The primary mistake was being in condition white walking out of the bar. I ALWAYS pause and look outside when leaving a bar because if there is a fight it is often right outside on the sidewalk or in the parking lot. Had you been more alert exiting, you probably would have seen the altercation in which case I would hope you would have turned around, walked back in and alerted the bar management as to what was going on outside and made sure your friends and others didn't walk into it.
I normally am in condition yellow but this definitely seemed like a challenging situation because it took place so close to the door that I don't know if being even more alert would have helped because literally the second the door opened, I was in the middle of it. In fact, I don't even the think the door had come halfway closed before I was struck by one of the members in the fight. One reality about self-defense that I learned is that even the best techniques are not 100% effective. Even in condition yellow you can be caught off-guard.
Suppose I was sitting near the door well aware of what was going on in my surroundings. That wouldn't help me if suddenly a pickup truck came crashing through the wall right where I was sitting. So this was one of those complicated situations.
One of the reasons I keep drinking moderate (in addition to health and driving reasons) is that too much alcohol can quickly drop you from condition yellow to condition white and causes a delayed reaction response to a problem. Alcohol wasn't a factor in this case since it had probably been a good hour since the last drink since
I often have waters before heading out and only had two or three that day (I can't remember but I may have mentioned it in my original post).
As to alerting security/management/police, the problem I run into is that they are often in condition white or not even around at all. Situations such as these often happen so fast and in just a few seconds they escalate to a dangerous level. You don't have five minutes to explain to the security all the details and there is the chance that you can't even find them (say he is in the men's room). Then you tell them and they don't even want to deal with it. Pretty frustrating.
I've had problems before in public places where I tell a person that is in charge something like "Serious situation around the corner. Better do something quickly." and then I getfive seconds of a blank dumb look on their face followed by a "Huh?" So then I have to repeat myself a second time going into more details and they still have the same blank dumb look and don't know what the hell I am talking about.
I don't want to have to deal with third-party defense but
it seems like too many times the only way to get things done is to handle it yourself. It is scary how those in charge are so in condition white that you almost have to pull out your gun to wake them up (I'm only kidding). This is even true with many cops I've come across. They will be so focused on one thing that they are completely oblivious to the overall surrounding environment.
Having friends inside and maniacs fighting outside you were in a catch-22 situation. I would have most likely retrieved my weapon, called the police and then yelled at the brawlers that the cops are on the way (even if I didn't really call the police for some reason I would still have yelled that they are on the way). That usually breaks it up. I would have then moved into a defensive covered position, eg between parked cars where I could observe any innocent bystanders such as my friends possibly getting involved. I would NOT have done anything to draw attention to my pistol unless someone started aggressing on me because 1) it could cause an escalation and 2) it could be construed as brandishing if police arrive.
I used to handle situations by calling the police but have found it completely ineffective. I had a man pull a knife on me and try to carjack me while I was in the car. I rolled up the window on his arm forcing him to try to retreive it before I took my foot off the brake and nearly broke his arm. Instead of running away after I twisted his arm he goes up to another person in a car. So I pick up the phone and call 911. I get a busy signal. I call back again and get a recording. Finally I get through and the person is already gone. I have to repeat myself twice over the phone to two different dispatchers. Then the police come to me instead of looking for the criminal and I have to tell three cops the same story again. Then they rush in the direction he went but couldn't catch him because they forgot that it was a dead-end road. So now the criminal is out there somewhere on the streets instead of in jail. Because of the police incompetence and my aggressive defense, instead of attacking another young man it will probably be a senior citizen. At the time I was simply armed with a phone and not a gun.
It does
seem like sad to say that a couple of well-placed bullets is the only way to get things done. I'm sure I would have been in my right to shoot him just like
I probably could have shot three of them at the bar (the ones with the bottle, knife, and car).
All my friends tell me "avoid this crap."
The problem is that you can't avoid it. It seems like society is getting so f-ed up that
anywhere you go day or night there is a problem. Whether it is driving or walking, pumping gas, getting groceries, running other errands, spending time with friends, it
seems like without exception there is always something going on. What is interesting is that
I am almost the only person that actually notices this stuff and then they say I am looking for trouble. The reason others never see it is because they are so in condition white and have the mentality of "it will never happen to me." I guess though it is better for yourpsychological well-beingto not notice this crap than to keep having to deal with it.
Naturally if you notice a problem you are going to have to deal with it one way or another. Again, how is it that seven men are trying to kill one another and nobody knows what is going on? Why is it that almost 100% of people's brainsseem to be the case of "the lights are on but nobody's home?"
Scary.
