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As I was finishing with this article my wife comes in and tells me someone tried to mug her. At around 4 PM today she dropped my son by a friend´s house and since it was just a couple blocks away she walked back. A car pulls next to her and a guy with a baseball cap comes out of the passenger’s seat and hurries walking in her direction. We don’t play baseball here and baseball caps are mostly used by people that want to cover their faces. White baseball caps are “gangsta” for some reason and criminals or criminal wannabe’s favor them. She sees that this person is walking straight towards her instead of the more normal thing to do which would have been to keep a distance given that the wide sidewalk allows it. As he gets within a couple feet of her she runs across the street, nearly gets run over by a car, but when she looks back the would-be mugger has already turned around and quickly walks back to his car. Other than some cold sweat and a bit of palpitations she’s ok.
By pure coincidence I was writing now about avoiding exactly this type of crime, everyday crime in a society that is far more dangerous than the one we used to know not that long ago.
My wife has been robbed and kept at gun point several times. She instinctively knows these things by now. Women, children and elders are favorite victims chosen by predators. This same scumbag that was looking for an easier victim probably wouldn’t have gone after me. Now my 100 pound wife, hitting her and snatching her purse is not much of a challenge for one of these animals.
As the economic crisis continues, it’s a given that this sort of thing will become more and more common even in places and countries where it didn’t happen before. That’s where people that aren’t used to it get caught off guard. This is not about egos or being the biggest, meanest son of a gun, its about applying a common sense approach to problems people may not have a lot of experience with. This goes for everyone, tactical guys that pack heat on daily basis, ladies that don’t carry a gun or any other weapon, or my 87 year old grandmother.
I’m making this clear because the internet commandos are quick to remark that they would have shot the guy at least ten times, then do a ritual to enslave their undying souls. Truth is that even people that have been into dozens of gunfights will tell you the same thing: Avoid the conflict whenever you can. Its only in movies where people get into senseless gunfights all the time. Lethal Weapon would have been a very boring movie if after killing the first guy the weapons are taken away from the lead characters, they are suspended until the shooting is cleared, then they get sued by the “victims” family, and then you spend the rest of the movie watchin Mel Gibson and Danny Glover going through their accounts seeing how they will afford the legal expenses after getting fired from the police department. Even in “good” self-defense shootings you may spend a night or two in jail and that’s only the fun part, the real nightmare begins when you have to pay for your legal defense. Avoiding the use of force and escaping is always the best alternative when such a thing is possible.
If my wife was Anne Oakley and she had shot everyone that every tried to rob her, we’d be broke by now. By this I don’t mean that you shouldn’t fight when you must. Your life is priceless and indeed its better to be judged by twelve than carried by 6, when you had no other choice that is. We talk plenty about fighting, for a change lets talk about not making any mistakes and learning how to avoid the problems in the first place.
1) Not looking rich. This is clear enough but there’s more to it than it seems. Of course having all the gold all over you is an open invitation for criminals but there are more subtle considerations too. You shouldn’t dress like a dirt bag, but you can still dress like ordinary Joe or Jane that is making a honest effort to make it to the end of the month like most people these days. For ladies other things come into play. My grandmother and my wife, they usually don’t take their purses when they are going out to buy something, just the money in a pocket. This removes the purse from the equation in the criminal’s mind: Nothing to snatch. The plan has to be different, gets more complicated. Maybe the victim has money in a pocket, maybe not. Better to just go for one with a purse so as to be sure. Today my wife took her purse, she says this wasn’t a good idea.
2) Minimizing exposure. How often do people go willingly into “bad parts of town”, dark streets, places they don’t know well enough? How many times people confess they knew they were walking into the mouth of the wolf? Avoid these situations whenever you can, try getting home while there’s daylight. 4pm seems safe, but there’s no one on the street here at that time. People are working and kids are still in school here. At 5PM though the kids go out and parents pick them up, there’s more people on the street. If there’s a route where you know there’s cops or security, chose that route to your destination instead of others, even if it’s a longer drive or walk. This also applies to other strategies. For example parking close to the buildings you’re going to so as to minimize that parking walk and being closer from help. As noted in a previous post, the time it takes you to enter or exit your home or garage is a window of opportunity for criminals. While not going nuts about it and living life, still try to minimize this sort of situation as much as possible.
3) Being aware of your surroundings. This is probably the most important trait. Shooting 3 bad guys in 5 seconds is a nice ability to have, but its better to avoid them entirely in the first place. Your chances of getting hurt or killed drop to zero, so does the financial cost of your little anecdote. That’s clearly the best possible outcome. My wife she’s good at this part. She noticed this person and avoided him, ran. If she hadn’t noticed him all she would have felt was an explosion of getting hit, “a flash of white” as a lady that got hit the back of the head when mugged once described.
4) Assessing people around you. So you notice people in your surroundings, could they be a threat to you? In my wife’s case, he was dressing a way that, in our social and cultural environment it clearly has a negative implication. If self-claimed bad guys and criminals wear white caps, then you react to such a garment. The actions and body language often speak more than clothing. Criminals are known to dress well, even wear suits to look less conspicuous. You cannot dismiss females either. More and more women are seen committing crimes, either on their own or with other partners.
5) AAA: Assess, Analyze & take Action You can´t remember everything you read, but this would be a good way to assimilate all of the above in an easy to remember rule of thumb. Assess your situation. Who’s around you? Analyze. Are any of these individuals a possible threat to me? Most of all and much faster and easier to assimilate, is any of this out of place? If your gut feeling tells you something is wrong, then you probably instinctively picked up something you didn’t register on a conscious level. If the little red light in your brain is blinking, then pay more attention. Take action, DO something. My wife told me of a time when, while in a store, a suspicious looking person walked in. Since she makes sure to stay near the door when in a store, as he walked in she walked out before even noticing what she was doing. Such fast reaction to situations your gut instinct tells you they are wrong is the kind of reaction you want to achieve. One time while waiting to cross the street I heard a loud bang that sounded like a gunshot. Without thinking I took a step forward, putting a large cement column between myself and the source of the sound. This part is important, all of the above means nothing if you don’t DO something. Freezing is the only thing you’re not allowed to do here. Freeze and you are game. Run, fight, cry out for help but do something.
It is not my intention to scare anyone with all this. Life just goes on, and an ounce of prevention has always been a great investment.
Take care everyone.
Join the forum discussion on this post
By pure coincidence I was writing now about avoiding exactly this type of crime, everyday crime in a society that is far more dangerous than the one we used to know not that long ago.
My wife has been robbed and kept at gun point several times. She instinctively knows these things by now. Women, children and elders are favorite victims chosen by predators. This same scumbag that was looking for an easier victim probably wouldn’t have gone after me. Now my 100 pound wife, hitting her and snatching her purse is not much of a challenge for one of these animals.
As the economic crisis continues, it’s a given that this sort of thing will become more and more common even in places and countries where it didn’t happen before. That’s where people that aren’t used to it get caught off guard. This is not about egos or being the biggest, meanest son of a gun, its about applying a common sense approach to problems people may not have a lot of experience with. This goes for everyone, tactical guys that pack heat on daily basis, ladies that don’t carry a gun or any other weapon, or my 87 year old grandmother.
I’m making this clear because the internet commandos are quick to remark that they would have shot the guy at least ten times, then do a ritual to enslave their undying souls. Truth is that even people that have been into dozens of gunfights will tell you the same thing: Avoid the conflict whenever you can. Its only in movies where people get into senseless gunfights all the time. Lethal Weapon would have been a very boring movie if after killing the first guy the weapons are taken away from the lead characters, they are suspended until the shooting is cleared, then they get sued by the “victims” family, and then you spend the rest of the movie watchin Mel Gibson and Danny Glover going through their accounts seeing how they will afford the legal expenses after getting fired from the police department. Even in “good” self-defense shootings you may spend a night or two in jail and that’s only the fun part, the real nightmare begins when you have to pay for your legal defense. Avoiding the use of force and escaping is always the best alternative when such a thing is possible.
If my wife was Anne Oakley and she had shot everyone that every tried to rob her, we’d be broke by now. By this I don’t mean that you shouldn’t fight when you must. Your life is priceless and indeed its better to be judged by twelve than carried by 6, when you had no other choice that is. We talk plenty about fighting, for a change lets talk about not making any mistakes and learning how to avoid the problems in the first place.
1) Not looking rich. This is clear enough but there’s more to it than it seems. Of course having all the gold all over you is an open invitation for criminals but there are more subtle considerations too. You shouldn’t dress like a dirt bag, but you can still dress like ordinary Joe or Jane that is making a honest effort to make it to the end of the month like most people these days. For ladies other things come into play. My grandmother and my wife, they usually don’t take their purses when they are going out to buy something, just the money in a pocket. This removes the purse from the equation in the criminal’s mind: Nothing to snatch. The plan has to be different, gets more complicated. Maybe the victim has money in a pocket, maybe not. Better to just go for one with a purse so as to be sure. Today my wife took her purse, she says this wasn’t a good idea.
2) Minimizing exposure. How often do people go willingly into “bad parts of town”, dark streets, places they don’t know well enough? How many times people confess they knew they were walking into the mouth of the wolf? Avoid these situations whenever you can, try getting home while there’s daylight. 4pm seems safe, but there’s no one on the street here at that time. People are working and kids are still in school here. At 5PM though the kids go out and parents pick them up, there’s more people on the street. If there’s a route where you know there’s cops or security, chose that route to your destination instead of others, even if it’s a longer drive or walk. This also applies to other strategies. For example parking close to the buildings you’re going to so as to minimize that parking walk and being closer from help. As noted in a previous post, the time it takes you to enter or exit your home or garage is a window of opportunity for criminals. While not going nuts about it and living life, still try to minimize this sort of situation as much as possible.
3) Being aware of your surroundings. This is probably the most important trait. Shooting 3 bad guys in 5 seconds is a nice ability to have, but its better to avoid them entirely in the first place. Your chances of getting hurt or killed drop to zero, so does the financial cost of your little anecdote. That’s clearly the best possible outcome. My wife she’s good at this part. She noticed this person and avoided him, ran. If she hadn’t noticed him all she would have felt was an explosion of getting hit, “a flash of white” as a lady that got hit the back of the head when mugged once described.
4) Assessing people around you. So you notice people in your surroundings, could they be a threat to you? In my wife’s case, he was dressing a way that, in our social and cultural environment it clearly has a negative implication. If self-claimed bad guys and criminals wear white caps, then you react to such a garment. The actions and body language often speak more than clothing. Criminals are known to dress well, even wear suits to look less conspicuous. You cannot dismiss females either. More and more women are seen committing crimes, either on their own or with other partners.
5) AAA: Assess, Analyze & take Action You can´t remember everything you read, but this would be a good way to assimilate all of the above in an easy to remember rule of thumb. Assess your situation. Who’s around you? Analyze. Are any of these individuals a possible threat to me? Most of all and much faster and easier to assimilate, is any of this out of place? If your gut feeling tells you something is wrong, then you probably instinctively picked up something you didn’t register on a conscious level. If the little red light in your brain is blinking, then pay more attention. Take action, DO something. My wife told me of a time when, while in a store, a suspicious looking person walked in. Since she makes sure to stay near the door when in a store, as he walked in she walked out before even noticing what she was doing. Such fast reaction to situations your gut instinct tells you they are wrong is the kind of reaction you want to achieve. One time while waiting to cross the street I heard a loud bang that sounded like a gunshot. Without thinking I took a step forward, putting a large cement column between myself and the source of the sound. This part is important, all of the above means nothing if you don’t DO something. Freezing is the only thing you’re not allowed to do here. Freeze and you are game. Run, fight, cry out for help but do something.
It is not my intention to scare anyone with all this. Life just goes on, and an ounce of prevention has always been a great investment.
Take care everyone.
Join the forum discussion on this postFerFAL
11 comments:
Wow,
Glad your wife is ok and hope her adrenaline and heart rate are back to normal. Mine went through the roof the two times I was at risk. You're right, most of us here in the States don't confront this on a daily basis but your informative yet amusing info is very helpful.
Steve
Good post. One exception from the start though. Here in the U.S. police don't get reprimanded,fired,or run through our "legal system". They are the "legal" criminals here,and get away with it almost daily everytime. WE pay the settlement here from OUR pockets!
CIII
Glad to hear Mrs. FerFAL is okay. Sounds like she's very street smart- a rare commodity these days.
The police, at least in certain liberal states, get run through the ringer. I am not a cop but have friends and acquaintances and have trained cops in hand-to-hand defense, so I've heard the stories and tend to believe them. (and yes I know, there are bad/corrupt cops too just as there are bad/corrupt people everywhere).
Better to be judged by 12... but as you say FerFAL, better to avoid it altogether. Look at the mess in the John White case. Really, what a mess:
"...by the time a grand jury met, a month or so after the shooting, even the prosecutor, who would presumably need the boys as witnesses against John White, was saying that racial epithets had indeed been used. The district attorney said, though, that if John White had simply remained in his house and dialled 911, he wouldn’t be in any trouble and Daniel Cicciaro, Jr., would still be alive. The grand jury was asked to indict White for murder. Grand juries ordinarily go along with district attorneys, but this one didn’t. When the trial finally began, in Riverhead, fifteen months after the shooting, the charge was second- degree manslaughter."
Read the whole thing here: http://www.thewheatleyway.org/The_Wheatley_Way/A_Principals_Blog.../Entries/2011/3/11_Regional_Studies_Mock_Trial_files/The%20Color%20of%20Blood%20%3A%20The%20New%20Yorker.pdf
Very informative post. I am glad that I never have had to live like that, but, I keep myself abreast of situations, and move to better digs when the opportunity arises. I have a analogy that when bad apples keep appearing, it time to move to a different barrel.
Regarding your AAA:
Col. John Boyd developed the OODA loop - Observe, Orient, Decide, Act! This became doctrine for fighter pilots, and has spread to management practices in many industries. Google him up for an interesting read. Wikipedia is a good place to start.
The key thing about the OODA loop - it doesn't matter much if you make a mistake, if you are quicker than your opponent (make decisions faster) then you can win; the opponent is always reacting to your actions (even your mistakes) and unable to observe and orient fast enough to decide and act.
Glad to hear that your wife is okay. Thanks for all the great articles and videos. Stay safe.
Another 2 tips :
* Have some money, family & true friends. Medical coverage too if it is required in your country
You strive to avoid being a victim. But if you are suddenly one, adapt and overcome
* is your neigboroofd gets too bad, consider moving. Yes it's painfull. Yes it's usefull.
BTW, in the John White case (he was given a midnight pardon by the outgoing Gov. of NY, Patterson much to the chagrin of the Cicciaro family) White shot the boy in a struggle at the end of Cicciaro's driveway. The boy had come with friends in a couple of cars to the White house (pun, not intended) to have words with White's son. The whole thing ended badly for all sides.
Conclusion: Better to have avoided the whole thing and not gone to the gun fight at all. The boys, it turns out, only had a baseball bat in the car, but no guns. They did have numbers though. Sad.
Always answer the door armed, regardless of time of day. Even in nice towns in nice neighborhoods. Nice old man was murdered and wife raped in the good part our safe middle class town. He assumed he was safe at 6am.
Put layers of doors/entry ways between yourself and potential intruders. They should not have easy physical access to you until you know their intentions.
Glad to hear your wife is ok. Thanks for all the tips. I have ordered our security bars etc to install myself.
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