Defending Against Mobs

With the current social/political mood rather restless, I've had a few people ask me how best to react to mobs and/or riots. I live in a rural area, so we aren't expecting much in the way of violence (one murder a year in the county is big news), but most of us have to travel to “the city” for shopping or other business and there have been some disturbances down there. I've witnessed one good riot in person and have followed a few others closely, but I'm not an expert by any means and so I started looking for expert advice.

The best advice is the simplest: stay away from crowds. Use the “rule of thumb” for any disaster waiting to happen, by which I mean “If you can't cover it with your thumb held out at arm's reach, you're too close.” Avoiding problems is the easiest way to deal with them, so not being where the trouble occurs is the simplest way to deal with an unruly mob.

The worst thing you can do is to go looking for trouble. Unless you have serious back-up on many levels, from legal to firepower, you're not going to be able to do much good. The only time preemptive action will work is if we enter a truly WROL (Without Rule of Law) scenario and that is a “survive at any cost” situation.

Defense against an unruly mob or group of attackers is a roll of the dice.

• Locally, we had a bar owner shoot and kill a man who had already assaulted one person and was in the act of assaulting the bar owner. The local prosecutor looked at the evidence and decided to file no charges, but after a couple of days of “protests” he changed his mind and turned it over to a grand jury. The grand jury indicted the bar owner for murder.
• The lawyer couple in St, Louis that were armed while telling protesters to leave their property have been charged. That case is still ongoing.
• People who display a firearm against a crowd attacking their vehicle may get away unscathed, but there are groups ready to identify them and ruin their lives. Being fired from a job, having your personal information posted online, being defamed in public media and forums, and civil lawsuits are all tactics used by the organizers of some of these protests.

Some of you may have heard of Masad Ayoob. He's been teaching firearms use for decades internationally and is one of the world's experts on defensive firearms use. He did a rather long interview a few months back on this subject and covered it in detail. I strongly suggest you find the time to sit and watch or listen to his advice. At the very least, read through the shortened transcript.

The highlights are:

• Avoid crowds.
• If you run into a crowd, try to get away.
• If you can't get away, try to deescalate the situation.
• If your life is in danger, you do have the right to defend yourself against that threat, but only that threat.
• Know your target and what is beyond it. You're responsible for everything damaged by your bullets.
• Not everyone in a crowd is a legal target; most of them are not going to be violent.
• Handguns are easier to keep control of, are less likely to over-penetrate a target, and are easier to use in a vehicle than a long gun.
• Outside of WROL, you will be held responsible for your actions.
• Lawyers will be involved and they're expensive.
• Know your local laws and how they are enforced. Some areas are not friendly to self-defense.
• Being in a car adds to the problems; newer cars won't let you run over a person and airbags deploying will incapacitate you for minutes.
• Firing a weapon inside a car will damage your hearing permanently.

He did cover the “Rooftop Koreans” briefly, as well as a few other historical examples of people defending themselves against unruly mobs. The LA riots were a WROL situation since the police had been pulled back. There were about two dozen “unsolved” deaths, but no definite examples of defenders killing rioters. More recent events have been treated differently, depending entirely upon the political views of the courts and prosecutors involved.

Short of a total collapse of infrastructure I feel fairly safe in my area, but I know some of you are living in areas that are likely to see rioting if things don't calm down soon. Keep your eyes open, your training current, and your powder dry.

Improvised Weapons for Self-Defense

When SHTF, you may need to defend yourself. And when that happens, you may not have your preferred option, such as a pistol, at hand. In fact, you may find yourself in a location, such as a FEMA camp, that will not allow you to carry a personal defense weapon.

First, some advice:

1. Remember what you have on you,  and remember that even a show of force is often enough to make people go away. What this means is that when an individual who carries a weapon is confronted, he often only has to present the weapon in order to avoid conflict.
2. Make sure that you’re aware of your local municipality laws. This article assumes that you do not carry a handgun for whatever reason, and the local laws may be one of them. These laws often extend to knives, and even pepper spray is  banned in some areas, so be careful.

Here are a few recommendations for improvised self-defense weapons:

• Metal chopsticks, especially if the ends have been sharpened. They don't present an obvious threat, can be carried into offices and similar, and make a dandy defensive weapon. I know women who use them as hair sticks, and I often carry a (unsharpened) set as eating utensils. 
• A heavy food-service fork in your pocket, in case you want to eat a salad in an emergency, can also be used to poke into other things.
• The ever-popular tactical pen (I am fond of this one) certainly has a place in self-defense.  Despite lacking an edge, it is very unpleasant to be jabbed with one. If this is too tactical to pass muster, or carrying one is forbidden, use a metal drafting pencil instead. 
• An adjustable wrench kept to make repairs is not considered a weapon, especially if carried in a steel tool box (which can also serve as a deterrent). Nor is a lug wrench, which can be quite large. Pipe wrenches are both large and heavy and not easily carried, but is suitable for a car... or, again, a tool box. 
• Walking sticks are an ever-popular method to deal with unwanted pests, be they two-legged or four-legged. There are also ski poles that have nice sharp metal ends for digging into rough terrain.
• Inside a building, there are all sorts of environmental advantages to anyone who decides to use them defensively. Chairs, tables, and the odd fire extinguisher on the wall all make handy bashing weapons, should you need to use one.
• Innocuous things that most people would never think of as a potential weapon, like a laptop, make dandy bashing weapons. (I do not recommend this in most circumstances, since laptops are expensive, and you’ll either have to replace your laptop, or potentially somebody else’s).
• A cell phone grasped firmly, especially with a rugged case like an OtterBox, can serve as a blunt striking weapon when there is absolutely nothing else. 
• Even a book can be used as a weapon.

At the end of the day, the ultimate weapon is your mind. Remember that objects don't make people dangerous; people make objects dangerous.

Be a dangerous person, and don’t forget to practice.

Emergency Self-Defense

I like to start off my posts with something funny and memorable, but I am going to tone that down for this post because of the subject matter.

Preppers talk about TETOWAKI or SHTF a lot. Both of those terms imply that something has gone horribly wrong with society, at least on a local basis, but even if all else is well you may find yourself in an emergency that requires that you defend your life at any time. With luck and situational awareness you can avoid most of these situations -- but not always.

One of my favorite quotes is “There are no dangerous items, only dangerous people”. In self-defense, be a dangerous person.

Awareness

The first step is to make sure that you don’t have an emergency. Keeping an eye out can save a lot of grief, and there are articles in the archive on the subject that cover this in depth. Having situational awareness makes a difference, if for no other reason than that it makes you look like less of a target. Having any potential threats view you as "too difficult to bother with" can save you a whole lot of trouble.

Range

If you are in an emergency, the most important thing you can do (unless you're a professional first responder) is to see if you can get away from the situation. I'm not kidding; run away if you can! There is nothing wrong with that. Talk to a martial arts instructor, and you will get the same advice.

Range can matter, even if it's just to find a place to hide, gather your thoughts, and strike back.

I understand that retreat is not an option for some people; for example, those of you in wheelchairs have a much harder time in getting away. This is where the next item comes into play.

Planning

Little things matter, like keeping a cell phone charged, knowing what your local weapons laws are, and keeping it somewhere accessible if you carry one. Even making sure that your shoes are tied can matter! In the words of Benjamin Franklin, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”.

Practice

Things are easier if you make them a habit.

• Going to the movies? Find the exits. Make sure that you know how you will get to them, and if you have someone else with you, determine if you will need to help them in case of emergency.
• Do you carry a weapon? Determine the best way to practice. Fifteen minutes of practice once a week in infinitely better than none, and can be done between other tasks.
• Do local laws (or other situations) prohibit you from having a weapon? Lean some basics of unarmed self defense, and practice.
• Do not rely on unarmed techniques to save your bacon. If you are dealing with someone who is larger than you, or armed, it can take a lot of skill to overcome that.
• Make it a game: how much can you plan for while doing normal tasks?

Practice can make the difference between using a skill smoothly, and having it be a disaster. This is why I frequently end my blog posts with "Don’t forget to practice."

Improvising

A lot of this comes down to being good at improvising.

• Strange men are starting to follow you. "Where can I duck into to avoid them/how do I find a better position to defend myself?"
• Someone attacks you, and you don’t have a legal means to defend yourself. "What in my environment will work to defend me? How can I use what I have on me?"
• Etc.

Remember, be a dangerous person, and don’t forget to practice.

Law of Self-Defense Seminar

Not actually Erin.

Picture by KJ Photography

& is used with permission.

At this time last week (hence the guest article), I was driving to Orlando to attend a Law of Self-Defense seminar hosted by Andrew Branca.

If either of those names sound familiar, they should; the Law of Self Defense has been a sponsor of the Gun Blog Variety Cast for some time now, and midway through each episode -- you do listen to the episodes, right? -- you hear this dramatic reading by GBVC host Sean Sorrentino:



Every prepper who carries a firearm for self defense (and all of you legally can carry ought to carry) needs to take this course. I didn't say should take; I said needs to take.

Florida (where I live) is about as pro-gun as a state can get without being Constitutional Carry, but anyone who remembers the George Zimmerman Trial knows just what a three ring circus it was for what should have been a cut-and-dried case of justifiable homicide. If that can happen here, it could happen anywhere in this country.

As preppers, we stress that the mind is your greatest survival tool and that knowledge weighs nothing. This eight-hour class will give you a detailed look at the laws regarding self defense in your state -- each seminar is specifically geared to its location so that you don't spend time learning laws that don't apply to you -- and translates all that legalese into simple English. What's more, Andrew Branca is very accommodating and will gladly answer any questions you might have. I asked several questions which I knew were very edge case and extremely hypothetical (in other words, the other students probably rolled their eyes at me) and he answered them all with patience and grace.

Example:

Me: "I know you said that legally dogs are property and that lethal force in defense of property like that is frowned upon. We have two dogs and my mother is concerned about what might happen if, say, she came to their defense if someone started attacking them while on a walk? I mean, if someone will attack a dog they could just as easily attack a human."

Branca (paraphrased): "Never, ever say you are coming to the defense of your dogs. If you have to shoot someone for that, you must be in reasonable fear that after they kill your dogs they will be coming for you next."

Despite it being an 8-hour course, it moves along quickly, with plenty of quirky humor to break up the legalese (such as embedding the Monty Python "Run Away!" clip when talking about Avoidance) and frequent breaks to allow bathroom use and leg-stretching.

When you take this class (and you need to), there are two things you should do:

1. Reserve your seat ahead of time. If you wait until the last few weeks, the price rises from $100 to $150. 
2. Buy the slide presentation book. It is a bound notebook of all the slides used in the presentation, printed six to a page. Having it in front of you will save you a ton of note taking, and will allow you to easily refer to exactly what Mr. Branca said after the seminar is completed. 

Andrew Branca's Law of Self Defense Seminar comes with my highest recommendation. Take a course -- it could keep you out of prison. And, in proper Blue Collar fashion, you can get 10% off by using the discount code VARIETY at checkout!

If you can't attend one of his seminars, at least buy his book. It discusses the self-defense laws of all 50 states and how the courts interpret those laws.

Carry a gun so you're hard to kill. Know the law so you're hard to convict.