In Defense of Self Defense

Before I get into my usual ramblings I'd like to acknowledge that
1. I have been drinking and
2. there are a lot of people out there with an indefinitely higher level of expertise on the subject than myself.
I am merely a layman who readily admits he is Monday morning quarterbacking, but I think being a layman grants me the ability to speak to those of a similar or lower level of experience without sounding like I am speaking down to them.

In my opinion (which is never ever wrong) the right to self defense is one of, if not the most basic of rights. This supersedes any laws or ordinances of one's country, county or city. It is the right of survival in and of itself. No one of sound mind and reasoning would ever blame a raccoon for biting at a dog's snout while said dog is trying to tree it. Therefore how can any sane man or woman decry the actions of someone using lethal force on another when under similar duress? I do not just mean this as an argument for firearms rights (though this author is a huge proponent of them and their proper use). No this is far bigger than that. Whether the weapon in question be firearm, blade, rock or even one's bare hands, you have the right to defend your life your property and those around you. It is truly mind boggling how there are some people (and by some I mean A LOT) who not only believe that violence of any kind is unacceptable, but that you have a DUTY to retreat from danger. No matter what your location, circumstance and/or your disability (or ability), you can not and will not inflict violence upon your aggressors.

Maybe these people think we as a society are too civilized for such actions? Or that a truly innocent victim would find a way to escape no matter the costs? I honestly could not tell you as even in my most humorous of moods I can not play advocate for this particular devil. I know that some of these people who feel this way mean well (while others are clearly just looking for political clout,) but I can tell you that the majority of these folks have either lived an extremely sheltered life or are lying.

Obviously you are smart enough to come up with your own reasons why someone would lie on this matter, but what about the so called "sheltered" I have mentioned? Maybe they have never been put into a situation where their own safety was in jeopardy? Perhaps they are single and without children? Or maybe their livelihoods have never been threatened? Either way I am glad they have never been forced into a space between the proverbial rock and a hard place, but I think this has made most of said folks terrified at the prospect of being responsible for their own safety.

One could easily blame it upon upbringing, the nanny state or whichever hyperbole one finds amusing, but such thinking is not only detrimental to the individual but society as a whole. These people vote, and there are many an amoral politician willing to capitalize on these feelings to gain power. Such politicians will use this power to feed on and into said fears, thus making it harder for the common man to do what needs done whenever the gauntlet is dropped.

I can hear some of you now, that I have constructed a strawman to attack for my argument and I will half agree with you. These types of people are far too broad for someone like myself to categorize effectively in an easily compartmentalized fasion to make for an easy read so, yes I admit I am strawmanning a bit (if that's even a word). It does not change the fact that self defense has become far harder to justify in the halls of justice here in the west but even more so in the court of public opinion. In many cases a victim (and I truly mean victim) can be absolutely railroaded by a jury for firing one too many shots, or throwing one too many punches whileban officer of the law can dump three or four magazines into a perp with zero repercussions. I know there are a huge number of people nowadays who will take any chance to take those in law enforcement and peace keeping down a peg but that isn't my aim here. The point is merely that if we as a society, can not find fault in a TRAINED officer's actions in defending themselves then how can we in all honesty hold to account an untrained citizen for firing four shots instead of three? For throwing a third punch when the second knocked out their assailant? It seems intellectually dishonest to do so and is a disservice to both our citizenry and our first responders.

An anecdote I have for this in particular was a good friend of mine who was literally back stabbed during a meet up to sell an iPhone. This friend was a trained martial artist and despite being egregiously wounded was able to pound his assailant into the pavement despite nearly bleeding to death in the process. In spite of my friend's near inhuman endurance to pain and his overcoming his cowardly adversary, he very nearly served fifteen years in prison for causing "undo harm" to his attacker, despite this other person attacking him from behind with full intent to murder. Luckily, saner heads prevailed and the case against him was thrown out.

On top of this, I do not think people truly understand the length of response times in both metropolitan or rural environments. These can range from eleven minutes to even an hour (sometimes more)! Ask anyone you know who has served in the military, in police, fire or paramedic roles, an awful lot can happen in five minutes let alone eleven. Once again this is not a shot at any emergency services, but we need to face facts. After certain events in the past decade, a lot of departments have been defunded, downsized and have seen record number drops in recruitment. This, while extremely distressing, should be a highly motivating factor for anyone on the fence to take a first aid class, to learn self defense techniques and to procure a weapon if they can. I know it is extremely cliché but the old adage holds true: "When seconds count, the police are only minutes away!"

A personal account I have was one of the few times in my life I have ever had to draw a firearm in self defense. At a rather shady gas station I was approached by an obviously drug addicted man who as asking for change. When I replied I had none he became enraged and proceeded to threaten me and eventually charged at me. Before he even reached within 30ft of me I had drawn my weapon and made clear it would be best for both of us if he went on his way. Luckily he did, and no blood was shed. I did what any intelligent person would do after such an event and phoned the police department. They made it rather clear that they could not be bothered with what had happened without a body and in no uncertain terms told me to stop wasting their time. This was rather chilling to me and I would hope anyone who has been in a similar situation.

Another issue I have (and one that might be polarizing to some) is that of property crime. Smash and grabs, armed robberies, mass theft, arson, flash mob robberies, etc. A very large segment of the west has effectively neutered our police and our own reactions to these events and they are beginning to take their till. There is some truth that poverty can spur crime rates but there is far more weight to the fact that crime causes far more poverty than vice-versa. Many on the extreme left will claim "These corporations have insurance to pay for the damages!" or they will claim "It's morally just to steal from (insert large retailer here)!" Well that could not be further from the truth. I know many will accuse me of being a bootlicker (if they haven't already) and plug their ears to any answer I might serve up. That is fine I suppose but it solves nothing. Many of the places effected by this rise in crime are small mom and pop stores, owned locally by people who have put their life savings into their property. Other's like big retailers are forced to close due to record losses in profit and the inability to acquire any insurance due to their area of operations. This costs hundreds of thousands of average, every day people their jobs and only sources of steady income. I know this might seem barbaric to some of my readers but one can not help but think that, perhaps these crimes might diminish if more of the perpetrators saw actual prison time or met their end at the barrel of a gun.

"Are you saying property is worth more than human life?!" Honestly? Yes I am. When a person or persons have decided to do inordinate harm to others through destruction and theft they have readily admitted through their own actions that they value these stolen goods and destroyed property more than their own lives, so why should I argue counter to this?

One more personal anecdote (yes I know these don't count as "objective proof" and would never fly in true debate) was an argument I witnessed between a veteran friend and one of his acquaintances. The argument can essentially be broken down to this, the acquaintance claimed my vet friend was overcompensating by having a long gun by his bed in case of a home invasion and that the "smarter thing to do" was to hide in a closet and call the police, since property wasn't worth killing over. When my vet friend reminded him that he had a wife and three children to worry about and therefore could not afford to "hide in a closet", the acquaintance wrote him off. It did not matter to this man that my friend had young children in various rooms about his home, in his mind neutralizing the threat was akin to murder and should be dealt with as such. Once again the mind boggles at such logic but it is shockingly common in modern times.

I have personally been on the receiving end of various levels of violence and theft at least 20+ times in my life. Either do to my occupation or merely being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Out of these numerous moments I only ever had a firearm on me three times and needed to draw two of those times. Another two I had to use a blade to escape, the rest were done via quick thinking, quick feet or de-escalation. I know this little essay of mine sounds like I am pro blood maddened slaughter of anyone who confronts you but that couldn't be further from the truth. One of your top priorities should be removing you and yours from the threat of violence through words before actions, and only to take those actions when no other option is available.

Once again I prompt my readers to ask those they know with real world experience how many times they kept their ability to cause harm in check merely by knowing their own capabilities, and acknowledging the consequences of using them. This does not detract from my objections to the ever increasing attacks on the common man seeking to remove his abilities and means to defend himself, his family and property from the perversions of those who take advantage of the corrupted system we have somehow found ourselves in.

In closing, I press that my readers, regardless of political, national, religious or ethnic affiliation, should not cave to the pressure of those sheltered from violence. Do not let those who fear taking responsibility for their own safety, nor those who seek to gain power by feeding on those fears, sway you from your right of self determination. All of us who do no harm to others and merely seek to live our lives have the same rights as our ancient forefathers did to repel the invader, the tyrant or the raider. Do not be placid in this endeavor, for placidity is what got us to this place of slow death in the first place. Be active in your community, vote local, be aware of your surroundings and most importantly of all, stay strapped.