Comments on: In Defense of Self-Defense, part II

By: Stephen Littau

Stephen Littau — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 03:36:22 +0000

“However, what if we were able to change that culture? Would things be any different?”

Mike, I think you did a better job of making the point I was trying to make in my post. The above question is the very question we should be asking. If we had a better self-defense mindset in our culture we would have better odds of defending ourselves.

How often have we heard the “authorities” tell us to “leave crime fighting up to the professionals”? How often have we heard people who act in an offensive manner toward violent criminals as “vigilantes” who are “taking the law in their own hands”?

You know something? The law is in our hands–particularly when an individual’s life, liberty, or property is in immanent danger.

By: Tom Gellhaus

Tom Gellhaus — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 13:03:32 +0000

One of the many things I like about this webpage are the quotations at the top. Heinlein quotes appear quite frequently, so he has been on my mind more lately. I bet that he is spinning in his grave now (figuratively speaking) at our culture. Over the course of time, it does seem to me (at 42 years old) that we have placed nearly all our trust in “the police” (the STATE) to defend us, even when such trust is proven inadequate or even futile. Heinlein always created characters who were not afraid to defend themselves when attacked, albeit pragmatically (none of the long distance “i’d have done it better” heroics of idiots like Derbyshire).
You do have do wonder whether the American culture can start to re-embrace the idea of self-defense in the way you speak of so well. There are so many inputs into a teenager’s growing up – parents, movies, school (err..umm..on second thought, govt schools are unlikely to do this), and books, just to name a few. Are there ways on an individual level that we can turn this tragedy towards good, and overcome the passivity and fear of self-defense that our modern American culture seems to have ?

(As a side note, I don’t understand the relevance the European culture has in discussions about this topic. I have noticed that many right-wing bloggers enjoy putting down the Europeans and saying we have become like them. America isn’t Europe, and the best way out of our cultural passivity has nothing to do with any other nation’s culture. “We can do it regardless of what any other country decides” is my point here.)

By: Jmarsh

Jmarsh — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 08:57:49 +0000

Be polite, be professional, have a plan to kill everyone you meet.

Basically. I’ve been out of the Green Machine for a decade, and I still scan streets, convenience stores, grocery stores, parking lots, etc. Most people generally don’t notice I do it. It’s second nature, like flipping on a light switch when you enter a room.

A lot of self defense is practice and visualization. If you visualize yourself being the anti-victim, aggressive and willing to use anything as a weapon, then you have already formed a sub conscious plan of action in your mind, which you will be much more likely to execute.

Of course, all of this becomes far easier when you have a firearm on your person. Even then, you still have to do some due diligence. I actually do *more* now that I’m in the regular habit of packing. When a salesman comes to the door during the day and I have my .45 on my belt, you can’t help but be super conscious of how you expose yourself to the possible perp, how close he is to the door, etc.

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 07:11:33 +0000

Thank you for addressing personal defence as a reasonable option, rather than a hoplophilic fantasy.

Still, technical issues like these only make sense when we’ve decided to defend ourselves. Self defence is, first and foremost, a matter of will: will you fight for your life, or will you lie on the floor and hope for mercy? Once you’ve decided to fight, everything else — awareness, tactics, training, weapons — is just a matter of stacking the deck in your favour. I’ll take any advantage I can get, but it won’t do me any good if I can’t bring myself to use it.