A while back we talked about Venezuela and the crisis they are having in which people could not find food or other basic items to survive. Again we will try to stay out the politics and focus on what the people are doing to survive. By doing this maybe we can pull ideas or answers which can assist us in our own emergency preparedness. If the opportunity presents itself we should learn from other people's experience instead of having to learn the hard lessons ourself.
Not much has changed from the time we originally looked at the situation. This is a really good example of why people need to realize emergencies can last long than a day or two. Help just might not be coming along any day soon, preparedness needs to be thought out for both the short and long haul and at the end of the day, you are responsible for your family.
The bridge talked about in the link below. Read the article. These people traveled by public transit and walked to secure food for themselves. Then look at the photo of what they came home with. These were not people already close to the poverty line or part of an underserved community. No, the husband was an auto mechanic and had his own garage before things started going south. The wife has a good job but with the situation spiraling downward her income is not enough to sustain the family.
I hope you read the article but if you did not here is what they brought home. How long could you and your family live on this amount of food?
Here is what another family brought home after "shopping". They expected to eat for two weeks off of this amount of food.
Daily people stand in these lines hoping they can afford the prices of what little might be in the store.
Everything you might have stored up is likely to be used up after what, two weeks, a month, six months? Most of us do not have the space to stock up on much more than a maybe a weeks worth of food.
Yet food is not the only thing in short supply. Medicine is also lacking with doctors and hospitals not having anyway of getting more.
How long could you last on this? Heck do you even have the cooking skills to utilize these ingredients? Some of us have no idea how to cook from scratch and for these folks at this point in their situation all there is to work worth is items to make food from scratch.
The situation is not just one in which people can not find food. Read the article linked above. Not only are they looking for food people are more and more having to defend what little they have. Protecting their supplies not only from other hungry people. They have to defend themselves against gangs and the government. Problem for most of this people is when they try to defend themselves the gangs, police and military are the only ones who have firearms.
This is starting to get kind of long. Let's bring this around.
Prepare for the 'quick' emergency. Three days maybe a week.
Always be mentally prepared to go longer.
Utilize whatever supplies you have but always work to add more. Do not wait till you are running out of supplies to try and acquire more, everyone else is probably doing the same thing.
Be prepared to defend what you have, even from people you shouldn't have to defend things from.
We talked about civil disturbances awhile back. When we did the post focused on what could be called "run of the mill" disturbances. You know after a sports team wins a game (never understood that) or a single event happens which causes a one time event. Here is a link to the earlier post. review it if you have time.
The earlier post focused on just leaving the area for the most part. Why? Because this is the easiest and simplest action to take in order to ensure you make it home. When the original post was written things seemed to be a bit different then they are now. Recently people have had to deal with situations which are not spontaneous or unorganized.
We are not going to dive into the right or wrong aspect of anything which is going on with this post. Those discussions can take place elsewhere. What we are going to look at is what is going on. Social media is being used by people to organize what they call protest but more and more are likely to turn into acts of violence. We need to have a plan if we are caught up in the violence. Hopefully anyone reading this would not be one of the people committing the violence! Yet we do need to understand we can become caught up in the violence.
Let's just get to the point, most of the violence going on in the U.S. right now, is driven by politics. Folks on both sides are worked up and they just keep having issues. Problem is people are in a place right now they feel their side is justified in committing violence against the other side. (notice I ain't picking a side? Not the point of this!) Only in a few occasions can we really say violence is justified and a disagreement on politics is not one of them!!!!
Recently people have been planning ahead of time on causing issues during a protest. There are even cases of people using social media in what can only be described as "mob rule" to quickly organize protest and violence. An event takes place recently and people are swarming to protest. Take this incident in California. (I am not judging the Officer one way or the other. This is just an example of what has happen and seems to be happening more.)
With in hours a mob formed at the Officers home! Not at City Hall or somewhere else you might expect these kinds of demonstrations to form. This happened in a residential neighborhood. These "protestors" thought it was within their rights to take over the neighborhood. They set up public announcement systems, gave speeches, spray painted slogans on people's houses and destroyed other people's personal property. Why? Because when the village grabs torches and pitchforks they find safety in numbers. Especially if the mob tells them they are justified in what they are doing.
Imagine you are sitting at home and suddenly the mob shows up at your house because your neighbor has supposedly done something the mob disagrees with. Think it can not happen? It did in this neighborhood.
Officers had to surround the house in this neighborhood after the "protesters" decided it was a good idea to seek revenge by throwing rocks through the homes windows and vandalizing the cars parked in front of the home. Sad part is they had the wrong house at first and vandalized the home of a person not involved in the original situation.
Organizers had to tell the mob they had the wrong house..........
This fella set up a PA system and started pumping the mob up. When he was asked about the wrong house being targeted and the violence he was not really too upset about innocent people having property damage or their rights violated. To him the actions were not what they were supposedly there for but he seemed to be okey dokey with what happen......
This incident is just a small scale example which seems to be taking place nation wide. Giving rise to the odds of one of us being caught up in a situation like this through no action of our own.
When the mob rules you must be prepared for a situation where the police are not going to be in position to help you. Why? Because in most cases the police are outnumbered. Recently the police have been officially and unofficially told to allow the protest to take place. The reasons for which are better addressed else where. The point is you have to take charge of yourself and those you care about.
In the U.S. we have a special ability to gather and protest what we dislike. No really my fellow Americans in other countries people can not assembly as we can here........ Nothing wrong with joining a protest, march or gathering to voice your ideas with like minded folks.
When people start expressing the need to turn to violence you might want to start thinking about distancing yourself from the event. Do not allow yourself to become part of the mob! Remember the people you see as the "enemy" have rights also. Those stores people break into are owned by people who have rights. People traveling have a right to not be stopped. At no point do you have a right to attack others because they do not believe or see the world the same way you do! NO! You can not call them a name and then use that as an excuse to attack them, regardless of how much you dislike them. Period!
We want others to treat us the way we would like to be treated. Remember they have rights and every action has a reaction.
When the situation has deteriorated to this the time to go has already passed and you are behind the power curve.
When something like this happens you know it is time to go.
If you wait till this part...... well we need to discuss your decision making skills. No matter how fun, exciting or exhilarating you find the situation just leave if any violence begins or Law Enforcement says it is time to go.
And if these........ (can't say anything nice about them) show up it is a really good idea to leave. Why? They are the embodiment of mob mentality and a crystal clear indication the event is going to turn violent. Why? Because that is the only reason these (insert insult) are there. Here is an example of what we are discussing. The report covers the violence, lack of police response and the need of folks to look after themselves.
Here is another incident.
Why do I think it is important to show some of these videos? Because we should look at what is happening with the best aids we can. Nothing better than seeing with your own eyes what is going on.
We could spend a lot of time talking about the effects of mob mentality but that would take to long on here. Let's move past just not being there or leaving at the first sign of trouble. The next thing we should consider is the 'pack mentality' of a mob or any predatory animal. What? Are you calling these protesters predatory animals?
Yes. Look at their behavior, not the cause they claim to be supporting. Look how they act, maneuver and attack the prey. You do not see to many stand up fist fights going on do you? You do see people attacking others from behind the cover of the mob, from the back and ambushing their victims. The same way animals attack their prey. Never seen a lion just walk up to a gazelle and kill it. No they attack from a position of advantage. They attack from ambush. They attack in groups.
Watch they way these wild dogs attack these hyena. They use the cover of the mob. They attack from behind. They try to ambush their prey from the sides.
Now watch the videos of the violent protesters. Drop all the other labels you might want to put on the people involved, nobody is talking about who is right or wrong. We are discussing behavior of the group or the behavior of the mob.
People will chase you if you give them your back. This behavior is somehow embedded in our wiring. Somewhere in our brains lay the ideas the animals still use to survive. Given the right circumstances we let these instincts take over.
Notice in this picture how everyone chasing this guy is angling to attack him from behind? No? Draw some lines to the prey and you can see where each of the predators are planning on attacking. In most cases turning your back to an attacker, group or mob is a bad idea! Everyone wants to increase their odds of surviving the attack, even the attacker. The predator tries to attack from the most advantage position. Attacking from the rear or sides gives the attacker the best position to attack from because the preys weapons (hands, feet, claws, teeth) are pointed away from the predator. Attacking in a group spreads out the chances of one predator being injured.
Now watch the video again. This time take a moment to see how the hyena are attacking, we will wait..................... 🙂🙂🙂............ Ok now think how the hyena counter the attacks. You might want to watch the video again. No you should watch the video again, I insist. But this time pay close attention to the tactics used by the hyena to survive. Remember these creatures are not playing, they are not passing out what they consider "justice", they are engaged in a life and death struggle. The same as you are when cornered like these creatures. Think not? You could easily be killed, maimed or sustain permanent injuries in one of these encounters.
What was the first thing the hyena did? They got out of the ambush zone. They fled while trying not to give their backs to their attackers. Notice the dogs came at them every time they had a shot at the hyenas backs. If you are caught in this type of situation movement and not giving your back to the attackers is vitally important to you making it home. When confronted with the preys weapons the predators hesitate and give the hyenas time to move.
Using the terrain is the next thing you see the hyenas utilize. They find some piece of terrain which protects them from an attack coming from behind them. The bush also helps to funnel the dogs to the front, where the hyenas can use their tools.
Notice the hyenas use the bush and go back to back. This cuts down greatly on the area one hyena has to protect. See how they are working together to defend each other. Even given their limited numbers they have taken a tactical superior position to that of their attackers. They in effect have 360 degree coverage even if each of them is only physically having to watch what 30 degrees? Limiting the area they have to watch makes it much easier for them to defend against a numerical superior force. The funneling effect makes it difficult for the attackers to use their larger numbers to attack from multiple angles at the same time.
Why don't the dogs just charge and overwhelm the hyena? Because the dogs realize the hyena will hurt them! They realize there is a chance they could die if they just charge in. Nobody wants to be the one who is hurt or killed when the situation is not just fun and games. You must understand you have to be willing to use violence to defend yourself. When the hyena bite they are not doing it to scare away their attackers. If they could they would hurt, disable, maim or kill their attackers with each bite and the dogs know it. If you are ever in a position like this you have to make the predators understand they will be hurt, disabled, maimed or killed if they attack you! Yes you have to be mentally prepared to kill another person. Only by giving off this 'vibe' will the attackers realize this is not a game. Here is the video again so you do not have to scroll back up if you want to view it again. I suggest you do.
Notice how the dogs try to get the hyenas to come away from their position? Notice how the hyena do not? If you can find a tactical superior position do not get caught up in fighting someone. Do not allow emotions or ego to cause you to give the position up. This what the predators want you to do. They do not want to risk injury, your position gives you to many advantages and they want you to move to a position where they have the advantage. Do not let your ego cause you to give up the position or your emotions to overwhelm you to not be able to do what you need to survie!
See how the dogs become...... I am not sure they feel the same emotions but.... the only word I can think of is bored. They realize they are not going to have an easy victory here. Slowly they start to focus on something else. Which leads to the pack walking away.
The hyenas leave when the threat is a safe distance away. Let me say that again. THE HYENA LEAVE when the threat is a safe distance away. You do not see the hyena trying to run out and regain their manhood by attacking the dogs. You do not see them yapping at the dogs. One of them turns and starts putting space between her/himself and the predators. The video ends before we see the second one go. If it is time to go take all of your group with you at one time.
I did not intend to make this entire post about a group of dogs attacking two hyena yet when I was looking for videos to express the points I am trying to make this one seemed to fit the bill perfectly. There are more actions you can take, more situations or variables which can come into play during an encounter. I wanted to focus on just these ideas with this post.
First thing, do not put yourself in this situation to begin with.
Second, be willing to leave if things start to go south.
Third, if you are caught up and singled out as a target do not turn into helpless prey. Move away while trying to protect your back, turning and running encourages the predator.
Fourth, utilize terrain to slow down, disrupt, protect your back/flanks and to funnel your opposition to your weapons or tools.
Fifth, be willing to hurt others to defend yourself. This does not mean be a loud shit talker. This means let them know by your stance, vibe and actions there will be a price to pay for attacking you.
Sixth, only give up a tactical superior position when the situation has changed to a point where it is safe to do so.
Last one..... DO NOT LET YOUR EGO CAUSE YOU TO CHASE THE PREDATORS ONCE THEY ARE LEAVING!! This means either physically try to chase them or verbally chase them. Do not reengage the predators once they have decided something else is more worth their efforts or more interesting.
More and more often violence is taking place at rallies or gatherings of any kind. Going blindly into the crowd and just having a good time might lead you to being a unwilling victim to someone else's idea of justified violence. I am not saying you shouldn't take part in these gatherings. What I am saying is have situational awareness, be mentally prepared if something happens, take action when you need to and be able to keep your emotions in check to allow you the ability to make positive decisions in the situation you find yourself. Fellas, when things go south check your fucking ego and do what you need to get home!!!
The subject of planning for emergencies and security always seem to come up together. With these two always comes the topic of firearms. The one subject which never seems to really come when people start talking about emergency planning, is anything to do with options you can give yourself which do not include firearms. We have discussed the use of force during situations and one very important aspect of the use of force continuum is having options.
When you hear a bump in the night we all think this is what we are going to find. But what if you find something different lurking outside?
Are you going to shoot them because this is the only option you have prepared for and given yourself to work with? Are you going to pistol whip the kids to make them leave? If you have answered with some form of "You bet I would!" picture this being your loved ones. Your loved ones looking for shelter, food and you are not there to help them. Would you want them to be shot? If your still saying yes just go away now...................
For the rest of use we can give ourselves options to use, especially if you are not trained with firearms and can never own one due to your personal beliefs. Now these options are not better or worst than firearms. Each is a tool and can be used for different tasks. As with any tool if you do not know how to use the tool it might as well be a door stop. We should also think of these tools as option makers which should be used in conjunction with our personal abilities and skill level.
Three of the main options you see being sold to people are Tazers, stun guns and batons. Each of these have advantages and disadvantages. A big issue is people will ask their friend what they should get, then they go buy one, put it somewhere and forget it. Tazers have batteries and batteries die, batons take a bit of skill to use above the level of a caveman smashing something and if your attempting to use a baton for less than lethal you need some training.
Before we go any further it is absolutely important, as in do not buy anything we are talking about, NO, do not do it until you have checked your local laws!! In some locations, like sunny Southern California, simply having one of these tools is a crime! You do not want to make it through a really bad situation to only find yourself in jail facing more bad situations because you did not check the laws. No ignorance of the law is not a defense and stores will sell things which are illegal to own!! DO YOUR HOMEWORK!!!!
Remember these tools are less than lethal but can cause permanent damage and could also kill someone. Sure you bought the baton to defend yourself without killing someone but the one time you used it the bad guy ducked and you smashed his head in.........
The biggest tool I heard people are told to buy is Pepper Spray. Without getting into all the details, yes I could bore you with the details, not all spray or delivery options are the same. Do a little research before you go buy a keychain spray of this stuff and think you are safe. Hint; the key chain stuff in a size you will carry probably ain't enough to stop someone....
These photos of people standing within arm reach of the bad guy and deploying their tools to end the situation are very misleading. Having been sprayed and partaken in training with others being sprayed I can tell you in each of these pictures it would be nothing for the bad guy to reach out and grab the women. Once he has his hands on her he does not need to see and is probably even more motivated to hurt her because he is in pain.
These photos using other tools also give a false sense of confidence on how these tools work.
This distance you see with the spray is what is used during training to ensure the trainee is inundated the first time and does not have to go through the process more than once. A hand held up between the two at this distance will do a lot for the bad guy and give him time he can close the distance with.
At this distance you can not expect to spray the bad guy and the situation ends. This is where you have to utilize the tool as part of your overall response to the situation. You could deflect the reaching hand, deploy the spray and make some distance. This is a good idea of how to properly utilize pepper spray. Use the spray from the greatest distance you can. The spray takes time to work, might only be a second or two but in a confrontation tenths of a second make the difference
.
If we had the video of the situation in this picture odds are we would see the bad guy, with the club. Continue forward as he followed through with the swing. For their positions it would appear the guy in the helmet will be struck by the club if he just stands there. The club guy might even take two or three swings before the spray effects him to the point he can no longer fight. In a small percentage of the population there are people who are not affected at all by pepper spray. Again, these are tools and should be part of an overall strategy for surviving the situation. If you look at the guy in the helmet he appears to be law enforcement of some type.
Let's say he is for this post. They guy swinging the club is sprayed and as the cop changes position to gain space and time the club man keeps coming. At this point the cop would be thinking of changing tactics and would move further up the scale for using force. The shotgun, if loaded properly, could be his next step to stop the situation. Ok gun folks pay attention to this next part..........
There are less than lethal rounds made for shotguns! Again these are designed to be less than lethal but the person deploying the tool needs to understand how to deploy it. For all of the kinetic energy rounds or even the baton targeting is the key to helping ensure nothing becomes lethal.
These are some of the types of less than lethal rounds available for shotguns. In essence most of them are bean bags thrown really hard from the shotgun. Some rounds are a softish plastic which bounces a lot. All of them are designed to cause pain. Pain makes people stop doing what they are doing because nobody likes pain!!!!! The next time you see a protest on TV or a situation where police utilize these remember they are made to hurt but not kill anyone.
Sure these look bad, I can tell you from experience they hurt and take a few weeks to heal up, but none of these people are dead. We will skip discussing why these people were targeted......... For those of us out there who focus our security planning on firearms, here are some new ways to utilize your shotgun (you have one right) and a reason to buy more ammo. These do not fly like regular rounds and take some practice to learn to deploy correctly.
This is getting a bit long so I will wrap it up here. In the future there will be more postings on less than lethals and I will attempt to give more details on selection and deployment. For now, if I found the women and children in the second picture in my area and I needed them to leave..... I would step up wind of them, move ten to fifteen yards away and utilize the pepper spray more like a mist to inundate them as little as needed. After a few minutes and once the kids started feeling the irritation they would leave! At least I hope they would!!
Because this yearly event is a “teachable moment” which just seems to pass by each year with everyone chuckling at the event and the behavior of people. If we take our observation of the event a little further, people are giving us a glimpse into the way they will or do react during an emergency. We also get a reminder of why we should plan ahead for incidents and not find ourselves in a situation where we have to interact with people when the “crazy” comes out.
Think about it; think about all the people tussling, arguing and out right fighting for sale items! Most of these items they do not really need. No one is standing in line for two days to buy bread or milk for their family. Nobody is fighting in the store for the last bag of rice or flour. Nothing they are going crazy over is need by them to survive………….. No really you do not need a flat screen TV or the latest pair of shoes to make it through the night!!
If we were to ask some of the people we see doing bizarre things for sale items why they are acting as if they have lost their minds they could come up with a justification for their actions. They could justify slapping another person in front of their children over a handbag. They could justify taking items from a child. They could justify rushing headlong through a doorway, while others are being trampled. Each of these people in the heat of the moment could find reasons they believe are valid for their actions.
Now you take that same person, a nice person, with three kids and a decent job. Who wants her children to have better life than she has had, as all of us do, and ask her this;
“Do you teach your children hitting others is a good thing? Do you teach your children to be selfish? Do you teach your children to show love toward their fellow man? Do you teach your children to use violence to get what they want?” Of course her answers will be “No. No. Yes. OF COURSE I DO NOT TEACH MY CHILDREN TO USE VIOLANCE TO GET THINGS THEY WANT!”
“But ma’am you just did the opposite of everything you said to get the TV in your basket?”
“WELL THAT IS DIFFERENT! I DID THAT BECAUSE (fill in a reason)”
The point is people will justify their actions. If they will justify these types of actions during a freaking sale what will they justify if their world was turned upside down by an emergency? What would that mother do if she was running into a store to buy food for her children who have not eaten in four days? What would she justify to give her children water, food and shelter? Now think of ten parents trying to feed their children? Maybe now think of a hundred people trying to feed their children? Black Friday is a lesson for us into the way the mind works. This yearly ritual allows us to catch a glimpse into the mind of our fellow man in a way which should be a bit frightening to you!
Some of us understand the idea. Some of us have seen the “crazy” come out of our fellow man. This behavior has to be taken into account any time we are planning for an emergency especially if the emergency is of a large nature. Losing a tire on the freeway, power going out for a few hours, odds are the situation will not sink to a level where people start making up reasons for their actions. Hurricane Katrina, L.A. riots, large natural disaster or a manmade disaster are times when people will start finding reasons.
The option to avoid a situation is a great option to have. A natural disaster happens and you are at the store to pick a few things up. People begin pushing, shoving and the situation deteriorates from there. People quickly find reasons to justify their actions. Actions they would not have taken or professed they would never take just a day or two ago. With some planning on your part you can walk away from the scene.
Those other people were at the store because they have nothing to fall back on. Now you are at home with your family, they are dealing with Law Enforcement, tending to their injuries or their family is wondering why they have not come home yet. You had the option to walk away where others did not.
Being able to be self-sufficient for a few days is a goal all of us should have. This is a good goal so we never find ourselves in a position where we must come up with ‘reasons’ to justify our actions. We do not have to steal, beg or use violence to get what we need. We do not need to worry about Law Enforcement showing up at our door after the emergency and we can lay our heads down at night with a clear conscious.
Take a moment and think about what Black Friday shows you about your neighbors. Then take a moment and plan towards giving yourself the option of standing in line or “NEEDING TO STAND IN LINE” to get items for your family during an emergency.
If we are being realistic in our planning we cannot shy away from the unpleasant idea we might have to use force during a situation. This can be as simple as threatening to use force all the way to really having to hurt someone. Although most of us do not want to spend time thinking about what kind of other people live out there the reality is we need to think about how far we are willing to go and to give ourselves mental boundaries now so we do not have to try and decide later under pressure.
A good rule of thumb to follow in these situations is;
"ONLY USE THE AMOUNT OF FORCE NECCASARY TO GAIN CONTROL OF THE SITUATION."
This means once the threat is neutralized you stop using force. Why would you want to continue beyond this point? There really is no reason to hurt or harm someone when they are not a threat to you or your loved ones. If you do then you blur the line between the GOOD GUY (you) and the Bad Guy (them). Why would you stoop to the level of a bad guy? Think long term on the actions you take. Could you live with yourself if you beat someone who was not a threat to you? Could you live with yourself if you needlessly took a life? Hopefully, the answer is "no".
"What would you fight for?"
This is a very important question to ask yourself and be honest with yourself when you answer. You do not have to tell the answer to anyone beside yourself so be brutality honest with yourself. Would you fight for your own life? Sounds like an easy question but really how far are you willing to go? Would you punch someone in the face? Would you kick someone in the groin? Would you pound someone’s head into the cement beneath your feet? Would you drive a piece of metal into their body? Would you shoot them in the head at point blank range? This is not a question directed at how macho you are or meant as statement of bravado.
Would you fight for your family? Would you fight to defend your children? Would you fight to protect your parents? Would you fight to protect your extended family, uncles, aunts, cousins, etc.? How far would you be willing to go to defend your family? Could you hit someone in the back of the head with a shovel if they were hurting that one family member you cannot stand? What if they were harming one of that family member’s children? Where do you draw the line with your family?
Your neighbors, would you fight to defend one of your neighbors? Would you assist them if they were attacked during a crisis? How far would you be willing to go to defend your neighbors? Would you run over someone attacking your neighbor with your car? Could you watch your neighbors being attacked and do nothing? Under what circumstances would you do nothing? When would you go to their aid?
The question just goes further out from there. Would you fight for your church group? Would you fight for the waitress at your favorite restaurant? Would you fight to defend your child's school? Would you fight to defend your city?
What would you fight for?
You can feel it when you hit someone, you can hear them when they scream out in pain and it is something you will remember. The use of force is not simply just something you do then go have a ham sandwich. Using force has lasting repercussions for everyone involved; be it physical, emotional or legal, everyone is affected.
Most of us are prewired to not hurt another person. Most of us are brought up to not harm others. Most of us have no desire to hurt or even slightly harm another person. Some people out there want to hurt others. They have no problem hurting you and some of them feel absolutely nothing when they do hurt another person. Then during a crisis people might do things they would not normally do. They might feel pressed into committing acts of violence they would never commit on an average day.
Understanding your personal limits on what you are willing to do is very important. Before you can even discuss using force you have to come to grips with what you would be willing to do. We can discuss the legal issues or how to apply force and that is all good BUT none of it matters if you do not realistically understand what using force in the real world means!
When faced with a situation you have to solve with force you should always try to use the less amount of force to gain control of the situation. This might mean just yelling for someone to stop. Maybe you just step between two people and make it obvious the situation could lead to violence if one or the other does not stop what they are doing. Maybe you threaten to call the police and the threat of what might happen is enough to stop the situation? We should always attempt to stop a situation by not even having to touch the other person! This ensures everyone goes home in one piece and without long term repercussions.
If a situation gets to the point where you have to physically touch another person be cautious of how you touch them, where you touch them and how hard you touch them. Maybe all you need to do is touch someone to gentle guide them away from the situation. You would not want to walk up to someone, punch them in the face and break their nose if you could simply guide them away by placing an open hand on their shoulder!
At the same time if you are in a situation where the other person is throwing punches at you or someone else, going up to them and gently placing a hand on their shoulder is probably not the right answer to the situation. Odds are they are just going to punch you in the head. You have to at the very less met the level of force the other person is using with equal force. At times it could be better to answer the force you are fighting with force a step up. A person pulls a knife, you pull out a broadsword! Ok a gun might be a better idea, just wanted to see if you were still paying attention!!!
Say you are confronted by a person who wants your emergency supplies. You tell them 'No' and attempt to close your front door. They stop the door from closing with their arm. You tell them to remove their hand and get off your property. They shove the door toward you, you of course shove back. They manage to shove the door open and now brandish a knife to threaten you. You yell for them to stay out and order your loved ones to retreat to the furthest room from the front door. This person enters your home threatening you with the knife and tells you they are going to hurt you if you do not surrender what meager supplies you have to keep your family alive. You draw your firearm out from under your shirt and order the person to leave your home. They lunge toward you, you step back and fire, hitting the person in the chest. They look at the wound, look at you, turn and run out of your home. From inside of your home you can see them run away from your home and fall on to the street outside.
You can see they are obviously hurt. You can clearly see their knife is lying just outside your door. You watch as a neighbor runs up to the injured person, lift them to their lap and begin to cry. You can see the person you shoot is limp in the neighbor’s arms. Putting your firearm away, you walk up to the two of them and visually check the assailant and neighbor to determine if they are a threat to you or your loved ones any more. The attacker is obviously not a threat to you as they are gasping for breath. The neighbor is a complete emotional wreak seeing their loved one shot. You might even at this point offer to render medical attention to the assailant? Why not, they are not a threat to you anymore? Remember think long term here.
Sure some of you out there might be saying you would never react to a situation in this manner. You would have started punching the other person as soon as they showed up at your door!!! Once they tried to force their way in you would have drawn your weapon and shot them dead in the doorway! Once you pulled the trigger you would have kept going until the magazine ran dry!
I call bullshit right now if those were your thoughts or answer to the situation! Most of us have never seen what happens to the human body when metal starts to pass through it. Most have never heard a weapon fired in a confined space. Most have never heard the sounds of someone dying. And if you think you are one of those macho, super tactical, spit fire and drink gasoline type of tough guys let me ask you; why did you empty your magazine into one guy? What if bad guy number 2, 3 and 4 were just outside the door? So again check that entire macho BS at the door and honestly think about this subject for a minute or two………………
Why would I help the person I just shot? Because you are a better person and sometimes people make mistakes! What if their family was starving and coming to your house was the act of a desperate person? Wouldn’t you do anything you could to feed your family? Do you have to help them? No, this was just an example of how the use of force scale is a sliding scale. At one end you are taking lives, at the other you are saving lives.
Can we post a listing of all the responses and ways to use force in an emergency situation? No there to many variables in any situation, the idea here is to get you thinking about things now, while life is safe and you have a clear head. Set your boundaries now and work through the ‘what if’s’ now while you are not under any pressure. Take the time to learn the law, ignorance of the law is not a defense in court and the laws are different in different areas. Again a good rule of thumb;
Use only that force necessary to gain control of the situation.
