Rules for this particular post: Keep the political/sociological/etc stuff out. This is just an exercise on Self-Defense planning. Any comment going into other than self-defense will be deleted without mercy.
Do watch the video on its entirety as you may find some attacks rather nasty and quite violent. Lessons to learn.
This is a very clear demonstration of the concept of Disparity of Force. Multiple attackers on a 360 degree field does not get any worse. How do we go about defending ourselves from it?
It goes without saying that you better be carrying some sort of weapon. After that, my first thoughts went to “Don’t fall” and “Reduce the field at least to 180 degrees. Shorter if possible.” The video shows how the attackers swarmed over the victims once they went horizontal on the ground and some of the “moves” I would consider to be well into the realm of death or grave bodily harm (the froggy-jumpy move whatever is called in fighting circles.) In cases of high stress, we will go into tunnel vision and that will reduce what we see to a very narrow angle plus we don’t have eyes on the back of our heads so finding a location where our backs are safe from attack has to be a priority, even before reaching for the gun.
Aftermath: Here is where it gets funky. You know you had to defend yourself and now there are a couple of miscreants (poor unarmed toddlers… that is what the media will call them) with ballistic body piercings on the way to the hospital/morgue. Do not count on the fellas with the smartphones recording the events to suddenly have an attack of righteousness, go to the cops and turn in the exculpatory evidence. It ain’t gonna happen. If anything they will turn into witnesses saying all kinds of things to make it look like you came after them as they were practicing songs for the upcoming Gospel Choir competitions to be held in the Vatican next week.
I know the old mantra of stupid places-stupid things-stupid prizes, but sometimes you don’t have a chance or simply trouble comes where you are. I am starting to think that it would be a great idea if we have our own unobtrusive video/audio recording device like the Scorpion Micro DV Recorder and fire it up at the first whiff of trouble.
Any other options? Any other strategies? Pepper spray perhaps? I am not an expert and I have my doubts about it, but I have been wrong before.
Let it rip and discuss amongst yourselves.
We need personal bodyguard robots. (sigh)
I have a couple “tactical” thoughts on this kind of scenario. Your first two suggestions – “Don’t fall” and “Reduce the field” – top my list, too. Beyond that:
– If there is a way to get away, take it! Lord knows “people” (I use the term loosely) like this probably deserve an intended victim to unexpectedly issue a royal beatdown, but if you don’t HAVE to be that person, DON’T!
– If there’s no way to escape, bottle-neck them. It’s not as easy as it sounds, but if possible, move laterally so that as few as possible can reach you simultaneously, or that they have to cross or go around some obstacle to get to you. Their strength-in-numbers is mitigated somewhat if only one can reach you at a time. Note that this does not override the “Reduce the field” suggestion.
I’d also clarify the “Don’t fall” to “Keep your feet.” It certainly keeps the spirit of not falling, but also includes not being picked up, thrown (like one poor sap in the video), and/or knocked off-balance.
And for God’s sake, carry a damn weapon!
Keep the political sociological stuff out. The very premise of the article needs to be deleted then. Also, that politi-socio stuff you seem to dislike, will get you more site visits if people can discuss. On the web, more visits = more money = more popular, so might want to switch to print media, since that is working out so well lately…
The point about keeping that BS out is for people to discuss what choices or strategies can be used in case they are faced with a situation like this. If you are suddenly facing a mob bent on tattooing their sneakers on your face, you better have a response other than the talking points of your favorite political action movement.
There is also the approach of trying to grab the easiest one from the crowd around you (if you can’t escape) and using them for leverage. Maybe as a shield.
I carry a small can of pepper foam (this here http://www.coldsteelarizona.com/p/31/inferno-25-oz) for situations like this. I would only employ it as an “area effect” weapon, spraying down several attackers at once with a quick sweep across their faces. I also carry a gun and a big damn knife. If it’s anything more than one on one, disparity of force exists, and your life is in danger.
Keep moving. If you stop they will swarm on you, encircle you, and beat you down.
In a situation like several shown in the video where there are multiple attackers and you have no immediate exit, and/or they will pursue you as you try to retreat, blasting a handful with pepper spray or foam, and then following up on any that don’t immediately go down with a firearm would be a completely reasonable and logical thing to do.
I’d much rather fight that battle out in a court room than fight for my life in intensive care, or watch one of my loved ones do so.
Why would I shoot an unarmed teenager?
Self-defense, plain and simple. I am not the spring chicken that I once was and would rather not go toe to toe with a young man with more strength than brains. As a man who has a few physical limitations a physical altercation would not turn out well for me. That is why I try like crazy to avoid craziness and stupidity and practice hard to make sure my first two rounds take the fight out of any attacker. I don’t want to shoot anyone but my wife and small children deserve to have me around (if only to squish spiders and change diapers) for as long they can.
I’m a grandmother with asthma and arthritis. I face things that make me afraid so I might not be paralyzed with it if somehow such a situation develops with me as the target. This pack behavior is in my top 5. The micro video recorder is a very good idea – there’s no way I could decipher my recollections of such an attack. As I get older I limit my exposure to any remotely compromising behaviors and locations. Other than that? I will not bunker, and I am thankful I can choose to defend myself rather than just being required to be a victim. I know that predators always choose the least threatening prey – and I don’t look intimidating to anyone, even my cat.
Anybody else thinks Trish’s grand-kids are very well behaved around her? 😀
I carry a small air horn I use when canoeing. It fits neatly into a pocket and is more effective in dealing with humans than dogs – though pepper spray saved me from being bitten by a drug dealer’s rottie – it signals your presence and disorients. Tweakers blow through pepper spray, so do PCP users. I know that first hand. An old flash unit I used to use on my Nikon 35mm helped me escape a neatly executed 2-on-1 mugging before I figured out the air horn – I had the flash in a raincoat pocket. They came from around two opposing cars and were within 8 feet at 180 degrees but closed to face me with my back up against my car. That one time the flash (it was a 4 AA cell unit about the size of an old calculator) was a perfect way to get away.
A determined group would be very, very difficult for me to bottleneck. Any option that could level the odds seem to have to be viewed with consequences: if there’s any break in their approach and I take that advantage then there’s blood and that makes everything slippery – but it proves non-lethal response and could give me a second to see if it registers and they leave.
Pros, or real criminals are the real danger.
Remember the old(ish) movie The Warriors? Some of the kids were from my high school – and they looked no different in the film than they did in school. That dates me.
My school of hard knocks. Pros can be in their early teens – unmedicated mental health issues, with a history of violence. Bored, fit, and violent without other cause. Some people are just mean and stay mean and steering clear of them always makes for a better day – and I’ve seen them in all shapes, colors, and settings. There’s no easy stereotype, I think.
Growing older means I have to think things through to have a chance at staying calm through whatever comes my way. If I absolutely have to fight, though, I’ll follow a long-time acquaintances’ advice: I’ll fight like a cornered cat.
The combination of children from dysfunctional homes, substance abuse, and America’s culture of media violence has created a dangerous situation for everyone living in America, especially those who may look like an easy victim. A fourteen year old with a weapon can kill you just as quick as a thirty year old, so people need to rethink their strategies based on that fact. If you search the net, you will find out that all sorts of adults are being beat down and killed by what the media views as kids. With youth gangs flourishing, the need to find someone to beat down/rob for rep has increased greatly. Gun Shy has personally experienced situations like these in both Miami and Orlando in the last few years, and fortunately for the young thugs, they made the smart choice, which was to disengage.
Note from GFZ: Apparently I was not clear enough about leaving the political stuff out?
Here is a commentary that may be of interest to your readers:
http://aroundotown.blogspot.com/2008/11/tips-for-surviving-in-dangerous-urban.html
[…] in the post Why would anybody shoot unarmed teens? we see again the importance of not falling to the ground during an attack. Not that the victim had […]
I’m unable to watch thee video on my iPhone because the video requires flash. Can you provide an iPhone-friendly link?
Facebook video… that is all I get