I sometimes think that those of us who teach and write about personal defense don’t spend enough time talking about avoidance. After all, we never saw John Wayne or Clint Eastwood back down from trouble, so why should we? But maybe we should gently remind ourselves that this is fiction, and reality is just a whole lot different. It might be a good idea to go to look up an old Bobby Bare song called “The Winner.”
When violence is visited upon us, a whole lot of things can happen and most of them aren’t good. The possibility of sustaining serious injuries, or death, is a reality that should always be considered. Being right may not be such a grand thing when the outcome is being crippled for life over an incident that could have been easily avoided.
Armed or not, being a reluctant fighter may be a really good idea. Keep in mind that there will often be witnesses to an encounter. And in this day and time, several videos will very likely be produced. Hopefully these will show that, while we finally had to resort to using force, we had reasonably tried to avoid it.
And just because we think we are right, the fact is that the courts may not agree with us. I wonder how many consider what a good criminal attorney will charge to get us the “not guilty” verdict that we knew we deserved. I certainly don’t have $50,000.00 lying around for that sort of thing.
So, what I am saying is that each of us needs to consider the various scenarios of personal defense and decide where we will draw the line. Protecting family and home would certainly be important and worth risking a life for. But, maybe ignoring a nasty word or another person’s actions would be a good idea.
And that is something to consider and decide during a quiet, non-emotional moment without our temper being involved. It is an important part of our greater personal defense plan. These are the things that I will avoid if at all possible and these are the things that I will fight to protect.
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