There’s a story making the news here in Chicago about a man who’s in critical condition after being shot three times, resisting a robber in Lincoln Park. While in no way faulting the poor man who was shot, I wanted to take this opportunity to make some basic observations about self-defense.
First, don’t walk around alone at 3:00am in Chicago. Even in a pretty nice neighborhood like Lincoln Park.
Don’t display possessions that would catch the eye of a thief. Jewelry, purses, cellphones.
Maintain situational awareness. Be aware of your surroundings and the people in it.
Don’t check your emails or text messages on your smartphone (see the second and third suggestions above).
Don’t resist a thief who’s pointing a gun at you. Once the gun is being pointed at you it’s too late to take other defensive measures, e.g. running away—always the preferred method of self-defense, right after avoiding putting yourself in a situation in which you’ll need to defend yourself.
If you resist an armed assailant, don’t hold back. Use every bit of force you can. Be prepared to kill—you’re surrounded by weapons: your teeth, your nails, your elbows, your knees, the ground, the pavement, walls, lampposts. A display of genuine ferocity might gain you that fraction of a second you’ll need.
The first choice is the best: don’t put yourself in a situation in which you’ll need to defend yourself.
All that you say is true. (And if you are close enough that teeth, elbows etc are relevant – go for the neck. Always the neck.)
But seriously, are we to understand that we have come to the point where we need to lecture people in Lincoln Park, Rush/Division Street, Gold Coast, Old Town, River North, New Town etc (I understand, say, Wicker Park, but…..) that they need to play defense, while the Lightfoots’ and Foxx’s of the world fail to execute their sworn obligations?
Fuck progressives, Democrats, and in general the leftist mindset. A pox on them all. This was so predictable, and predicted.
You need to get out of the big city, or at least move your family out if you need to work there. There are plenty of nice rural areas and small towns in every state, even Rhode Island. Toulon, Illinois, is nice.
A commute of 1 to 2 hours one way is a realistic price to pay for your family’s safety.
This isn’t just Chicago, it is everywhere. One of our nurses was walking home from work in one of our tiny coal towns, population 2,245) and was accosted by some drunk guy. She is a triathlete and marathon runner so she just outran him back to the house, where we have security cameras and bright lighting.
Steve
Running is by far the best self-defense. In the particular case cited in the post it wasn’t an option. A guy just stepped around a corner with gun pointed at his victim.
Within the disadvantaged minority urban population there is no shame in “popping a Vicâ€.
High fives all around.
Try not to be a Vic.
That’s good self-defense, too.
I took a self defense class years ago with a girlfriend. Many of Dave’s pointers were ones taught in that class, including not to show fear. Even aggressively yelling “No!†to an attacker often intimidates them enough to stem the attack.
My girlfriend was a short, fiery redhead who really did well when confronted by our padded instructor. I, OTOH, found it difficult to fight back. It wasn’t until the instructor told me to envision my child being attacked that all that changed, and my battle instincts were provoked. It was a self-revealing moment for me.
It really shouldn’t be necessary to mention this but don’t travel alone. You noticed the attackers were not alone.
Even one companion reduces your chances of being the target.