lead police right to him, and nearly succeeded at tackling him once. But he was in way better shape, and outran me. I had to wheeze back to my room and reach for the asthma medicine, then wait for police to knock on my door. Again, talked my way out of any trouble. The vandals were caught. They were screwed.

Wheelshot is another example of a Good Samaritan whose efforts at being Batman just didn't work out. The only reason her failure is causing so many to crap their pants, is because there was a gun involved. And they're too lazy to read fine print before passing judgment. Or don't care about facts.

The sinister blood libel

Unable to see the irony of their own online vigilantism, many anti-gun hypocrites wasted precious little time condemning the heroine of Auburn Hills. At the very worst, she could face charges of reckless discharge and vandalism. The "reckless" part can be disputed, and probably easily defeated. The vandalism charge, however, would probably stick.

In Michigan, the degree of damage she did to the car would likely amount to no more than $200 in damages, tops. That would earn her a maximum of 93 days in jail.

But for they whose feet are swift to shed blood, the shoplifters may as well be "innocent angels," and Wheelshot may as well be the Oregon shooter. On steroids. They insist she was shooting at the crooks themselves - a blatantly false assertion not supported by anything, certainly not the official police report.

She even cooperated with police on the matter, who told her they would call her back if the prosecutor felt it even worth the time and effort to press charges against her.

But everyone from PMS-LSD to Bill Maher to Daily Kos and then some would have you believe that our female Rorschach wannabe is actually a female Sylar, a boogeywoman your children need to fear.

Where is the love?

Others with conceal-carry, worried about losing their own rights and not reading all the details carefully (or else being misinformed,) have been quick to throw Wheelshot under the bus.

That thieves learned the hard way that shoplifting in Auburn Hills will not be tolerated? No one blinks an eye. That it took Wheelshot's utter failure at being Chuck Norris to send the message? Everyone loses their minds!

So now what?

She has a small number of options now:

1. The prosecutor decides to pull an Elsa and let it go. Wheelshot begins shopping at Lowe's to avoid any vendettas from any anti-gun hypocrites that might try to attack her with a chainsaw. Otherwise, she lives happily ever after. The crooks are eventually caught, and can claim that "Wheelshot" left the traceable dents in their fender and popped their tire, making it easy for police to catch them. They can laugh about how an impromptu would-be superhero led to their capture, as (not)-Mr. T finds them too funny to rape.

2. The prosecutor, thinking it over, charges her with misdemeanor vandalism. She adopts the moniker of Wheelshot herself, making it officially her name. She turns herself in. She pleads guilty to vandalism and plays along with the system to win back any lost public respect. After she gets out, she invests in some non-lethal weapons that are capable of intimidation but not necessarily death. She may wish to move away to another town though. And sue Bill Maher's Unofficial Facebook page and Huffington Post for libel.

3. Same as 2, but she waits quietly at home for police to pick her up. Comic book deal if she's lucky. It worked for Evel Knievel, so why not her?

And if she adopts the badass name of Wheelshot officially, who's gonna mess with her in jail, if that happens?

4. She gets fined but not jailed. It will sting a little, and she may lose her concealed-carry permit. But totally worth it otherwise.

If more women were as badass as Wheelshot, only a blithering idiot would ever steal from a hardware store again. And in my opinion, those who still can't see the difference between her and the Oregon shooter are either braindead, or willfully ignorant.

[fiego]

Great myTake, amazingly enough I had not heard of her. in my opinion she and everyone else should keep their guns holstered in these type of situations. Way too many things could and will go wrong as compared to right.

[ObscuredBeyond]

I spite all those who came to her defense, the city is run by a bunch of [insert most vile slurs you can think of here], who couldn't get the gerbils out of their asses long enough to sleep at night until they finally did get the prosecutor to take action, practically breathing down his neck.

They revealed her name finally: Tatiana Duva-Rodriguez. They gave her probation, up to a year and a half. And her conceal-carry license is toast.

She took it really hard, vowing: "I will never help anyone ever again."

I don't think she means as in never getting the door for anyone. But it's clear that the next time there's a robbery, or someone is about to be murdered, she won't - not even with karate - interfere anymore. Not even to save a life. Why? Because the [insert those same slurs here] that run the city would simply put her in jail, rather than the scumbag - and would let the scumbag sue her! F* that city!