Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
Lessons from London
Claire and Jon have discussed what those of us on the west side of pond should or should not say to the Brits about the efficacy (or lack thereof) of a culture of victimhood when it comes to battling Islamic terrorism. I thought I’d offer a few pointers that might be of use in preventing such a situation from happening to readers of Ricochet.
Police officer and Marine Corps combat veteran Chris Hernandez talks about the history and effectiveness of such attacks, and Greg Ellifritz (one of the smartest guys out there right now in the gun training world) has some great info on what you and I can do right now to lessen our chances of being a victim.
The bottom line is, pay attention to what you’re paying attention to. Where is cover (stuff that can stop a bullet)? Where is concealment (stuff that hides you from the bad guy)? Where are the exits? What is out of place in the your surroundings, and why is it out of place? Firearms trainers have talked about the Cooper Color Code for decades, which lays out the model for being aware of what’s going on around you:
- White: Unaware and unprepared. Head down in your phone, music playing loudly in your ears.
- Yellow: Relaxed alert. This should be your default setting the moment you walk out the door.
- Orange: Specific alert… “Huh. What was that?”
- Red: There is a danger, and it’s headed your way. Time to quickly get ready to deal with it.
- Black: You’re in the fight, and you’re in it until it’s over.*
What’s lacking from that system are tips on how to stay aware of your surroundings. For me, if I’m walking down the street or out in public, a situation that Col. Cooper describes as “Condition Yellow,” I use the 80/20 Rule: 80 percent of my attention and concentration is on the day-to-day problems of life, but 20 percent is held back, reserved for watching (and listening) to what is going on around me. When I’m relaxing at home, late at night, in Condition White, I’m spending much less time being on the lookout for what might hurt me, and when I hear the screech of brakes followed by a car crash, any thought of my day-to-day routine goes out the window.
Is situational awareness a perfect defensive shield that will allow you to opt out of any tragedy headed your way? Of course not**. It will, however, give you more options than just being another statistic, and having more options is what freedom is all about.
* Yes, I know the original Color Code only had four colors. However, after listening to Massad Ayoob talk about the color code, his idea that there should be an additional step in there that allows for the rational brain to wrest some measure of control away from our reptilian brain stem makes a lot of sense to me, so I’m going with that.
** You know I’m not a lawyer, right? Leave the legal stuff to them, not me.
Published in Islamist Terrorism
Good stuff, Kevin.
Yep. Both linked articles were sobering.
Been a Massad Ayoob fan since the 70’s. Well done.
Excellent
Yes, White is the soft underbelly of countries with too many years to develop feminist fantasies and leftist dreams of perfection in government.
David Goldman has a very good piece on other lessons to be learned.
We just spent eight years with a President whose party has steadfastly promoted the meme “
terrorismviolent extremism is a law enforcement problem, not a military one.”Goldman:
If this ever was a law enforcement problem, it no longer is. Increasingly it is an insurrection.
If I find myself on a different side of an argument than Victor Davis Hanson or Thomas Sowell, I immediately stop and re-assess my views.
The same is true for Mas and Gorilla Fritz (inside joke) when it comes to personal defense.
Great stuff — thanks. Extremely important and something I didn’t know about.
Black, as I learned, is not when you’re in a fight. Black is when you are so rattled that you are acting without rational thought of any kind. Black is usually very bad unless your spastic reflexes manage to save you, either from their extreme violence or from dumb luck. You should avoid black. Usually someone gets in the black mode because they were shocked very unexpectedly.
Last night at the book club I got in to it with some lawyers. A couple are anti-gun who were discussing London. My end statement was that there is no friend better than me if someone comes in to this place shooting.
Yes, I know — but, Doc, the world shouldn’t be so violent. We need to do something about that first.
The one thing left out of the “terrorists in cars and trucks” discussion is the car’s #1 weakness.
Right angles.
If someone’s using a car as a weapon, don’t be like the idiots on TV, who run away from it. Find an exit to the side (no, not a side street) and run like hell.
By the way… fire hydrants are great. Solid cast iron or steel, mostly, and even when a car breaks one off (not as easy as you’d think), the hydrant usually gets caught underneath, and the gush of water will stall or even flip the car.
Street lamps. Big flower planters. Big trees. Anything that’s darn good cover will help. And your comment about right angles is spot-on. Even the feeblest of human beings has a tighter turning circle than the nimblest of cars.
@rightangles has a weakness for cars.
Its a shame that anvils like appear in Wile E Coyote cartoons aren’t more ubiquitous. There is an apocryphal story about a Russian soldier witnessing a car break in 12 floors below him. When they ignored his command to cease and desist, he threw the 70 lb kettlebell he was lifting at the roof of the car and killed one of them. This being Russia no charges were filed.
And it was so sweet of you to let me drive your Maserati. Sorry about the tree.
If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?
A maple tree with a Maserati wrapped around it. And some paint chips. And smoke.
What people will do to be poplar these days…
Stop being such an ash.
70kg. @bossmongo was training him.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/london-attack-single-police-officer-took-terrorists-armed-baton-borough-a7772251.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWn1Oj2V7Xw
That is a ridiculous situation. I hope the British wake up and face reality.
I may have to consider moving to the Czech Republic….
Czech government tells its citizens how to fight terrorists: Shoot them yourselves
Different people have used different definitions for black. The one being used here is the one now in use by USMC and others. But to be sure, there’s a fine line between your “black” and theirs – that line being determined mainly by your level of training and preparation.
70 lb is pretty close to 2 pood which is traditional Russian weight unit.