I stumbled across this article in 2017 ...
Posted on ARFCOM in Feb of 2012 (for the historically minded).
I stumbled across this article in 2017 ...
It is available in the Gunsite pro shop:OP thanks for posting this, gives a lot of food for thought. I looked up Coopers book referenced, it looks to be out of print and very expensive to get copies on ebay and amazon. I wonder what year this was originally written, with all the attacks on motorists in cars these days that opens up another avenue of self protection thought.
If you have a Kindle or device with the kindle app its $8.50 in the Amazon Kindle store
This is the source of the issue in my opinion. Spent a lot of time with a friend who was a detective picking his brain about interviewing murder/robbery suspects. I have a hard time with how someone crosses the line where a life is not important. I understand self defense, but to take a life for momentary gain is beyond my understanding."He has to get used to seeing others as objects for him to exploit. He has to accept he may be killed while robbing. He has to accept the felony conviction for Robbery will haunt him all his life. He has to accept he may need to kill a completely innocent person to get away with his crime."
My 26 years on the streets of Indy taught me that most, if not all, thugs and/or holdup men don't have the mental capacity to grasp these concepts until they get caught. This stuff may come out in a post-arrest interrogation but is highly unlikely to cross their mind before that. The answer to a question which starts with "Did you ever think about................" is probably BS.
… I have a hard time with how someone crosses the line where a life is not important. …
… Why not catch him alone if you are determined to do this?
You (and everyone else) should read Rory Miller’s writings, particularly Meditations on Violence and Conflict Communications.I understand self defense, but to take a life for momentary gain is beyond my understanding.
Still confused on how you get to the point you shoot at innocent people to hopefully hit one guy.
Don
in the days of olde..."He has to get used to seeing others as objects for him to exploit. He has to accept he may be killed while robbing. He has to accept the felony conviction for Robbery will haunt him all his life. He has to accept he may need to kill a completely innocent person to get away with his crime."
My 26 years on the streets of Indy taught me that most, if not all, thugs and/or holdup men don't have the mental capacity to grasp these concepts until they get caught. This stuff may come out in a post-arrest interrogation but is highly unlikely to cross their mind before that. The answer to a question which starts with "Did you ever think about................" is probably BS.
Some people severely underestimate their handgun skills. Not everyone is a Gary Plauche or an IDPA/USPSA master class shooter.Still confused on how you get to the point you shoot at innocent people to hopefully hit one guy. Why not catch him alone if you are determined to do this?
Good article.
Don
Barnes & Noble has the eBook version available for $8.49 on their website.
Acknowledging the 'unspoken' part of human nature is really the first step to good self-defense. Ignore it at your peril.I have a hard time with how someone crosses the line where a life is not important. I understand self defense, but to take a life for momentary gain is beyond my understanding.
Acknowledging the 'unspoken' part of human nature is really the first step to good self-defense. Ignore it at your peril.
We train children from the start that even thinking of violence as a response or method is abnormal and WRONG. Wrong maybe, but it's not abnormal at all.
It gets easier when you go deep back in time. Humans are, in part, are vicious, violent creatures. Without claws, fangs, poison, horns, or weighing a ton, we dominated the food chain. If we wanted something that others had - we killed them. If others came into our area and didn't follow the right protocols - we killed them. Even the other top predators generally tried to steer clear. When they didn't - we killed them.
At times, violence and death were primary entertainment - gladiator arenas ring a bell? "Hey, let's make these guys fight to the death!" for a chuckle. Now we do it with movies and games, but the pull of our nature is still there.
It was the most dangerous among us that survived and procreated. Everyone else was dead or otherwise deminished in the gene pool. The evidence of this part of our nature is everywhere, but most can't even consider it, much less believe it. Delusion is just way more comfortable than truth.
Thankfully, the other half of our nature involves compassion, reason, a general inclination for peace and good. I'm glad our society nourishes and encourages these "good" traits. Over a very long period, we've gotten to where most of us are today. The thugs and terrorists types are a much smaller part of society now, but definitely not gone.
Like pigs, if allowed to go ferule, it doesn't take too long for our original 'wild' traits to come out.
When I was a teen learning martial arts my dad said "... didn't Jesus teach us we should turn the other check? I just don't get why you're so serious about learning to fight."...
I was taught in Catholic school to turn the other cheek. That didn't work out so well for me for about 1/3 of my life. Then I wised up and didn't take **** from people any longer. You don't have to be a predator. But you can't be a sheep.
It's really funny - As soon as I realized that I didn't need to turn the other cheek, I also stopped getting slapped in the face!Humans are animals with more intellect. Some take what they want by means of law and/or corruption. Others take what they want by means of violence. It's all the same. The fact of the matter is the strong usually win out. It's just the way nature was designed.
I was taught in Catholic school to turn the other cheek. That didn't work out so well for me for about 1/3 of my life. Then I wised up and didn't take **** from people any longer. You don't have to be a predator. But you can't be a sheep.
Not to get religious in the Self Defense Forum, but the "Turn the other cheek" was intended for personal insults. Jesus was not a pacifist and we are called to defend ourselves as well as our families and the innocent with physical and deadly force if necessary. Christian Pacifism in my opinion is a false doctrine.When I was a teen learning martial arts my dad said "... didn't Jesus teach us we should turn the other check? I just don't get why you're so serious about learning to fight."