Monday, December 1, 2008

Reality Check On Mental Attitude

Reading some of the reports on the terrorist action that went down in Bombay/Mumbai last week, I had to shake my head in wonder. Then I started wondering.
Some of the reports mentioned the photographer whose shot graced the pages of many world newspapers: the young terrorist, carbine in low carry, proudly waltzing through the corridors of the train station (I think it was train, anyway). Hiding beside the police, the photographer was screaming for them to shoot the attackers- yet all held their fire. Too, most of the SWAT people in attendance also did not fire when the opportunity arose.
My radar flicked on and I began to wonder about this situation, did some poking around and found a couple stats that surprised me.
Seventy percent of soldiers in combat will not fire their weapons at a human being.
Utterly astounding.
And it's even worse for police, who are not- theoretically- trained to kill folks, but to help.
Yet it goes along with another study I read where-in American Marines were asked if they'd fire upon other Americans. I forget the number, but the majority said they would not. I'm thinking it was along the lines of 60%+/- .
So, grinding the worn out gears in my head, I was/am more convinced than ever why there will be either: A) UN 'blue' helmets brought into the country, or B) a foreign nation will have troops 'smuggled' in country (such as China- I feel- is doing now as it controls some of our ports, especially in California); or C) our new fearless leader will be arming his Ghetto ACORNS, who have no fear or loathing to shoot anyone, or D) troops are now being amassed near our borders (recall the huge gun cache found in Mexico and everyone is thinking 'drug wars'? uh-huh...drug wars, all right), or possibly E) a combination of 'all the above'.
As I think of this, I smell 'conspiracy theory' rambling through my noggin.
Then I remember who our new Fearless (uh-huh, you bet) Leader will be next month. Maybe not so conspiratorial after all. At least, not on my part. (Shhhh...I can hear you laffin', so knock it off!)
Now, what has this to do with prepping? you hadda ask, din'tcha?
Consider those hordes of the Dark Lord's Gestapo tramping through the cornfield, taking whatever they want, killing whatever they want, imprisoning whomever they want.
Consider the Mad Max group of motorcycle Zombies coming to do even more damage- cuz they don't take prisoners. Well, male ones, anyway.
Now look in the mirror at that sweet, honest, hard-working American who wants only a few things: freedom and liberty, love and family, to be left alone to prosper or fail. Does that person you're looking at seem to be the kind who can actually shoot someone who's just stealing some food from the larder? Can that person looking back actually send a bullet at someone who's probably thinking of doing the same at you? More, does that face in the mirror look as though it can slip a knife into the ribs of someone who is attacking them? Will that sweet, kind, loving person be able to purposely throw a kick at someone's knee and smash it, crippling them for life? Or, after putting five bullets center-mass, will that person be able to lower the sights and put a final shot in the middle of the attacking abdomen? (No, not the head- it's a moving, small target too easy to miss under duress.)
In all the women's self defense classes I taught, I always had to ask the participants up-front if they believed they could hurt someone on purpose when that person was trying to hurt them? Then I got a bit down and dirty, wanting to know if they could poke someone in the eye while that someone was attempting to rape them. Or could they bite off an appendage that found its way to their mouth? What about grabbing a man's gonads and tearing them off if they had the opportunity. (The classes were gritty, trust me. And we didn't pull our punches.)
If anyone felt they would be unable to do it, I told them the class was not for them.
Reason being, if you can't see yourself protecting yourself, then you won't protect yourself. Simple. Sad, though sometimes it doesn't work that way in reality.
Same with pistol practice, or rifle. Is all you're shooting at a bullseye on a piece of paper? If so, the next time you're around town, check the number of people wearing bullseyes on their chest.
It's mental conditioning: you have to see yourself shooting a person (IF you have to) not a target. It's the same with military and law enforcement. They begin with weapons zeroing on targets, then quickly switch to human silhouettes. The smart ones sometimes even put clothes on the manikins to prevent training the eye to look for bullet holes instead of sighting for a second/follow-up shot.
Psychology in action.
And they fire thousands of rounds in practice knowing they're practicing to kill human beings.
Logically, the next question has to be: Are you going to be one of the 60-70% who can't shoot at another person?
Or are you going to fight to live another minute, a day, a week- until the next time?
It's going to take some hard, hard people if the SHTF the way some are imagining or intimating it's going to be. And quite possibly, as FerFal has pointed out in Argentina, life could get very, very bad, very fast in America.
A gun is only as good as the person operating it. It has no mind of its own to decide for us, to know when to and when to not shoot: it's all in the hands of the driver.
Next time you shave yourself, ask if that is the face of a man who will go to all lengths to protect those he loves.
The next time you put on your rouge, ask if that's the face of a woman who can do anything she has to that will save the lives of those she loves.
Tough questions. Tough choices. Tough lives ahead. Let's be tough enough to do what we need do.
Bless God, God bless- let us pray our lives never need those answers.
Shy

12 comments:

  1. I've asked myself this very question. I've imagined myself going about my business, then suddenly being attacked by someone. I've pictured myself pulling the trigger, on a real person, in a real situation. And as I fired my Mosin the other day, in my mind's eye, that paper target became a thief breaking into my house. Bullseye. The thief didn't make it....... If someone gravely wrongs me, or tries to, they can expect retribution. Without hesitation.

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  2. I too have thought very hard about this. From a personal standpoint, I think, I will use lethal force when forced. Another question is where is the tipping point of forced to.

    I am sure that B. Hussian O and his SS know all about the 70% situation and will use that to thier own goals.

    Carl in Wisconsin

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  3. Extreme force without discrimantion will be used when so deemed nessecary for those that try to harm me or my loved ones as a last measure. I look not for trouble an try to help those I can, but those that try to steal my stores cause physical harm to me or others I care about I will handle swiftly an viloently.....

    Scout out

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  4. I've been attacked twice: once by a total stranger, another time a situation with someone I knew a little bit. First time, total stranger, I was shocked and didn't react--until survival instinct kicked in and I screamed bloody murder and tried to attempt same--kicking, biting, gouging, striking. Wasn't too effective, but the said stranger realized it wasn't easy prey, and ran away. Turns out that when I talked to the police and told them, the guy *might* have been a rapist who was terrorizing a nearby town. f

    Three cheers for growing up with rowdy brothers. That helped.

    Second time--someone I barely knew, I fought back as hard as I could. I lost the fight, but I fought.

    I'm far more cagey now with a much nastier attitude when pressed. Although I hope never to have to kill, I could and would. Self-defense, and even more surely in defense of my family and people.
    HM

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  5. Rest assured I will have no problem using deadly force on anyone who tries to harm my family. Home invasions seem to be on the rise so everyone needs to be prepared when it comes to home defense

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  6. If you are confronted with situation that requires you put someone down, or die yourself -- that moment is not the time to decide whether or not you can take a human life. That soul searching choice had better be made long beforehand, long before you take up arms to defend yourself and/or your people. If you don't, you will die in the moment you are thinking about it. When you make the decision, in your soul, that you will do the deed, something changes inside you. You become a tad more formidable.
    Sam

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  7. ...i've said it for decades,practice,practice,practice...when your scared,your fine motor functions go out the window(deactivating safety,reloading,slide release,controlled aim etc)all gone...think 'buckfever' X10...not to mention the deafness,and tunnel vision,that happens to FNGs in a firefight...you have to re-train your body and mind,only way to do this is practice.
    ...and...as Shy says...center mass...head shots are for the snipers...use silhouettes,place targets in hiding(half behind an obstacle,some prone,etc)move them around,dont get into a pattern...learn to shoot(reload)while moving...

    Anyway,good post brother...lots of people will 'freeze' when the 'shootin' starts...i aint one of 'em...
    May God Have Mercy On My Soul...
    God Bless Our Republic...

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  8. I don't believe it's possible for most civvies to say that we "will" react in a certain way.
    We can train for it all we want, implement strategies enumerated above, but when SHTF it's likely that those who are all talk, will be just that--all talk. And scumbags don't listen to rational discourse.
    They do, however, listen to a .45 or a load of OO buck to the face.
    In Force on Force situations, there is no place for newsgroup personalities.
    I intend to live, and prepare for it, but I don't try to fool myself. After all, death isn't the worst thing that could happen. Slavery or imprisonment would be worse.
    YMMV.
    PMZ

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  9. When you learn to shoot a gun, that is something you have to understand about yourself.

    I think you would like this episode of this show.

    http://www.hulu.com/watch/25712/30-days-gun-nation

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  10. Most excellent comments, Guys!
    Carl: the 'tipping point' is that moment you know escape is out of the question, for whatever reason. I.E.: kids in tow, woman on arm, shit's already going down, etc. Have your mind made up- you all do, GREAT!- you are not going to die, but someone is.
    Patricia: condolences, Honey- I get so disgusted with this society where women and children are not safe in their persons. I know it's wishful thinking, but I long again for a world where we all can feel safe and know it's true no matter where we are.
    Right on, Ken, Bers... have your mind made up ahead of time- right NOW. And don't be squeamish about abdominal shots- most body armor doesn't go that low and a mobility shot will sure stop an attack, at least long enough to aim dead center for the nose bridge.
    Ontol: yes, we have to understand the moment we pick up a weapon, our lives change from the inside out. The more we practice, the more we change, often for the good because we know what we can do with that weapon. Much like the martial artist who can walk away rather than fight because they have no need to show how tough they are, we with guns can choose to run as well.
    Thanks for the comments, Folks, love them all.
    God bless, keep the round chambered.
    Shy

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  11. I wish I was in that class with you as the instructor, Shy.

    One of the most important things women can do, is get used to being hit and responding once they are. I'm not talking 'domestic violence,' I'm talking training. Unlike so many boys who have been in fist fights, most women haven't. They haven't the practice of targeting their rage physically or, as one friend put it, their "Perp." They've been trained as "victim" and this is a great shame.

    In Karate classes, back when I was a young woman, men hardly took seriously sparing with a woman, and as a result, I never had a serious sparring partner.

    True perps pick out the same women in shopping malls--the ones that look least likely to retaliate, that slump, look a bit lost, etc. When I was alone in a subway, I'd prepare myself mentally by throwing my leg out in a punch. It wasn't to scare anyone, bc no one was there. It was to psych myself up to defend myself, if I needed to. I practiced getting angry, in case I needed to. In the same way, I practice mentally what I would do, should someone invade my home. I get important ideas from blogs like this one...

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  12. Kathy, thank you. I consider it an honor for you to want to be in my classes.I always insisted my male students treat the Ladies as they did the men, no deferential treatment.
    For the Ladies, the first target is the eyeballs- and I mean SHOVE your fingers THRU them, don't stop with a poke. Pull it out, stuff it in his mouth and slam the jaw shut.
    The same with anything- ANYthing- put in your mouth: bite it off, PERIOD. Staying alive isn't the time for niceties, save that for New Years' parties.
    There are too many 'karate' classes out there who have instructors who've never stopped to think about teaching their students self defense. For far too many people, some style of karate/gung-fu/judo class is more an aerobics class than how to stay alive. Especially YMCA classes. Billy Banks is a great martial artist, but I think he did women a disservice with his Tae-Bo classes by giving them a false sense of security.
    I began learning martial arts in the Army, concerned with a war going on over the China Sea and my Okinawa-te instructor knew the score: we were going to be defending our lives with what he taught us. So rather than teach a 'style', he taught 'system' of fighting and it made all the difference. Uncle Sam taught the O'Neil System and it's so close to Okinawa-te that it blended right in. Go for the juglar every time (so to speak).
    Thank you for visiting, Kathy- I appreciate it.
    Shy

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