So the Kid approaches me last night as I was with another co-worker  and with a great amount of urgency asks me when can he take the class so he can get his concealed weapons permit.  As I try to come up with the words to let him down easy, he launches on a tirade about something it happened to him and his child earlier that day.  It seems that while at a park with the Kid and a couple of friends, a particularly big sporting sphere flew by near them and the standard fare of cussing between Group One and Sport Sphere Group was initiated. Somehow and after a couple of minutes of trash talking, the ball was launched back at them and missed the Kid’s head by inches which prompted physical retaliation by one of the Kid’s friends.The next thing coming out of the Kid’s mouth was a description on how he would have fed the ball-tosser Mountain Oysters made out of his own genitalia.

Before he could utter another word, I told the Kid that in my opinion he was not ready to carry a concealed weapon. He was not happy to say the least and asked me what I meant by that. I reminded him of the conversation we had earlier and asked him what was the first thing he needed to shed in order to carry a gun but he could not remember so I refreshed his memory: EGO. I told him again that he could not let his ego dictate his actions and that he demonstrated not enough responsibility during the events. He got angry (another bad sign) and asked me what would have I done different if somebody almost hit my son with a ball. The answer caught him by surprise even though for us is obvious: get the boy and leave the area as fast and as far away as possible. He blinked hard, I guess it never entered in his brain that keeping a child safe might involve something other than blasting some caps on some schmuck. I drove the point home by telling him that what i just heard did not show a concerned parent seeking the safety of his progeny but a hot headed youngster who was dissed, had his ego “damaged” and wanted immediate satisfaction even though it was not the smart thing to do.

The sad part was that the Kid still didn’t get it. I was staring at his eyes and that brief moment of surprise faded quick. No light-bulb-moment-of-clarity illuminated his obtuse head. I think he just thought I was being a scared and ornery old fart who did not want to get in trouble.  And he is right, I am afraid for him, for his kid and for innocent bystanders if this guy ever gets to carry a weapon. More likely, if the Kid gets in a situation, his child may have to visit Daddy at a grave site or at Everglades Correctional Institute or even at Raiford State as Daddy waits for the needle.

Just now I had the WordPress write-a-post window open and ready to share with all three of you a funny happenstance last night at work when the phone rang. It was my Comadre from V-Land informing me that my Godson was shot thrice during a carjacking/possible kidnapping. The kid is OK (Kid? he is what? in his late 30s-early 40’s and with kids of his own) and by the grace of God and lousy marksmanship from the Bad Guys, he is back home with grazing shots to one of his nipples (Dude, radical piercing yo!), to the side of his abdomen and a full penetration to the fleshy part of his thigh. Nothing major was hit but he is in some pain… no shit.

According to the story, he was coming out of his girlfriend’s house at 9 pm (first mistake) in a very nasty area of town (mistake number dos) when he was approached by parties unknown who demanded his vehicle. He did what was supposed to do and handed over the keys of his 4×4 plus whatever other personal belongings he had. One of the Bad Guys started to pistol whip him and tried to force him into his 4×4 for a possible Secuestro Express (Express Kidnapping: It denotes kidnapping a person and forcing him or her to withdraw his bank account via ATMS or even maybe calling home and asking for a low to moderate ransom to be delivered within a very short frame of time usually under a day. About 50% of the victims are killed during this crime) Godson was smart enough to put up a serious unarmed fight but got shot in the process. The kid is not big, but he is about 0.07% body fat and willing to use muscle. The fight must have been good that the BGs left without a single good and Godson drove himself to the hospital to get treated.

Even tough the dumb sonofabitch had his head looking for blemishes on his prostate instead of acting smart and safe, he acted decisively when the time came and managed to scare the BGs away and survived the encounter.

No matter how much we scan and stay aware, there is the chance we may get bushwhacked and the only way to survive it is to act fast and with lots of violence. You cannot plan for every situation (ask Bill Hitchcock) but if attacked and the opportunity arises, counter attack with all your fury plus a ton you can borrow from anywhere.

We’ve been told by the experts that the best course of action when robbed at gun point is to be submissive and comply with the criminal’s wishes and that we would be spared from harm. Somehow the Bad Guys seem not have received that memo. Down here in South Florida, we recently had a rash of armed robberies targeting gold-bearing victims and the victims were shot even though they were compliant with the criminal’s threats.

“I mean, if you’ve already got the chain, why do you have to go and shoot somebody, somebody who’s got a baby in their hands?” said Cathy Garcia, the victim’s mother-in-law.

So, even though the victims complied and got bullets holes for their compliance.  The Bad Guy chooses the weakest moment possible both physically and mentally: while the victims are handling their kids. Experts will be quick to point out that we should not do anything harsh because the kids are present and we really don’t want them to get hurt, but the criminal(s) shot anyway! Compliance did only not work, but put the kids at risk!

And as ususal, a picture is worth a thousand words:

Photo by Oleg Volk

Not everything out of Chicago this year has been bad. Being ornery to what they’ve been told by all the experts, Women in Chicago are buying guns for self-protection.  And demonstrating once more that they are smarter than us males, with the gun they are getting instruction on how to use them and how to defend themselves. Women being responsible for their self defense are smart and sexy in my humble opinion.

The Brady Bunch must be having a conniption.

Gun Control: The theory that a woman found dead in an alley, raped and strangled with her panty hose, is somehow morally superior to a woman explaining to police how her attacker got that fatal bullet wound.

By via of Michelle Malkin, the new Hollywood production of Buttkissers for Obama shown at Eagle Bay Elementary School in Farmington, Utah. This has gone far beyond Beverly Hills left wing rubbish and now us just plain scary. No, I am not making it up, the title do reflect a pledge in the video.

I know that any comparison to the Nazis is considered a Non-Starter, but this is the first thing the video above reminded me of:

We pledge to you, Adolf Hitler, loyalty and bravery. We swear obedience to you and the superiors appointed by you, even unto death, as God is our witness.
The SS Oath

Sorry, but this is the only pledge I’ll ever say.

And just in case:

I do solemnly swear, or affirm, that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; pledging my life, my fortune and my sacred honor, so help me God.

And if you still haven’t figured it out: Only subjects pledge to a head of state. We are Citizens!

So I will soon be joining the millions out there without a job. Amazingly enough, rather than bad times almost everybody at my hotel is being sacked because the hotel is going into renovations. The sheer stupidity of shutting down right before the tourist season with at least three major conventions coming to the area during the same season and leaving over a hundred people without jobs has not ran well with the working bees. Hell, people are pissed off and they are vocal about it leaving me wondering if somebody may actually work out his/her anger into a full revenge mode.

Of course the same management that made the decision of sacrificing the goose of the golden eggs has prepared itself in the event of a really pissed-off worker deciding to use them as target practice with the poster pictured above which details how to respond to an active shooter. Also some cute card-sized instructions have been passed along so you can pull you bifocals and read them as soon as you hear the detonations. That and 911 is pretty much all the permitted defense we are entitled to in a Gun Free Zone because as sure a Christ made little apples, Security (Me and my fellow officers) is not going to risk becoming a receptacle of bullets for anybody at work. Callous? you betcha but I kinda value my life first and foremost and unarmed heroics make for a nice obituary and a widow but not much else.

Thankfully in Florida we are allowed to have our weapons secured in our vehicles at work. Not that it will make a whole lot difference if I happen to be one of the first unlucky ones that face an active shooter but if I am spared of the initial volley, I can always make a bee line for the parking lot, retrieve my sidearm and take a defensive posture (And you thought I was going for the heroic shit and save the day? Nope!) It was my custom to leave my vehicle keys in the locker so I would not lose them during the active shift, but after the announcement that we were out, I carry them with me all times. I also try to park as accessible as possible to the work area and my awareness of everything and everybody has grown  a hundered-fold. Still it is a incomplete solution to a serious compounded problem created by silly job and legal politics. Then again it will be over in 2 weeks. Till then, prayer is in the procedures instead of a gun.

Continued from Be Safe In A Hotel.

• If you have a gun for self-defense, keep it to yourself. Most hotel chains are anti-self defense. They do not like guns in their property and will not allow their employees to provide their means for self defense. They even forbid less-than-lethal articles such as pepper spray and stun guns. Pocket knives will send you to Human Resources to pick up your last check and a trip home although I am still amazed that they allow kitchen personnel to have those very long and sharp chef’s knives. As a guest legally carrying a weapon, your best bet is to shut the heck up and keep it from prying eyes. Also, try to keep anything gun related such as shooting accessories or even gun magazines from plain view of the housekeeping workers that come to clean your room. They will call security concerned that a gun nut ready to cause mayhem might be in the room and you will be bothered by managers trying gauge your intentions while one keystroke away from calling 911.

• Take the time to reconnoiter the all the hotel and surrounding areas. Learn from the very basic of knowing where your nearest fire exit is located to asking about the crime rate in the area. Not only check where your fire exit is located, but also you may want to take the stairs all the way down and make sure it gives you a good access to safety in case of evacuation. Check for well illuminated stairs, easy to open doors from floor to floor, make sure that there are no abandoned items that may slow down or interrupt an evacuation or wet surfaces that may cause a slip and fall. Same applies for common areas of the hotel such as bars, restaurants, business center, stores, etc. Look around, see where you would go in case fecal matter hits the cooling apparatus or at least where to get behind hard cover if some nutjob decides to replicate another Mumbai attack. Check for cell phone coverage and make sure to note where the dead spots are located and where you have to go in case you need to dial 911. Ask about crime in the area and be ready to be lied to. Hotels will say that their place and neighborhood and crime free which is absolute bull but you may find one or two employees that will rather see you alive and will inform you of the potential dangers around than seeing you hurt. Under no circumstance believe Concierges and Bell Staff about safe places to eat or visit outside the hotel since they all have deals where they get kickbacks from these establishments. Use online resources to check for crime in the area you will be visiting. Lots of local police & sheriff departments will have a zip code by zip code crime statistic breakdown in their websites. And even if everything checks as safe, you are the only one responsible for your safety so do not let your guard down.
• You are alone, trust your gut. Hotels, outside the lobby and a couple of common areas and during check in and checkout times are desolated places. You may see a hotel worker from time to time in the hallways and maybe another guest, but that will be rare. That means that when you walk from or to your room, the possibility of an ambush is there and you should be very aware of your surroundings. Most hotel rooms nowadays have peepholes in the doors so use them before you step out and make sure nobody suspicious is in the immediate vicinity of your door.  After you open the door, take a couple of seconds and scan the hallway for more any suspicious activity or individuals. Keep an eye on doors not properly closed, specially closets since they are perfect ambush lairs for criminals. It is not widely publicized but rapist and other criminals will look for places to hide and wait for an unsuspecting victim to walk by. If you see something that bothers you, retreat back to your room, call the Front Desk and have them send somebody to check for a suspicious individual. However, the most dangerous part of empty hallways is going back to the room. People are usually tired or distracted or even tipsy after a night of party and they just want to go in the room and lay down. Awareness is less than stellar and all of the sudden you have a gun pointed at your face commanding you to go inside the room where you will be stripped of your goods, your dignity and even your life. If something is amiss, get in a house phone and demand a security escort to your room in a loud and clear voice so anybody in earshot can hear you. Get away safely if you can or look for a fighting position that offers good cover and is defensible.  Again, trust your gut, if something looks dangerous, use your head and your training.