Misconceptions and Violence

Recently Frankie and I have shared some ideas on violence here on the blog. You can read them here

A TIME FOR VIOLENCE Frankie Faires

Thoughts and Opinions on Violence Adam Glass

Through these articles I am very pleased to have the engagement by many people with their stories and opinions relating to what has been written. I must add this: questions were asked and statements were made relative to my opinions on the topic and no one has said anything which has changed my mind.

 

Criminal violence

 

This is the topic which I am addressing in this article.

I am not writing about two guys who are slugging it out at the honky tonk because one called the other a faggot.

I am not writing about the kid who tried to push you to the locker in 7th grade.

I am not writing about shoving matches and macho bullshit posturing, which occurs all the time whenever many man congregate.

Those will be touched on another time, although in some respects it all is the same thing once the touching starts.

I am writing about the most serious incidents of violence which the majority of you will come in contact with.

One way to describe Criminal violence is the asocial use of force to enable a person to execute their will upon another person, many times used to take something from the other person.

In many violent situations, the criminal is after something and you happen to be the one which they want to take it from. The thing they may be seeking is a certain feeling or sensation, which they can only attain by frightening or harming you. It maybe for a material object: money or valuables. The true reason is not likely to be known at the time and in many ways IT DOES NOT MATTER WHY.

 

If you are the one being attacked

In some ways we can say that YOU are the primary factor in criminal violence if it is occurring to you. For some reason you have been identified as the target, and by some criteria you have been selected over others by the attacker. The reasons someone can and will target you are too many to list here, and highly individual to the attacker. What is certain is for some reason you present the most attractive features to the attacker and that is why this is happening.

Combative and self defense instruction innovator Tony Blauer offers a keenly simple  insight to why you are being attacked

“You are being attacked because your attacker thinks he will be successful” -adapted

This is a critical thing for you to understand, you are being attacked because your attacker is certain they will be able to do whatever it is they want to do to you.

In the violent encounter, there are only a few factors which truly matter, and it seems the most important is who will go farther faster.

You will be attacked by someone who is certain they will go further than you will, and they will do it faster than you will. If this is accurate, you will be harmed and possibly killed.

That is unless you are willing to go farther than they are and do something to stop them from completing their act.

One thing which must be stated: You can do everything right and still be attacked. You can do everything right and still get killed.

This is not an article to promise you unbeatable abilities and impenetrable armor.

I sell that on QVC for $19.99…

Why I Wrote This

There is a LOT of crap on the market right now. There are a lot of unqualified people speaking on this topic. There is an enormous volume of information which is more accurately labeled misinformation.

I am going to ask you questions. Your answers are the metric on what you need to learn next.

Your life is in your hands.

De-mystifying violence: some misconceptions and misinformation

 

Where does violence occur?

Violence only occurs in the worst places. Like crack houses, and shitty seedy bars, and in the “bad neighborhoods” right?

Violence is what happens in Chicago and LA, in the Middle East and Africa, Right?

Violence is what is out there in the mean streets, in the darkness, with the strangers.

This is what many people believe.

Some how they have absorbed a delusional belief system which includes a bubble or a demarcation which keeps the violence out of their lives. Violence is what happens to other people. Common connections to this include “it won’t happen here, this is a nice/safe neighborhood.”  ”That wouldn’t happen here, this is a small town/village/community”  ”No way anything could happen here, because everyone knows everyone.”

This is called denial and it will get you killed.

Where does violence occur? I know precisely where it occurs.

I will tell you, because I’m such a nice, helpful guy.

Violence occurs anywhere two or more human beings are in physical proximity to each other.

If you are alone right now, you are safe. If another human being close to you, violence may happen.

So what are you going to do with that?

 

When do violent acts happen?

Only at night time, right?

People laugh when I say this, but their actions confirm they believe this is true.

People often avoid running at night time, yet run in the exact same places in the day time.

I have a question, are people attacked in the light of day?

People will lock their front door at night, but leave the same door unlocked in the light of day.

I have a question, are houses broken in to during the day?

I know people who carry a weapon when they are “going out” in the evenings, but not during the day.

I have a question, is it possible you could be targeted if the sun is out?

If the question is “when does violence occur?” I find a single answer more useful than all others.

I believe it is accurate to say out of 24 hours in a day violence can show up on any one of them.

So what are you going to do to with that?

 

I would like to add a follow on question…

So when I talk about this, there seems to be a primary link to this day time safety thing.

Some people believe the presence of other people in the day time ensures their safety. I would argue the presence of others ensures there could be violence.

Does your plan involve counting on other people to help you?

Have incidents of violence occurred with bystanders in the immediate area?

Has violence occurred and bystanders did nothing to intervene?

Have people turned a turn a blind eye to violence events occurring in front of them?

Have bystanders ran away rather than helped victims of attacks?

If this has ever happened, then it will likely happen again.

Are you counting on strangers to save your life?

What is your plan if the people around run away, or ignore your situation?

 

Who is targeted for violence?

Just minority gang bangers slinging drugs and women who are out alone right?

Just elderly people, or people who are physically small right?

Surely no one would ever want to fuck with you, because you’re a black belt in Shitting Swan’s palm!

No one would want to face the fury of your 18″ arms right?

You have a job or a uniform which downright ensures no one would ever even think about it, right?

Check this out.

In America, the number one profession of people who are involved with serious criminal violence are law enforcement officers.

Amazingly people try to fight and kill police all the time.

I am going to put on Captain Obvious hat, but stay with me.

A police officer is carrying a gun, a taser, a baton, a 6 lbs D cell flash light.  They have been trained to fight and subdue people.  They carry the authority to arrest you.  If you fuck with one of them they will summon many more police officers and within minutes they will come and hunt you down. They have helicopters, access to traffic and surveillance cameras, tracking technology, and big 120 lbs dogs who can sniff you out and tear your sack off.

Now to me, that doesn’t sound like a group of people to fuck with, but people still do. Everyday.

So why do you think you are above targeting for criminal violence?

If a Police officer goes to work every day knowing that at any point in their day they could be fighting for their life, why are you still telling yourself it couldn’t happen to you?

Who can be a target of violence?

Any human being can be the target. There is nothing you can do to be 100% protected. Nothing will ensure you will not be the target short of isolating yourself in the middle of no where so that no human can find you.

Does this change your mind?

 

So who will be the one to do it?

 

Definitely a street sleeping hobo high on PCP right?

A low life biker, right?

That crazy guy with the beard who lives down the road, right?

Are these really the people who are commintng the majority of violent incidents?

Crime statistics reveal something else…

You probably know who will harm you.

The greatest majority of violent crimes are committed by people who know the victim and/or the victim knows the attacker.

Ladies, fast ball to you: who is most likely to beat your ass? If you answered your boy friend or spouse – you are correct.

Gentlemen, stranger danger never goes out of style but more likely the one who will try to kill you has shared space with you at some point. Crime statistics indicate your best friend is 7 times more likely to kill you than any hobo in Chicago.

It seems most people do not have enough emotional weight to throw at a stranger, but how many people will you they HATE a coworker, a neighbor, a family member, an old friend, a boss?

A vast majority of criminal violence is centered on hate, and hate is an emotional mechanism not a logical process.

So it is not as likely a complete stranger has the juice to get fired up to kill you, but your wife or ex boy friend maybe so super charged that they have the momentum to stab you 38 times.

So if you are training for violence, is it for any person or is is all in preparation for the random stranger?

I do want to address a particular on this…

The highest percentage of criminal violence seems to touch with alcohol and drug use/abuse.

It seems most perpetrators of violent acts are associated with some type of substance.

Does any of this change your mind?

 

What will happen before “it” happens?

Oh there is no way to know! Criminal violence is unpredictable and chaotic right?

I know men who teach “self defense” who believe this is true.

How the fuck are you preparing people if you believe it is unpredictable chaos?

Talk to some people who have been involved in violent situations. Don’t just ask one, ask a few.

Most people had indicators they were able to detect, which is often a prime connection to why they are still alive.

The indicator may come early, pre-contact. It may come seconds before the incident. What I can say for certain is many times something will happen before “it” will happen.

You will not know if you have a belief system of unpredictable chaos.

Human behavior is predictable, a skill set all in its own and one worth investigating further.

The greater your awareness skills, the more indicators you will be able to detect.

The better you understand human beings, the more you will see.

The more in tune you become to your external environment, the more you will learn about it.

Are you training these skills? Or are you will trying to learn 15 ways to punch and 45 ways to counter, slip, and trap each of these punches?

Going back to Tony Blauer again

“Physical skills only account for 1/3 of self defense”

So what will you do about it?

 

You realize you are being targeted, or about to be attacked, or you have been ambushed

Cooperate with them, give them what they want, and they will leave you alone right?

One of my greatest frustrations as an instructor in the military was having to teach the level 1 anti-terrorism/ force protection course.

For the most part we had to say certain things, and the official stance of the Department of Defense relating to terrorism and kidnapping was to cooperate with the terrorist/kidnappers. They recommend being passive, and attempting to build rapport with the attackers in order to buy time.

My primary objection of course is our enemies (speaking in terms of military operations in the middle east) enjoy beheading Americans.

I would personally rather fight, and be shot in the fucking face than held captive and beheaded later for arab television to cheer on.

but I digress…

Do you think that playing soft will save your life? Can we be sure that “giving them what they want” will spare us from serious injury or death?

It may.

It may not.

As I said earlier, we may never truly know what this person wants from us up front.

Muggings turn to rapes which turn to murder in the blink of an eye.

A simple breaking and entering with intention to steal property can turn to a mass homicide in an instant.

A verbal altercation can move to bloodshed without much warning or logical reasoning.

Maybe you talk your way out.

Maybe you can distract them.

Maybe you can pull an emotional string.

My question is: what are you prepared to do if that doesn’t work?

Where have you put the line?

I am not telling you to fight.

I am not telling you to submit.

I am telling you to understand how far you are willing to go. Decide now before you have to.

My opinion: If you are not prepared to go all the way first, you may become another crime statistic.

 

I leave you now with these questions.

 

You have several options.

• You can try to argue with me about these bullets, which will not change my mind.
• You can simply agree and move along, which may not do anything new for you.
• You can examine your belief systems and determine if they are serving you to their fullest ability.

Which path is yours?

Are your thoughts serving you in a way which increases your awareness and ability, or are you blinding yourself to the realities of violence?

You are the only one who is qualified to answer to this.

Nature has a way of removing those who are unwilling to change.

I can’t fully convey the weight of this decision to you in words right now, but rest assured your very life may hinge on the decision.

ATG