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Monday, February 16, 2009

The weakest link

Right know I’m writing the chapter of the book related to the weakest point in your preparedness plan regarding security.

Lets say you train with firearms, I’ve convinced you of carrying even when you go to the toilet, you trained in H2H fighting and spar regularly.
If your gun has a critical failure of some kind that can’t be solved then to bad for Mr. Bad Guy because you’re going to get rid of him with edged weapons, an umbrella, or your hands. All very painful.

Now that I got you to feel all macho and such, what about your wife?
How good is she in a fight?
How about your kids?
I have no grandeur delusions about myself. Still I know I can take care of myself fairly well.
But my wife is like a slightly zoomed Barbie, she’s very petite.
My son is just 6 years old, and my other boy is 4 months old.

Strategically speaking, it’s a nightmare.

We were talking with my wife the other day, and she told me that she knew perfectly well how vulnerable she would be if someone just tried to pull our baby away from her.

Babies get stolen here just like anywhere else. A bit worse given that corruption makes it easier for them to disappear and then reappear as legally adopted babies.

Not long ago my wife was mugged by a bunch of kids with a gun (including little girls), less than 10 years old.


The mugger’s target priority goes something like:

1) Old folks
2) Women
3) Kids
4) Weak/timid looking men

What can you do?

For starters, get everyone onboard. A silly wife/husband that thinks there’s nothing to worry about even when crime becomes painfully evident is just a disaster waiting to happen.

That kind of folk get hit, and they get hit hard.
I’ve lost count of how many times the woman next door got robbed in her home.
She pays the price for being so sloppy regarding personal security.

Once you get your family to take this issue seriously, you have to set some security standards.

1) Not chit chatting on the front door. Better to go inside for a cup of tea and talk all you want, safely.
2) Doors and windows closed. Even when you must ventilate the house, open only windows that have bars, or second story windows that are hard to reach.
3) No one in the family, no one, opens the door without the authorization of an adult. My kid used to rush to the door and look through a window near by. We’ve talked about that so he doesn’t do it any more.
4) The adult will NOT open the door unless it’s someone he knows well or is a person he/she is expecting.
Unauthorized power company people or cops will have to wait outside until you can make a phone call and check that they are ok.

The fake cop/power/phone/gas company guy is still a common way to get in. Mostly very old people fall for this trick these days.


Regarding walking around and such, there’s little you and your family can do about this.
As I always say, you don’t get to bug out to the hills, you have to go on with your life.
But you CAN set some parameters.

1) Not going out when its dark.
2) Get your wife to carry a firearm. If not possible then OC spray.
3) Always keep your eyes opened and check your 6 ( back)
4) If in doubt, better to play it safe. My wife will hurry and walk into a store if she feels someone is getting too close or is acting suspiciously.
In one occasion when a gunfight started, my wife rushed into a store and went all the way to the back behind several walls ( we have mostly interior brick and mortar walls here)
She told me “I wasn’t going to stay there in the front of the shop. I could have gotten shot through the glass”
Good girl. :)
5) Avoid places where there’s little public, specially deserted streets. It’s no guarantee, but many robbers prefer to operate where there’s little people.

About your kids.
It’s hard when they are so little .
I tell my six year old to fight if a stranger grabs him. I tell him to fight, punch and scream like there’s no tomorrow “ Help! He’s not my dad/mom Help, he’s a pervert, Help”

People usually don’t get involved, but kids have a greater chance of receiving help, specially if the bystanders think the guy is a pervert.

A robber may just take your wallet and that’s that.

A guy taking your kid… you don’t want to know what’s more likely to happen. It’s not good.
Either he’s getting kidnapped by child molesters, degenerates, to sell him/her for child prostitution, there’s even been kids that later where found without some of their organs.(sold for transplants)
Best case scenario they just want a ransom. But then again they might kill him none the less, and you don’t want chubby fingers being sent toyou by mail, like in the Ariel Strajman kidnap.

Just a few pointers guys, take care.

FerFAL

11 comments:

It's me said...

Good post. Good ideas.

Although I think the 4mos old could learn so "projectile vomiting" defense moves! ;) (sorry. just trying to lighten the mood)

FerFAL said...

You known, it’s actually proven that the more little, chubby, and defenseless you look, the more likely you are to receive help from strangers. It’s a scientific fact. So maybe there is something to the vomit defense move...:)

FerFAL

Anonymous said...

FerFAL you forgot about the dog!
A good Dogo de Argentino makes a good bodyguard when you are away. My girlfriend had a problem with armed criminals running from the police through her yard. 2 pitbulls later, problem solved!

Tomas

Anonymous said...

Your blog is much appreciated.

We are 60 miles outside WashDC and just watching the USA go down the drain. Nice country place with acreage but we have never felt such uncertainty in our lives. NOT good at all.

Do you have any thinking for those who are living outside of the urban zone in an area of smaller towns, farms, etc. We have done well in the past with a serious dog, firearms, and being alert. But it looks like things may change....

Again thanks for you efforts,
S

Ryan said...

Good points. Scary stuff for sure.

Anonymous said...

Excellent advice, take heed folks, our turn at bat is coming up. My wife is trained in the use of firearms, the question is will she pull the trigger? Hopefully we'll never have to find out.FerFal can you give us a estimate on the finicial timetable, it's looking poorly to me.

Anonymous said...

Gracias otra vez.
Cosas que se habian olvidado viviendo en este pais.

Tengo que aprender esto de nuevo.

Unknown said...

Dear FerFAL, You are just a barrel of laughs. Is it that bad where you are? I live in Rome Italy and unless I go out looking for it, I don't see much trouble. I think it's a bit worse in the States, depending on where of course. But is Argentina so bad? Or is it just were you're located?

Anonymous said...

Is it that bad where you are? I live in Rome Italy and unless I go out looking for it, I don't see much

Really? If this is so, why then is your government deploying soldiers?

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/23/europe/italy.php

http://www.vagabondish.com/italy-deploying-soldiers-cities-to-fight-crime/

--- SITUATIONAL AWARENESS ---

Something tells me you need to develop it.

Anonymous said...

Good God. I just started reading your blog but I'm surprised you stay there. Sounds like a bad place.

Unknown said...

Shambhala, You shouldn't jump to conclusions from what you read. Those soldiers are visible around embassies and other places in Rome where they formerly used to station the Caribinieri officers, those are a type of military police. I've read that they also used the soldiers to patrol some of the organized crime neighborhoods near Naples. But, most people think the whole thing was a ploy on the part of Berlusconi to appear to be doing something.