A John Farnam “Quip” – July 7, 2017
A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance, when the need for illusion is deep.
Saul Bellow
It represents enormous conceit to believe that police can do anything to stop crime, particularly violent crime. What we do is deter/displace it. We discourage it at a particular moment, and thus move it to other places. That’s about it! There is nothing we can do to make people obey the law. All we can do is make them wish they had. In most of Western Civilization, our tools for accomplishing the latter are extremely limited and largely ineffective, and becoming less effective all the time!
As individual Operators, we can make ourselves, our routine, and our personal environment, as invisible and unattractive as we are able, to both conventional criminals and violent leftist political ideologues. There is little we can do to influence world events, which are currently more than a little frightening and ominous.
Something every Infantry Officer learns early in his career: Any position can be taken, when the attacker is willing to pay the price. Thus, sufficient determination and commitment will overcome all access controls. When VCAs must be physically stopped, you will have no choice but to personally, decisively effect the stopping. You’ll get dirty, maybe wet!
Proactive security is mostly myth. Some still insist that people with evil, violent intent can somehow be detected shortly before they carry out their terrible crimes. Mostly wishful thinking, and false positives create all kinds of civil-rights issues!
The only reliable predictor of individual future behavior is individual past behavior. Best advice is to have nothing to do with people who have displayed toxic behavior in the past. Get away from them, and get them out of your life!
To reiterate:
1) The only authentic first responders to precipitous, violent criminal acts, are prospective victims directly at the scene, at the critical moment. Even then, they are effective in preventing/limiting carnage only when armed, trained, alert, and pivotally decisive.
2) Imagining that it is possible to predict/prevent spasmodic, violent criminal acts through scientific preemptive measures represents a fatal fantasy. Don’t bet your life on it.
3) Imagining that access control, no matter how sophisticated nor formidable, will suffice to protect you from harm, represents another fatal fantasy.
4) Imagining that police/security personnel will arrive in the nick of time represents yet another fatal fantasy.
5) Imagining that it is somehow immoral to effectively defend oneself, including the precise application of deadly force, is a foolish concession to naive liberals/leftists. Liberals are only too anxious to sacrifice the lives of others (but never their own), in order to preserve their sensibilities.
6) Only the well-armed, well-trained, aware, and otherwise well-prepared have any chance of living through a violent attack by traditional VCAs, or as we’re seeing in increasing numbers, violent leftist ideologues.
“There are only two kinds of men in this world: Honest men and dishonest men. Any man who says the world owes him a living is dishonest. The same God who made you and me made this Earth. And, He planned it so that it would yield every single thing that people on it need. But, He was careful to plan it so that it would yield up its wealth only in exchange for honest labor. Who insist on sharing that wealth, while contributing nothing, are dishonest.”
Ralph Moody
/John
John S. Farnam, president of Defensive Training International, is one of the top handgun instructors in the world. He has personally trained thousands of federal, state and local law enforcement personnel, as well as non-police, in the serious use of firearms. In addition, he has authored four books on the subject The Farnam Method of Defensive Handgunning, The Farnam Method of Defensive Shotgun and Rifle Shooting, The Street Smart Gun Book, and Guns & Warriors DTI Quips Volume 1. (For all book orders, contact Vicki at[email protected])
Thank you for the truth and letting me know what harm can be headed my way. With the warning I can find out what I need to do to protect my and my family. Unfortunately various church leaders want to have protocol followed before we are willing to listen to the harm that can he headed our way.