That’s the message from Israeli police and government officials in the wake of a surge of violence there, much of it involving attackers, often Palestinians, armed with knives.”The responsible civilian population — in the framework of the rule of law — has a part to play,” Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said Thursday morning. “We’ve urged Israelis to be vigilant. … Having the civilian population work closely with law enforcement is one of the keys in defeating this threat.”

Source: Israel stabbings: Legally armed civilians have ‘part to play’ – CNN.com

Often I have covered the legal precedent of No Duty to Protect and how police or those in charge of the public order are not legally bound to be our bodyguards.

But there is also the simple fact that it is almost impossible for police to be at the scene of an impending crime and stop it before it happens. The few instances that such event occur, the police was either forewarned or they happened to bump into the event.

Israel has been facing a very dramatic series of knife attacks against its population. And we are talking about a country in a constant heightened state of readiness in both Police and Military but constrained by the same principle of not being able to stop all attacks or even a  majority of them.

Even the best shepherd understands that wolves and other predators will slip through the barriers, get inside the pen and slaughter the herd. There are only so many sheepdogs available to counterattack, so what makes sense to anybody not blinded by the fanaticism “all violence is bad” is to provide fangs and claws to the sheep. Even the toughest of wolves will pause and rethink at the idea of attacking a herd that might have individuals ready to even out the score. Threat of death of grave bodily harm re-structures criminal behavior in the immense majority of cases, an in those that do not, deaths seems like a rightful ending to their misdeeds.

In any situation, you do not wait for the First Responder: you are the First Responder. How do you respond is entirely a personal choice. You can be the victim, do nothing and receive the attack. You can be the helpful victim and call 911 or video record the attack on your smartphone hoping that police retrieves it later and it becomes evidence for the case. Or you can shoot the attacking bastard till he stops being a threat.

Personally, I am too fond of my blood and I like to keep it inside my body. Same for assorted body parts.