This is a post from Active Response Training, and it is very much worth thinking about. https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/born-to-intervene?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ActiveResponseTraining+%28Active+Response+Training%29
I have long maintained that my first and foremost responsibility is to myself and to my family, and I firmly believe this. With that in view I am always determined to temper my responses with that consideration… and when faced with a situation last fall, I didn’t.
I was coming out of a store and saw a large man and a small young woman engaged in an argument. The man then grabbed her by the arm and appeared to be trying to force her into his car. I know that domestic disputes are one of the most dangerous situations to intervene in. The sensible thing to do would have been to get in my car and call the police, while keeping an eye on things and recording the license plate etc. I didn’t.
As soon as he started using force common sense departed. I set down my purchases and approached to about twenty feet away and engaged the man verbally. Words were exchanged, and at my suggestion the young woman went into the store to get help, and in the end the fellow drove away. Yeah, there’s more to it than that but the exact details don’t matter. The point is as soon as his action triggered me I responded in a manner that was prone to disaster, without even thinking about it, and it’s mostly luck that things did not end badly.
Of course in the aftermath I immediately started thinking about everything that could have gone horribly wrong, what I should have done etc. Because of that experience Greg’s post above hit a nerve. It’s well and good to have good intentions and a commitment to acting sensibly in a crisis… but you might not. Be prepared for that to occur.
Michael Tinker Pearce, 2 March 2020
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Not sure what Patreon is….however, I do want to suggest that punching your weight doesn’t necessarily mean needing a firearm. In the story ‘The Most Dangerous Game’, the brain is the most important weapon needed. Mr. Stout was fortunate to have survived and you were fortunate to have managed to not be attacked. I agree that most of us could fit a scenario where we’d act instead of step back and call for help. Planning scenes in our head is something writing folks do and I’d hope most imagined experiences would not happen at all! As a person who is around firearms, I know I don’t have the size or ability to ‘take down’ a robber or other illegal idiot. I’d probably want to do something-I hope it would be the right thing.
You’ve hit the nail on the head- mental preparation is what is needed here more than anything, and how to use the skills you possess. Sure, if at all possible expand your arsenal of skills, but train the brain to employ them effectively, and at the right time.