Can anyone really feel comfortable at an outside event, say a ballgame, a concert, or a fair? I am beginning to think we are all in danger wherever we go. I cannot feel safe anywhere, any more. What can a individual do to protect themselves or companions?
First, you can learn simple statistical analysis for peace of mind.
Take September 2001. Terrorists killed a lot of people. But during that month, Americans with handguns killed more Americans than terrorists did. Impaired American drivers killed more Americans than terrorists did. For the year 2001, more Americans were killed by police officers than by terrorists (maybe – not sure about that stat).
How do you protect yourself and your family from Armed Americans, impaired drivers and cops?
But you’re right, beside all the usual hazards, there is a crescendo of anger building up. News anchors tear their beautiful hair and ask “why do kids shoot up their school?” What I wonder, is why don’t more kids shoot up their school. Ten million school kids live in homes with guns. Only a couple a year shoot up their school. What restrains the rest, who are all just as angry and frustrated as the headliners.
Americans are angry and violent people, who at the moment are hypnotized into some kind of somnolent docility. What happens with somebody snaps their fingers?
Yep. I feel completely comfortable. Maybe because I’ve already had people actively try to kill me before? I don’t know. I’m not one to worry much about such things. On the other hand I’m also like my father. He was a careful man. He was not paranoid but he was careful. He always noted where the exits were wherever he went. He noted things like fire alarms and extinguishers. He was very observent of people. He didn’t obsess about it and you wouldn’t notice he was doing it unless you knew him. He filed the information away and continued on with things but he would know what to do if something happened. I’m a bit like that.
To a certain extent you just have to accept that you’re always going to be in danger. You could be walking down the street and get hit by a car that swerved off the road or something that fell from a building. Some things are outside of your control.
Hell, I had an acquaintance die just a week or so ago. He had a seizure and managed to fall and brake his neck in the process. Fine one minute and <poof> gone, the next.
As for the Las Vegas incident, I don’t care what the security experts (not gun control, these were event/crowd security) people are saying, short of vetting every person in every hotel and checking everything they bring in and keeping all lines of sight protected for the duration of the event, I just don’t think this was preventable. Again, not talking about gun control.
So, sure, maybe you’re not safe all the time, but for me, it’s just not worth worry about. I’m not willing to walk around in a bullet proof vest and armed, nor am I willing to hide out in my house for the rest of my life. You can either accept it or be terrified of it. The majority of us accept it, even if it means ignoring it (ie, I ignore that it’s totally possible for a drunk driver to hit me as I pull out onto the main road when I leave work, I’m not going to get stressed out over that).
It’s worth being prepared (like Loach said), but you’ll also put yourself (or someone else) in an early grave if think you might get shot every time you walk outside your house.
Beckdawrek, anything can happen at anytime. But you can take precautions. These are things I learned (or at least remembered this way, it’s been a couple of years) while working for the Dept. of Defense (Civilian). We got Mandatory Security training and ‘Active Shooter’ training every year. Most is common sense, but maybe that’s what we need.
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If you’re going to a public place with masses of people, make sure you identify possible exits and your path to them. Observe what is going on and listen for changes in the crowd noise/sudden activity.
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As has been said in other threads, in the case of an incident, leave the area quickly and DON’T STOP. It might seem heartless to leave a bleeding/injured person behind, but the shooter might be waiting for someone to stop and give him a new, easy target.
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If you’re in a building (or at work) and cannot exit safely, try to find a room with only one way in/out and “fort up” the best you can. Lock door, push desk/chairs against it, stay away from windows, stuff that seems common sense but in a terror incident can be forgotten.
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If cornered in the open and the shooter is ready to fire, throw something, scream, go on the attack. You’re already probably going to be a casualty, so literally fighting for your life is all you can do. Talking your way out of it usually only happens on TV.
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If the cops, SWAT, etc. break in, stay where you are, get on the ground and follow their orders. Don’t play hero or make any sudden moves. That will get you shot.
At least, that is how I remember it. The words “Situational Awareness” should be your mantra if you (unreasonably) fear this happening to you or yours.
FWIW, I have been in a lot of places where something could have happened…and itnever did. But I always knew my way out.
IMHO as always. YMMV.
Statistically, you’re more likely to be killed by a cow than a terrorist.
Thanks for the info…like you said it seems to be common sense!
Give serious thought to moving to a safer country.
Every day the only thing between each of us and instant death is a painted line and the assumption the guy coming at us feels the same way about the line. Not very comforting.
That’s why I take them out whenever I see them.
I live in the most rural place, almost, in the lower 48. I could probably stay home for a couple years, barring no dental or medical emergencies, and be very comfortable. The next 2 years might begin to get difficult. Of course people would come here for various reasons. So I couldn’t really keep the world out, so We have to live in this world. I just don’t like feeling vulnerable. I don’t know the answer. Seemingly there is not one that covers everything.
From my experience with OCD and my real or imagined fears i’ve come to recognize that nothing is safe, there is always danger in every activity. Just have to learn to live with it, that and statistics, damned statistics… Worrying about shootings and car accidents and fires etc… Nothing else you can do except your best and leave the rest up to fate. Do everything you reasonably can to protect yourself, and then forget about it, because you can do nothing more. for some people its harder than others.
Right!
We had a thread along these lines a while back and I mentioned something like that. IIRC I said that sometimes I think about what would happen if the person coming towards me would just veer into on coming traffic. I was met with a lot of ‘why would they do that?’ I don’t know. I don’t know why a lot of people would do a lot of things, but it happens.
But, for real, sometimes I’m surprised that higher speed roads don’t require more of a barrier. Even regular surface roads with a 40mph limit (so people are going 50ish) and cars getting awfully close to each other. I very distinctly remember two cases where someone briefly went into oncoming traffic and the only reason they didn’t get hit was that the person coming towards them had very quick reflexes and no one in the lane to their right.
Of course we are. 50+ killed in one mass shooting is an anomaly, but on an average day, 44 Americans are murdered.
And 110 Americans die in car crashes. 4600 people are newly diagnosed with cancer, and 1600 die from cancer. 2200 Americans die from cardiovascular disease.
In other words, there’s nothing special about outdoor concerts, or movie theatres, or schools, or airliners, or skyscrapers. People die everywhere every day.
We are but a moment’s sunlight
Fading in the grass
“Yes, sir…I’ll have the DOUBLE cheeseburger”
The short mantra is “Run, Hide, Fight.” If you can run to safety, do so; this presents your best odds of survival. If there’s a window in your way, break it if possible; throw a chair or heavy metal object at it as hard as you can. If you can’t run, hide, as this presents your second-best odds: close the door of your room, barricade it, turn off the lights, silence your cell phone, be quiet. If you can’t hide - if the shooter is going to round a corner on you or push his way into your room - fight. Any heavy object can serve as a club or projectile. If you can manage it, the knees are vulnerable to a good sideways tackle. Enlist every able-bodied person in the room with you in the effort to subdue the attacker.
When the first SWAT/cops arrive, do not expect them to render aid; their sole objective is to neutralize the shooter. Do not ask them for help, let them do their job.
If you are exiting a building after the police have established a perimeter, keep your hands out in plain view with your fingers open to show that you are not an immediate threat. Do not rush up to the cops, don’t hug them in relief; let them do whatever they need to do to establish you’re not a perp trying to sneak out.
Obviously specific orders from any police on the scene will supercede those basic instructions, but that’s enough to get you through the immediate crisis.
Here’s a good training video on how to respond to an active shooter situation.
The reality is that you’re probably never going to need to implement any of this. We hear about active-shooter situations on the news every few days, but this is a BIG country with a lot of people in it. For every high school, college, or concert that gets shot up, there are tens of thousands more that don’t; for every workplace that gets shot up, there are hundreds of thousands more that don’t. In any given active shooter incident, there are usually far more survivors than victims. Your time and energy are better spend taking action against the much bigger threats to your safety, things like cancer, heart disease, and other drivers (or possibly yourself, if you happen to be a shitty driver). Eat right, get some exercise, and drive defensively, and you will have done more to prolong your life than any active shooter training.
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now
Now, think about the cows. Who’s most likely to kill them?
All we are is dust in the wind…