The Five Stages of Violent Crime

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The Five Stages of Violent Crime.

I posted this link in support of my essay here, although the thread has now gone so far off track I doubt it can ever get back to the topic again. Anyway, this is good fuel for our decision to carry openly instead of concealed, as well as having a plethora of excellent information on how and why a criminal targets a victim.

Here’s a quote from the beginning of the article:

There is a big difference between self-defense
and personal safety. Self defense is predicated
on the fact that you are in a very bad place
to begin with. Things have already gone to
hell in a hand basket. As such, self defenses
is making sure the situation doesn't
get any worse -- it is damage control,
pure and simple. However, no damage control
is EVER as good as preventing the problem
in the first place. That's personal safety...
Marc MacYoung

Click to expand...

This presents a good argument for the question, “Why are you carrying a gun?” I am carrying a gun for personal safety, not necessarily ‘self defense’.

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Nice distinction, Mainsail. I will incorporate it.

MD

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I ended up spending quite a bit of time at the site. Lots of interesting stuffs.

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Mainsail wrote:

The Five Stages of Violent Crime.

I posted this link in support of my essay here, although the thread has now gone so far off track I doubt it can ever get back to the topic again. Anyway, this is good fuel for our decision to carry openly instead of concealed, as well as having a plethora of excellent information on how and why a criminal targets a victim.

Here’s a quote from the beginning of the article:

There is a big difference between self-defense
and personal safety. Self defense is predicated
on the fact that you are in a very bad place
to begin with. Things have already gone to
hell in a hand basket. As such, self defenses
is making sure the situation doesn't
get any worse -- it is damage control,
pure and simple. However, no damage control
is EVER as good as preventing the problem
in the first place. That's personal safety...
Marc MacYoung

Click to expand...

This presents a good argument for the question, “Why are you carrying a gun?” I am carrying a gun for personal safety, not necessarily ‘self defense’.

Click to expand...

Well, it is fuel for the argument, but I think it can be flipped. Sheep do not carry guns, and they stay away from dangerous situations. Sheepdogs carry sidearms. A sheep might say that a sheepdog will use that gun as a free pass to get into dangerous situations. To be fair, sheepdogs generally have those sidearms because there are dangerous situations they cannot avoid in their daily lives (living/working in high-crime areas, working with high-value real property, etc), however LACs with guns do not go looking for trouble. That's sidearm abuse; it is not an extension of your primary masculine feature, it is not a police badge, and it is NOT to be used as commonly as a cell phone. But, for this reason, I do not personally think I'd be successful in trying to convince someone that a sidearm is carried to prevent dangerous situations; I'd be thrilled if I could get them to understand that it is ONLY to be used to get OUT of them, not to start them in the first place.

The argument that mustbe made, given this,is to demonstrate that LACs understand that they do not carry out of machismo. Then, they can hopefully understand that LACs carry for self-defense AND practice personal safety, and thus are prepared on two levels where a sheep would have one, if any, level of protection from harm.

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Liko81 wrote:

Sheepdogs carry sidearms. A sheep might say that a sheepdog will use that gun as a free pass to get into dangerous situations. To be fair, sheepdogs generally have those sidearms because there are dangerous situations they cannot avoid in their daily lives (living/working in high-crime areas, working with high-value real property, etc), however LACs with guns do not go looking for trouble.

Click to expand...

This reminds me of when I started OCing long before I ventured in public OC. I started in my house.In part because I wanted my kids to have a picture of a MWAG as something normal and not out of the ordinary. The kicker was when a former co-worker friend (LEO) was a victim of a home invasion robbery, nice area. Sometimes the dangerous situation comes looking for you. You don't know when or where that will be.


[edit] Removed errant link from OCing

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Through my reading of this and other firearms forums, these seem to be the general steps of securing personal safety. They are (in order):

1. Situational Awareness
--- Know what/who is around you. Be alert for a situation that has the potential to become dangerous. Sometimes you simply can't predict the future, or you have no choice but to enter an environment that is inherently dangerous.

2. Courteous Behavior
--- Responsible gun ownership includes conducting your public behavior in a calm, polite manner. Sometimes being courteous is all it takes to keep things peaceful.

3. Avoid/Defuse Confrontation
--- Responsible gun ownership also includes keeping a level head and a reasonable attitude of diplomacy. Use words before action wherever possible AND prudent. This step includes the option of walking away when possible AND prudent.

4. Defend
--- When the above steps are insufficient, or you find yourself in a situation where they are simply not possible anymore, be prepared to act decisively and immediately. This means thinking all the way through your actions (as much as possible) BEFORE encountering such a situation, because you won't have time in the middle of it.