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Resistance See other Resistance Articles Title: Repairman Jack: the Slaugher of the Sheep I am a fan of F. Paul Wilson’s “Repairman Jack” novels. Wilson s clearly a libertarian, and so is Repairman Jack. Jack lives “off the grid,” has no identity, and “fixes” things the bumblers in government cannot or won’t fix. And he does something that everyone should do: carry a concealed handgun. In his case, most of the time, it’s a Semmerling in an ankle holster. In the last novel of Wilson’s I read – “Hosts” – the action starts right at the beginning. Jack is riding a subway when some lunatic decides to slaughter dozens of people with his two 9mms, both with silencers. Shades of Colin Ferguson! The first words out of Jack’s mouth are: “Doesn’t anyone have a goddamn gun?” Of course not! They’re sheep, and sheep believe what the government tells them – guns are Bad Things! Not one person in that subway car has a gun, and so the shooter opens up with his two semi-automatics and people start falling left and right. Jack, however, pulls his Semmerling, shoots the lunatic three times – the last time right in the eyeball – and puts a fourth round into the guy’s boombox, which is playing awful music. Think of all the money he saved for a trial for this guy if he had only been wounded! And Jack uses frangibles, so there’s no possibility of exit wounds and ricochets. I love anyone who knows their guns and ammo. (He buys both from the “Isher Weapons Shop,” and if you don’t know what “Isher” means, shame on you.) The Jack turns into the cowering sheeple (the ones still alive) and yells at them: “Why me? Why do I have to save your sorry asses? I don’t know you, I don’t care about you. I want nothing to do with you, so why me? Why did I get stuck with it?” Because not one person in that subway car had a pistol, that’s why. “And this creep knew that! He knew he’d be dealing with a herd of human sheep! Losers! You make me sick – all of you!” And then he disappears out the door. It is a good thing for academics to write their heavy tomes, full of statistics, showing the more guns, the less crime; the less guns, the more crime. But that’s telling, really. But there’s a big difference between telling and showing. Stories don't tell; they show. That’s one of the first things I learned in journalism class: “show, don’t tell.” Stories are what touch people, not statistics. That’s why those few pages in Wilson's novels are worth several books of statistical analysis. I consider the Repairman Jack novels to be horror, and like all horror, it’s about Order pushing back the Chaos. That’s what Jack does: he pushes back the Chaos. And that means Justice…which is not surprisingly one of the Four Cardinal Virtues. One description of Justice that I am familiar with is “the virtue whereby we give to each person what is due to him, and we do this consistently, promptly and pleasurably.” This is also what Jack does. Oh, would I love to see “Hosts” made into a movie. For that matter, I’d love to see any of his Repairman Jack novels made into movies. Jack, you’re my hero.
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