Personal Safety, truths or fiction?
Personal Safety, truths or fiction?
Personal Safety, truths or fiction?
It is unfortunate that people are convinced that the world is a more dangerous place because relatively speaking, in comparison with periods of world history previous to our current 21st century, the world is far safer than it has ever been in history. There is, relatively speaking, less war, less racial violence, less religious violence, than at any other time in human history.
I know it seems counter-intuitive, but the reason it seems to be more violent even when all data collected says it is less is because of a particular penchant of the modern media engine. We are all familiar with the idea that "if it bleeds, it leads" form of media which has become quite popular in the last fifty years of modern news journalism. With that said, we have become a culture far more connected to the news than previous generations. As a matter of fact, we have more connectedness, more sources of news at a greater concentration than any people in history.
This creates a false sense of the world related to its actual state. Since our view of the world is a construct based on the information we consume from media sources, personal sources and close relatives and friends, we often distort the actual dangers and threats to our individual person to be far greater in some ways and far less dangerous in others. Adding insult to injury, your personal view of the world, whether pessimistic or optimistic further potentially distorts your constructed view of the hazards of the world.
So to answer your question, I would say that most of the people who are packing firearms (in those nations that allow it) are likely safer than those who are not carrying weapons, but it is not the weapon that accounts for that safety as much as the environmental issues, whether they be cultural or otherwise, that accounts for 90% of that safety. In other words, if you live in an area that is safe, because of its high quality of living, you would be just as safe with a concealed weapon or not. If the area you live in is considered "dangerous" having a concealed weapon does not sufficiently increase your safety because most dangers will occur to you, before you have sufficient time to utilize "your defensive measures." The problem tends to occur when most people, believing the mental maps they have of danger based on their media and other sources, tend to be wrong because there is often more danger than the media may know of in any particular area, and without this information, you have a false sense of safety.
Having grown up in very dangerous neighborhood as a child, I learned to pay close attention to my surroundings no matter where I am, and do not rely on media-based judgments to determine my relative "safety," I instead rely on my experience with human nature, the appearances of the people I am near, the types of vehicles, the quality of the stores, the types of people who frequent them and other numerous things that can only be learned with the experience of living in that lifestyle. Most police officers will acquire that sense in time, local criminals possess that awareness and people who work with other people closely may have a bit more savvy regarding the motives of people around them.
Being safe is a state of mind, first, if your mind is in the wrong place, utilizing the wrong media construct, you will not be safe even if the area you are physically in, is safe because your state of mind has been compromised. Being aware of your surroundings is your first line of defense against any circumstance of an undesirable nature, not what you are carrying. If you are forced to depend on a defensive technology, you have, for the most part, already lost the battle.
A few tips for real safety, no matter where you are:
1. Never wear your iPod or other musical device when you are in motion anywhere. If you are walking or driving, pay attention to what you are doing. Be aware of everyone and everything around you. If you can't hear the enemy approaching, you are just that much more likely to be caught off guard. Do not text while you drive or walk, because you are not aware of your surroundings and that always ends badly for someone.
2. Vary your schedule. Fifteen minutes either way keeps people from being too familiar with your habits. Alter your route to or from work or places you frequent regularly, to ensure that no one is easily able to determine where you are at any time. When you leave your home in the morning, turn your stereo on and leave it at a sound level that will not offend your neighbors but leave the impression that someone is home. Unpredictability is your best asset against become a statistic.
3. Never stop moving in any neighborhood you are unfamiliar with. Remember that law of physics that says, "an object in motion, tends to stay in motion" and keep that in mind. If someone asks you for a light, the time, a hand-out, be polite, but keep walking. Remember, you are not on your home turf, so you should assume nothing about the motives of the people around you.
4. Never assume you are safe. As you approach your vehicle in a parking lot, look carefully at your vehicle and any other vehicles around it. Any strange, or large vans on the driver's side of your vehicle should be carefully scrutinized as you approach. If you are unsure, go back to where you came from and get support from a security person. If they are not available, call the police. Better to call them and have it be nothing than to become a missing person.
5. On that note, when you approach your vehicle, make a pass around your vehicle to ensure that your tires are inflated and your backseat is empty. The worst time to find out someone is in the back seat is AFTER you have entered the vehicle and sat down.
6. Carry a whistle or a small compressed air horn. If you are being attacked, the noise will attract attention. If you are being attacked, shout FIRE, not HELP. People move toward fire but away from people shouting for help. Cruel but true. Move if you can toward traffic so that you can be seen. Most of the criminal element does not want to be seen or noticed, so the more noticeable they are, the less likely the are to follow you.
7. When driving, most accidents occur within 5 miles of home because people become less cautious as they approach their home. Maintain your vigilance until you get inside your home. And while we are on the subject of home, your home is not the bastion of safety it used to be. Make sure you lock your windows and doors before you leave home to reduce the chance someone may be robbing your home when you get there. If you live in an area that is suspect, always take a look around you before you turn off your car engine, to ensure relative safety and leave your options open before you get out of your vehicle. People have been robbed as they get out of their vehicle at home.
8. If after all of this, you are confronted with a firearm, give them whatever they want. Nothing you have in your purse or wallet is worth dying for. If you find that you are in a physical confrontation, fight as hard as you can, doing whatever you can, there is no such thing as a fair street fight, that means biting and clawing whatever you can get your hands on; remember it's your life or theirs. In these hard times, people will likely grow more desperate before things get better. Do your best to remain among the living to enjoy the good times to come.
Be careful, be vigilant, be aware, wake up from any preconceived notions you have about how safe you are and do what you can to actually BE safe. If taking a martial arts class will make you feel safer, do it. But the first, best way to be safe is to avoid danger in the first place.
Thaddeus
http://ebonstorm.wordpress.com
http://tinyurl.com/thexaminer
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