Burn a Disc, Save a Life

    I’ve been seeing this headline on the AP wire the last couple days: “DVD in Firefighter’s Coat Blocks Bullet“.

Colleton County Fire and Rescue Director Barry McRoy says he was leaving a Waffle House restaurant in Walterboro [South Carolina] on Saturday morning when two men ran in fighting over a gun. Police say a bullet hit one of the struggling men, shattered a window and then hit McRoy.
    The bullet hit a DVD McRoy was carrying in his pocket. He suffered a bruise but didn’t realize he had been shot. As he told a police officer what happened he noticed a bullet hole in his jacket, the shattered DVD case and a piece of the bullet.

    One detail I was quick to notice was in the final sentence of the article. The DVD “was a gift from an employee who had recorded a TV show about fire extinguishers.” See that, MPAA? If that DVD had not been illegally copied, a man could be dead!