Thank you also for an excellent overview of the mental and physical steps to self protection. I am one who is transitioning from group 2 to group 1. Other than shooting 22s at summer camp this was not something I have thought about my entire adult life…until recently. I think for anyone contemplating to get a firearm for self defense - for all the right reasons, it is imperative from a practical, legal and even ethical point of view to attain the necessary training to know how to competently and confidently use it. With rights come responsibilities. You can never take a bullet back once it is fired, so learning not only proper safety skills, but real functional skills and having really thought through the practical, moral and legal implications of lethal force BEFORE confronted with the unthinkable is essential. Each of us must think this through for themselves and will come up with different answers.I should also mention that I have taken the Front Sight 4 day course and was incredably impressed with their professionalism, safety consciousness, practical training and lectures on ethics and legal aspects of armed self defense. For those interested, unlimited expiration certificates for all of their training courses can be purchased quite inexpensively on Ebay. This is totally legitimate. They sell course certificates and lifetime memberships on their website, but they are expensive. Discount lifetime memberships can be had. For those interested for more info, feel free to contact me. I have no connection to FS other than having been there as a student.
rbh-During moments of high stress, most folks lose some sensory perception. Some undergo time compression where events seem to happen in slow motion, others have auditory exclusion (event/ stress induced hearing loss) tunnel vision, paralysis or some combination of all of the above and more.
The laser dazzler may work on an unsuspecting individual, but the liklihood of it working on someone who is hopped up on adrenaline and possibly drug adled as well makes you a shiny target. If they are armed expect to be shot as the laser works both ways, identifing your position as well. If not then I would expect them to either run away or depending on their level of aggression, charge you.
Getting close enough to hit someone under those circumstances is insane. Distance always favors the defender. It buys you time, sometimes measured in miliseconds, options and security. So maybe a Taser or large can of super hot pepper spray to keep your distance, if you are deliberately avoiding using a firearm.
Also be advised that cracking someone in the head, upper torso, spine, or groin with a baseball bat, axe handle or golf club type item is considered using deadly force in my jurisdiction. Be prepared to face the same charges as if you had shot them.
Pepper spray and Tasers have their limitations too. I have personally experienced several instances where I have administered pepper spray to gain compliance from a resistive suspect and had them fight me anyway.
Best wishes,
Jager06
GiraffeOK said,
“One evening a young man I had hired several times for lawn care knocked on my door and asked if I had a gun with which to shoot a badly injured dog. I did not see the dog and did not know if the request was legitimate. I was in a quandary about how to answer. If I said yes, would he later rob me to get the gun? If I said no, would he later rob me because I can’t defend myself? I lied (against my principles, but…) and said no. Advice, anybody?”
Yikes! Your story made the hair on the back of MY neck stand up!! Chris Martenson is right - that feeling of dis-ease you got when this happened is your natural instinct sounding a VERY LOUD alarm. (Remember that feeling: it’s a priceless gift and you must pay very close attention to it and respond appropriately!) A criminal/predator was “interviewing” you in preparation for an attack of some kind. (Imagine an African lion crouching in the grass watching a zebra and it’s newborn walking along 30 yards away!) I’m kind of surprised you weren’t assaulted and robbed on the spot. I guess that means he was planning to come back at a future time, break in, steal your gun and whatever else he could find. I wouldn’t go anywhere with him, and certainly not a place of his choosing to allegedly inspect the injured dog!! Your “no” answer might have reduced the probability of a future burglary by him, though it increased the probability of a robbery or sexual assault. Most of the people who break into a home or business have been there before (teenage neighbors are prime suspects in every home burglary in my mind). Prepare accordingly. I’d start by banning him from my property for any reason, telling him so and why, and calling the police as soon as you see him on your property even if he hasn’t definitely started the overt action of attacking or breaking in. I’d like to deal with this more in a second post because it’s so important. Your answer wasn’t bad/wrong, but it could’ve been made more likely to induce him to decide to choose a different victim. Have you got a burglary alarm that calls 9-1-1 and do you use it faithfully? Panic alarm? Want to get a gun now?
Poet asked,
"Any advice on helping someone who is more of a pacifist, "don't-want-to-think-about-it" person overcome her reluctance to look into protection?"
I couldn't say it better than CM's post on this site about how to deal with a "reluctant partner" regarding the Crash Course and its implications. Review that, then see how to apply it to this subject. VERY similar.
Start with the realization that some people can never/will never get over their refusal/reluctance to deal with violence directed at them. But which ones? I wouldn't give up on anyone, but I'd be patient. My wife got her concealed carry permit after we had lived here 20 years!
For about 96% of the population no one takes self-protection seriously until some kind of emotional connection is made (I made that number up!). That can happen many ways, but almost never by "forcing" someone to face it. Unfortunately, the emotional connection is often not made until the first time a person is victimized. Beside that, the next most common way is to vicariously experience someone else's crime and related emotions. Books and videos can work sometimes. Talking to a crime victim about their experience might work better for others. Interacting with a predator is another way (Police ride-along, prison ministry, watching video of a killer speaking about himself and his crimes, go to court and listen to/watch murderers and armed robbers on trial). That's a tough one to arrange (safely) but there's nothing better (short of being victimized) than to see, in person, how cold and brutal predators can be.
Good luck with that one.
Great Post with a lot of Heartfelt Sincerity.
I put a link to this post on our Personal Security Guide at http://PersonalSecurityZone.com
I talk to folks who are building up their self defense skills and stragegies and equipment every day, from professionals in law enforcement to very timid folks who are worried the pepper spray might hurt a dog that may be attacking them.
I always try to remember that each person is on their own path or continuum from timidity to empowerment and refusing to be a victim - from unskilled to skilled and prepared. It seems you take this personal approach as well. That’s why I thought your post was very good for this web site especially.
Mary Kay
PersonalSecurityZone.com
ex C Squadron SAS trooper.
I cannot watch violence on the TV without freaking out.
I do not mean I choose not to.
I mean I cannot.
Here are the rules. There are none. Whoever loses dies.
The biggest mistake I hear civilians make is the “Fair Fight”. It is neither “Fair”, or a fight. It is butchery. My hat off to those who kill without causing pain or distress.
After 10 seconds there should be only the sound of the wind.
Anything else is not good enough.
"Sold my soul to the Devil,
And the fault is only mine.
Sold by a little squiggle
On a little dotted line"
Arthur Robey1972.
I like the post – its good advice, but I don’t think this thesis is borne out:
“The next 20 years are going to be completely unlike the last 20 years, and one way they’re going to be different is in the area of crime. Obviously, more poverty and desperation and fewer law enforcement resources will be the main ingredients in generating more crime and violence. It’s going to be more frequent, more clever, and more brutal.”
It is well documented that crime rates have been decreasing since the early 1990s. Violent crime rates also decreased sharply during the last crisis period in American history, which encompassed the Great Depression and WWII.
If there is an increase in anything lately, it’s typically just plain old stealing when there’s nobody around. Everything from money to guns to copper pipes. That makes more sense for the economically desperate. Why confront someone when you don’t have to?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying we shouldn’t be prepared. But I don’t think making scary predictions is necessary – this should be just common sense.
Excellent essay.It’s true that crime rates have been falling but one wonders if that is partially due to increases in the community policing concept. The police force in my town, as many places in this country, is being cut and fewer officers will be available to respond to crimes. As for “plain old stealing”…why would you trust someone who is already committing a felony? That is denial, IMHO, and relying on the “goodwill” of someone who has already proven to be a criminal. If you came home and confronted a “mere thief”, he might turn into a “mere murderer”. Several years ago a local criminal at a rest stop who saw a “rape of opportunity” turned into a murderer when he became angry and “lost it” (his words) when she fought back.
Don’t be naive, my friends, I’ve assessed psychopaths and worked with LEO as a psychologist for 4 decades. You are just a means to an end for them.
CS
Freakonomics suggests that crime rates have decreased with the advent of birth control.
Other studies http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5KMmN7hrmE indicate that happiness is relative and we might want to consider how future welfare /entitlement cuts are presented. A we’re all in this together approach involving community might be crucial to reduce how deprived people feel.
Some of the books presented in this excellent article look very interesting. Looking forward to checking them out!
It is well documented that crime rates have been decreasing since the early 1990s.Yes it is well documented. Point to all the statistics you want about crime falling but people are still being mugged, raped and murdered every day It is also well documented that people that cannot feed their families will do ANYTHING to get food or necessities. It is not a scary prediction to tell people to be prepaired to defend themselves and their family. Crime can happen anywhere at any time for any reason. . This has happend through all of history and will continue into all of the forseeable future. Being prepaired for all possibilities is just the smart thing to do.
Rich
Thanks for the contribution to the site. I have never been one to be paranoid, but I just a week ago finished having my security system upgraded to the best. I, also, did something I NEVER thought I would do and bought a gun. I hate guns, but I know how bad things could get with a worthless dollar and no food available. If someone came to my door, I would be more than happy to help them, but if someone breaks into my house, I am going to protect myself.
I have chosen to live in a rural location, partially to build community and self-sufficiency. I bet many others on this site are in a similar position.
thc and others in this situation, I would appreciate hearing more from you on your thoughts about security in a rural environment, since you mentioned that as a tradeoff. What are things to watch out for, and how to guard against them?
[quote=Dragline]I like the post – its good advice, but I don’t think this thesis is borne out:
“The next 20 years are going to be completely unlike the last 20 years, and one way they’re going to be different is in the area of crime. Obviously, more poverty and desperation and fewer law enforcement resources will be the main ingredients in generating more crime and violence. It’s going to be more frequent, more clever, and more brutal.”
It is well documented that crime rates have been decreasing since the early 1990s. Violent crime rates also decreased sharply during the last crisis period in American history, which encompassed the Great Depression and WWII.
If there is an increase in anything lately, it’s typically just plain old stealing when there’s nobody around. Everything from money to guns to copper pipes. That makes more sense for the economically desperate. Why confront someone when you don’t have to?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying we shouldn’t be prepared. But I don’t think making scary predictions is necessary – this should be just common sense.
[/quote]
My wife’s country experienced it’s own depression and hyperinflation in the early 90’s, and by her and her family’s account ALL types of crime increased. Theft and alcohol-related crimes showed the most dramatic increase, but violent crimes increased substantially too. We’re talking cold-blooded home invasions and store invasions where the victims were killed, and this is a country where murders were rare and guns rare as well. Argentina’s experience also showed dramatic increases in violent crime. Is this 100% probable in our case? No, but I see that risk as very high in our case, as in over 90%.
A description of collapse that I found helpful was by Dmitri Orlov who categorized collapse as having 5 stages, each one worse than the one that came before: financial collapse, political collapse, commercial collapse, social collapse, and cultural collapse. The Great Depression in the US could be categorized (as a whole) of experiencing financial collapse and perhaps to a small degree political collapse. Argentina 10 or so years ago could be described by the previously referenced Fernando Ferfal Aguirre as financial, political, and commercial collapse. My wife’s country along with Russia in the 90’s would be similar, but tiptoeing a little further into partial social collapse. What I am trying to do is compare the rate of violent crime to the degree of collapse, and there appears to be a rough correlation. My sense of things is that, using Orlov’s scale, the US at minimum is headed for both financial and political collapse, with a high probability of varying commercial collapse as well (from oil shortages, just-in-time delivery systems being stressed, bond markets rebelling, etc.). So the Great Depression’s experience of lower violent crime, if true, might not be the best fitting example. I think either Argentina or Russia would be the closest fit, depending on how far the government and Federal Reserve push deficit spending and QE and how they react to the crisis that inevitably results. I don’t want either one to be the case, but that’s what I’m preparing myself for nonetheless.
- Nickbert
[quote=Dragline]Violent crime rates also decreased sharply during the last crisis period in American history, which encompassed the Great Depression and WWII.
[/quote]
I’m having a hard time believing this. Were Al Capone, John Dillinger, Machine Gun Kelly, Baby Face Nelson, Ma Barker, Bonny and Clyde, etc., etc. all just anomalies?
No, that subject line is not a misprint, bear with me.
(First off – thanks to thc for this excellent, thoughtful post/essay!)
Now: about that Star Trek thang –
I’ve started using this analogy when I’m speaking to somebody about the coming challenges and it comes up that I’ve purchased a 12-gauge – and then they’re surprised or freaked out that ol’ live-and-let-live Sager owns a firearm?!
(The fact that [a] I thought of this analogy and [b] I share it with friends – which I do because I believe it might foster some of those “light bulb moments” – probably means I have some nerd tendencies still hanging around from my formative high school years [and so do some of my friends]. If so, that’s cool with me. 
)
One of the deep underlying premeses of the old “Star Trek” series was that the Federation was all about peaceful exploration and the acquisition of knowledge and so forth (as opposed to the Klingons and Romulans who were very warlike and aggressive). But it’s not like the Enterprise went out into the great unknown with nothing but open arms and a smile. It packed all sorts of offensive and defensive gear and the willingness to use it if they had to.
So in a world that’s likely to get less lawful and therefore more dangerous as time goes on, it’s just unintelligent not to have the capability to fend off those with malific intent. (Or as Mr. Spock would’ve said: “To do so would be illogical.”)
Allright, I’m takin’ off my propeller beanie and vulcan ears and sending in my check for this year’s dues at the local range…
Viva – Sager
[quote] A description of collapse that I found helpful was by Dmitri Orlov who categorized collapse as having 5 stages, each one worse than the one that came before: financial collapse, political collapse, commercial collapse, social collapse, and cultural collapse. The Great Depression in the US could be categorized (as a whole) of experiencing financial collapse and perhaps to a small degree political collapse. Argentina 10 or so years ago could be described by the previously referenced Fernando Ferfal Aguirre as financial, political, and commercial collapse. My wife’s country along with Russia in the 90’s would be similar, but tiptoeing a little further into partial social collapse. What I am trying to do is compare the rate of violent crime to the degree of collapse, and there appears to be a rough correlation. My sense of things is that, using Orlov’s scale, the US at minimum is headed for both financial and political collapse, with a high probability of varying commercial collapse as well (from oil shortages, just-in-time delivery systems being stressed, bond markets rebelling, etc.). [/quote]I’m also a big fan of Dmitry Orlov. He was the person who first nudged me to a realization that what had happened to the USSR likely will happen here. [I spent a significant chunk of time in the USSR back in the 1980’s because I was a Russian major]. So he has a special resonance for me. Other shocks followed, like realizing that I didn’t beleive anything on TV or in the mainstream media now any more than I used to believe Pravda . Orlov has stated that the “5 stages of collapse” kind of started off as a bit of a joke, a riff on Kübler-Ross but actually turns out to be useful at describing how bad things are at a given point. The stages are not always sequential. There’s an old CM forum thread devoted to Orlov fans (started long before I got here).
When I saw him speak last fall, he said casually that financial collapse has already occurred in the US. It’s just a question of when people realize it. When that happens, .you won’t want to be the last one out the door… Orlov scares the hell out of me by pointing out the comparative social atomization of the US compared to the USSR. All the broken parts of the Soviet economy built up a lot of informal networks among people for getting food, helping each other out etc. Money was basically irrelevant. The difference points to a much rougher landing here, espcially given the large number of guns available. (Speaking in aggregate terms).
Here you go with some stats. Very easy to find. http://www.jrsa.org/programs/Historical.pdf
See murder rate on page 38, which peaked in 1933 and fell dramatically thereafter through the entire crisis period. Interestingly coincides with the end of prohibition.
The people you reference were virtually all locked up or dead by '33-'34. Look it up – its very interesting.
"I think either Argentina or Russia would be the closest fit, depending on how far the government and Federal Reserve push deficit spending and QE and how they react to the crisis that inevitably results. I don’t want either one to be the case, but that’s what I’m preparing myself for nonetheless."I don’t think either of these countries are apt examples. The crime rate in Argentina rose in the 90s but has fallen ever since the complete government default on debt and revaluation of the currency in 2001. See the homicide stats at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate
Russia went from being a totalitarian state to a wide open free-for-all Totalitarian states have low crime rates, because they are essentially prison camps. Cuba does well on that score. But even the crime rate in Russia has fallen the last decade. Probably because they are getting older and clamping down again.
Again, I’m not saying you should not be prepared. But the facts show that overall crime is declining and the youngest adults in the country (the Millennials) are not the violent drug addled thugs that my generation was. (Go rent Colors and Boyz in the Hood or Less Than Zero if you need a reminder.) In fact, the young ones are more community-oriented than the rest of us. The Boy Scouts are quite popular again these days.
Dragline-
How can we automatically assume all those numbers in that link are reliable? How many examples are we given in the Crash Course and Chris Martenson’s other work showing the “fuzzy numbers” our own government is giving us in regards to inflation, GDP, etc? Now extrapolate that and imagine how bad it’ll get when things get worse and the stakes are even higher? I think it’s reasonable to expect even ‘fuzzier’ numbers, due to both the authorities’ vested interest in making the numbers look better AND their inability to get solid numbers in the first place (overworked police + ‘no go’ areas = more unreported crimes).
In Ferfal’s book about the Argentina collapse, he made a point of mentioning how most of the statistics were nonsense…
"In Argentina, the official statistics managed by the INDEC are openly modified to fit whatever the president wants. 22% unemployment looks bad to our international investors, so a good patriot is expected to put 8% instead. That sounds so much nicer. Besides, the worst the media can do is say it’s a lie.
The unemployment numbers are BS. The crime rate is BS, so is the inflation rate, cost of living, and everything else."
He also made mention of how one of the more independent television networks suffer interference and scrambling, most often when negative news regarding the government is being aired.
I’m not saying I automatically accept what he says, but I think it’s less probable that he’s the one being dishonest rather than his government. A corrupt government with vested interests in convincing the people “everything is fine” will lie through its teeth. At that point we’ll just have to accept that good information is going to be hard to find, and a cross-section of personal anecdotes and experiences (especially from police officers) and the handful of truly independent media are probably the best we’re going to get. Just something to think about.
I hope you’re right about the young generation as a whole being less ‘thuggish’ than the one before. My personal experiences so far aren’t showing it compared to my generation (mid-30’s / late-GenX), but mine is only one area in the country, and a remote one at that.
- Nickbert
[quote=Dragline]Here you go with some stats. Very easy to find.
http://www.jrsa.org/programs/Historical.pdf
See murder rate on page 38, which peaked in 1933 and fell dramatically thereafter through the entire crisis period. Interestingly coincides with the end of prohibition.
The people you reference were virtually all locked up or dead by '33-'34. Look it up – its very interesting.
[/quote]
Thanks but did I miss something? The document I found only goes to page 15.
Anyway, what you state is consistent with crime matching adverse economic circumstances. The worst period economically was 1929 to the early 1930s.
http://stockcharts.com/charts/historical/djia1900.html
The years of the mid to late 30s and WW 2 were simply sequelae of that earlier, more economically traumatic period.