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Culture War Roundup for the week of September 8, 2025

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Has there ever been a shooter who got cold feet at the last minute, decided not to pull the trigger, and went home quietly?

Yes, it should be expected that, even people who not only fantasize about the deed, but also prepare and get to the place, only about 1 in 10-20 actually follow with the plan.

See one of most famous assassinations of history. Out of six volunteers, working as a team, dedicated to their cause and willing to sacrifice their lives, when the time came, five just did nothing at all.

(one of them changed his mind later and changed the course of history, but this is another tale)

The motorcade passed the first assassin, Mehmedbašić. Danilo Ilić had placed him in front of the garden of the Mostar Café and armed him with a bomb.[74] Mehmedbašić failed to act. Ilić had placed Vaso Čubrilović next to Mehmedbašić, arming him with a pistol and a bomb. He too failed to act. Further along the route, Ilić had placed Nedeljko Čabrinović on the opposite side of the street near the Miljacka river, arming him with a bomb.

At 10:10 am,[75] Franz Ferdinand's car approached and Čabrinović threw his bomb. The bomb bounced off the folded back convertible cover into the street.[76] The bomb's timed detonator caused it to explode under the next car, putting that car out of action, leaving a 1-foot-diameter (0.30 m), 6.5-inch-deep (170 mm) crater,[75] and wounding 16–20 people.[77]

Čabrinović swallowed his cyanide pill and jumped into the Miljacka river. Čabrinović survived the suicide attempt, as the old cyanide only induced vomiting, and the Miljacka was only 13 cm deep due to the hot, dry summer.[78] Police dragged Čabrinović out of the river, and he was severely beaten by the crowd before being taken into custody.

The procession sped away towards the Town Hall leaving the disabled car behind. Cvjetko Popović, Gavrilo Princip, and Trifun Grabež failed to act as the motorcade passed them at high speed.[79]

Well done! I think your analysis is good—even with team pressure, many still chicken out, so the solo chickening rate is almost certainly higher than that rate.