Fundraiser for Brain-Smash Victim Today (Ray Widstrand)

[gunsmith]

http://kstp.com/news/stories/S3182136.shtml?cat=1

I don't want to talk about this but as a permit holder with an interest in self defense I can't ignore it.

There's something wrong or missing here. A man's life has been taken away and....nothing will change. In custody is a 19 year old Thug and 4 baby thugs (15 year olds) The big one may get 7 years and the little ones will be on the street when they're 21.

I'm going to STFU but a firearms instructor can use this issue to confront his students....It's my theory that if Ray Widstrand had a permit to carry his requisite 'awareness' skills would have kept him safe without having to so much as brandish his weapon.

There should be an online means to contribute to his welfare.

Fundraiser to Help Man Brutally Beaten in St. Paul

Ray Widstrand was walking home late one August night when police say he was beaten and left unconscious by at least five people on the East Side of St. Paul.

Ray's family says he is making a lot of progress. He is using a wheelchair but is starting to take some steps. Just this week he started putting sentences together. But the recovery process with a brain injury is day to day.

Widstrand has had two surgeries for brain swelling and skull fractures with a third scheduled for November. He is getting intensive physical therapy at Minneapolis-based Courage Kenny Rehab Institute. Although he's taken huge steps forward since his August attack, recovering from a severe brain injury is exhausting.

"To have this happen - it seems just - why?" said his mother, Linda Widstrand. "It's just, it seems unreal. It just doesn't seem real."

Tips from witnesses led to five arrests: 19-year-old Issac Maiden and four juveniles. Trials for the kids, two of whom are are just 15-years-old, are underway now.

Family friends have organized a big fundraiser Saturday morning at the Goodrich Golf Dome in Maplewood.

Putts for Ray runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and includes a mini-golf tournament, prizes, raffles and a silent auction. All of the money raised will go to help the Widstrand family pay for Ray's surgeries and rehab.

[EllisW]

Brain-Smash Victim is my favorite filth metal band.

[gunsmith]

He's in a wheelchair
Talking slowly,
can 'think' clearly and articulate well
Speaks weekly
3rd brain surgery next week.
Too weak to walk.
Can move his hands
Knows he's 'in recovery' and looking forward.

Wants to get back to work.

The six who attacked him should recieve 'Cruel and Unusual' punishment.

MAPLEWOOD, Minn. (KMSP) -

Ray Widstrand's family told FOX 9 News he is a living miracle. It's been two months since he was severely beaten in St. Paul. Now, after two brain surgeries and more to come, he's aiming to make a full recovery.

"It's been trying at times, but it's also been a learning experience for me," Widstrand said.

Widstrand shares first hand what life has been like since he was severely beaten on Aug. 4 by a group of five men in St. Paul as he walked home from work in the Dayton's Bluff neighborhood.

"No memory... I didn't even know I got beaten up, until the next day," he said.

Widstrand's parents Peter and Linda Widstrand say he's undergone two brain surgeries since then and has a cranioplasty scheduled next month.

A father remaining strong, and a mother grateful she still has her son by her side.

"It's unbelievable -- I'm really glad I do," Linda Widstrand said.

But the road to recovery is expected to be a long one in her son's case.

"I mean, what's the cost of one brain surgery? I can't even imagine," colleague and friend Judy Skeie-Voss said.

At the Goodrich Golf Dome, Widstrand's colleagues at Suburban Community Channels gathered Saturday to take part in a silent auction, enjoy food and miniature golf all to raise money that will help pay for his medical care.

Widstrand plans to move out of his current rehab center on Dec. 1.

"Moving somewhere, moving on to the next thing," he said.

"He's not able to walk on his own, he's coming a long way but he has a long way to go," Skeie-Voss said.

Still, as he interacts with those he knows and loves - Widstrand remains assured and shares a few goals he hopes to accomplish soon.

"Speaking slowly, articulating, speaking loudly -- and that's the speech. There's also physical, balance, driving," he noted.

He says one day, he'll be able to get back to life as usual.

"We hope to do the best that we can raising funds for Ray, but ultimately, people, don't forget about Ray. Keep praying for Ray, he needs those prayers to lift him up," Skeie-Voss said.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

If you'd like to help the Widstrand family tackle those mounting medical bills you can visit any Wells Fargo bank and simply tell the teller you're dropping of a donation for Ray's fund.


Read more: Dayton's Bluff beating victim holds head high at benefit - KMSP-TV http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/23 ... z2gy0ZkuHa

[LePetomane]

The sad irony is that while the Widstrand family struggles to pay medical bills these five black thugs will have better health insurance while incarcerated than any of us can afford courtesy of the state.

[farmerj]

http://kstp.com/news/stories/S3182136.shtml?cat=1

I'm going to STFU but a firearms instructor can use this issue to confront his students....It's my theory that if Ray Widstrand had a permit to carry his requisite 'awareness' skills would have kept him safe without having to so much as brandish his weapon.

Having a permit to carry would have done nothing for him.

Situational awareness and levels of consciousness is much more than just taking a class for a permit to carry. Nor do you have to take a permit class to understand those concepts.

You should have both long before you get to getting your permit.

[gunsmith]

My theory is:

'Carrying' a firearm requires that you have a 'Personal Self Defense STRATEGY'

My observation is that Ray Widstrand did not. He was what Joe Soucheray calls a 'Euphorian' IE. goverment provides all our needs from Cellphones to subsidies to Light Rail...'we do not have to be responsible for ourselves'

The police will show up and take care of this.

My other basic theory:

"Carrying a firearm changes your behavior PROFOUNDLY"

So....I have a powerful firearm in my pocket but my best protection is my awareness, forethought, strategy, & general preparedness for evil to jump out of the bushes wanting to eat me alive.

Software vs Hardware.

I do a 270 when I enter a grocery store parking lot....I developed that practice as a result of the safety awareness that carrying a firearm brought upon me.

Ray Widstrand (or any 'Euphorian') can practice prevention like that with or without a firearm.

My exceedingly simple point is that...If he carried a firearm w/ a MN permit....he would reasonably have developed the basic skills of

AWARENESS
AVOIDANCE
DE-ESCALATION
RETREAT.

College girls get a taste of that with 'safety seminars'

What roasts my chestnuts is that not only do Euphorians not want to carry firearms....they don't want to acknowledge the grave dangers around every corner and learn basic defensive tactics.

This guys parents are BEWILDERED by the attack on their son but they shouldn't be.

[farmerj]

Sorry, I see your view as extreme.

You should have that sense of awareness and level of consciousness well before you sign up for a class.

A gun is nothing more than one tool in a large tool box. Feeling you MUST have that tool as your only avenue of safety is handicapping yourself as well.

[gunsmith]

I don't think I'm making myself clear....gun or not...most people don't have a 'plan' for self defense...that's step one.

I'd be happy if those who don't want to carry guns at least HAD A PLAN.

[farmerj]

I don't think I'm making myself clear....gun or not...most people don't have a 'plan' for self defense...that's step one.

I'd be happy if those who don't want to carry guns at least HAD A PLAN.

Unfortunately, there are too many out there that until something ugly happens to them, they will feel safe that the police will protect them. Which is not the case.

Sometimes you can only sit back and have sympathy for the foolish.

[gunsmith]

Urban Dictionary: Liberal.

A liberal is simply a conservative who hasn't been mugged yet.
Having $50 stolen by a parolee, liberal Johnny began to regret his demonstrating for prisoners' rights.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.p ... id=3450679

[gunsmith]

On a positive note: I saw the video Where Ray Widstrand is talking to the camera and he's got good cognitive skills. His ability to speak is weak and he's confined to a wheel chair.

I think you have to look THREE YEARS OUT to see him regaining some normalcy....

[LePetomane]

Ray Widstrand (or any 'Euphorian') can practice prevention like that with or without a firearm.

Would you care to provide us with a definition of "Euphorian" and why you feel that Mr. Widstrand fits the definition?

[xd ED]

I won't attempt to answer for gunsmith, but it's been mentioned in the local media that he specifically chose this( rather crappy) neighborhood to live to be amongst the 'people' as something of a starving artist.
While its not a justification/ reason to get your mellon squashed, the guy sounds pretty naive to the ways of urban life, in part because he attempted to walk through the middle of a brawl of some sort.

[gunsmith]

I'm dismayed no comment for now


Ray Widstrand doesn’t remember what happened the night he tried to walk through a crowd of teenagers near his St. Paul apartment this summer.

But he’s already forgiven the five teens who nearly beat him to death on Aug. 4.

WTF?

While out for a walk Widstrand, then 26, was caught in the crossfire of what authorities called gang violence. He was knocked down, kicked and stomped, leaving him fighting for his life with potentially fatal brain swelling.

The horror of the brutal, random beating galvanized residents of St. Paul’s Payne-Phalen neighborhood into demanding police provide extra patrols to stop the tide of apparent violence by young people that included the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old.

For a time, St. Paul police dedicated 30 extra officers to patrol the area, looking for large groups of roaming youths that were causing problems. Operation Blue Wave, as it was called, is winding down, and in a separate sweep Wednesday police arrested 16 members of the East Side Boyz, a violent gang authorities believe may have been involved in the fight that left Widstrand injured.

Still, residents remain concerned about safety in the area.

Five people, one adult and four juveniles, have been charged in the assault on Widstrand. The jury trial for Issac Maiden, 19, who faces first-degree assault and aggravated robbery charges as well as two counts of gang-related crimes, will start Monday. The four juveniles face similar charges.

Even without the memory of the assault, Widstrand said he didn’t think the beating was a reflection of the community.

Widstrand, who is white, also said he didn’t feel threatened or unsafe in the neighborhood because of his race.

“That was just a freak accident,” said Widstrand, who is now 27. “It was just young kids lashing out. I was a young kid once. I lashed out.”

Sorry........words fail me here.....

Recovering slowly

Widstrand is getting back to basics at the Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute.

The injuries left him in a wheelchair. They make it difficult for him to speak and left him unable to do everyday tasks like shave or use the bathroom alone.

After months of hospitalization, Widstrand has started physical, speech and occupational therapy.

He needs to wear a helmet, complete with a Superman sticker on the back, to protect his head from further trauma. He gets help with everyday tasks such as the shaving and use of the bathroom.

As part of his list of long-term goals, Widstrand hopes to eventually drive again, return to his job as a programming assistant in suburban cable television and move back to the Payne-Phalen neighborhood.

“My dad was right. He said there are more builders than there are tearers down. … The world is a good place if you just give it a chance,” Widstrand said as he sat in his room at the rehab center accompanied by his mother and sister.

I can't believe this guy is so stupid......

[EllisW]

You seem awfully invested in another man's life. He may have a victim complex, as evidenced by his need to forgive them of any harm, but it's his life. Live your own.