Originally posted by t.nie
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So when do you pull a gun out in a parking lot when confronted by drunks? What is your switch point where you know, "hey, this is going to get violent, time to pull out a gun?" Before the first punch is thrown? Ok, do you know a punch is going to get thrown at all?
You pull the gun first, you just escalated the whole thing and could be charged with threatening someone with a weapon. So then, I guess you wait until you get hit. Ok, then pull the gun out, when some guy is punching the crap out of you and you're trying to not get teeth knocked out, protect your kids, etc? How does that work? In the middle of being attacked, you're going to find your gun and brandish it without losing control of it to the thug(s) trying to beat you up?
Oh, and remember, you just escalated the confrontation from some guys being verbally abusive to deadly force on the force continuum, which skips at least two steps if not three on that continuum. You just made it a life threatening confrontation by bringing a gun to what was essentially an argument. And just by carrying a gun you turn any dispute with anyone into an armed confrontation, because you brought the gun.
You should do some "scenario" training sometime and get put into these kinds of situations and see how fast it can escalate out of control and you can get yourself killed with your own gun. Or someone else's knife. I've done it, and it's an eye opener for sure. Things happen way faster than you can imagine.
Oh and one other thing. Shooting someone doesn't necessarily stop them at all. Some people get shot in confrontations and don't even know it. So that gun isn't a guarantee of anything except making a bad situation way worse. There are very limited situations and circumstances where a gun is useful. But it isn't going to stop people in most situations, and in some cases, it's just going to make them even more aggressive.
The truest statement yet on this subject. "It's impossible to know how things will turn out" and you could stop there. Period. And those pond scum have no way of knowing who's carrying or not, and drunk they don't even think about it. You're about as likely to get yourself killed or at a minimum get ready for a lot of legal bills pulling out a gun in these situations.
Here's what my suggestion would have been to Wallace. Keep your head down, mouth shut, move away from people who are being loud and obnoxious, try to get near a larger group who aren't drunk or looking like redneck trash, keep your distance and avoid the problem. Don't talk to anyone in a parking lot anywhere, ever, for any reason. Be alert, vigilant and watch people and how they are acting and avoid the loud, rowdy, etc.
Keep your eyes open on the edges of where you are for people who are looking around for a victim. I can't tell you the amount of times I have seen people in public places scoping things out, looking for people who were not paying attention to maybe try and rob them. Just looking for people not paying attention to their surroundings, sizing up who would be a soft target. I've lived and worked in the hood or in inner city areas where people have been stabbed/shot in parking lots, etc, so I have seen a lot of the seedier side of life and the people who commit crime.
Guns aren't nearly as effective as keeping your distance, being aware of your surroundings and staying away from people who are even remotely looking like they might be trouble. That's my take. Like the Bible says "see trouble and flee." Nothing cowardly about keeping yourself and your family safe and in one piece without confrontation. To me, that's just being smart.
You pull the gun first, you just escalated the whole thing and could be charged with threatening someone with a weapon. So then, I guess you wait until you get hit. Ok, then pull the gun out, when some guy is punching the crap out of you and you're trying to not get teeth knocked out, protect your kids, etc? How does that work? In the middle of being attacked, you're going to find your gun and brandish it without losing control of it to the thug(s) trying to beat you up?
Oh, and remember, you just escalated the confrontation from some guys being verbally abusive to deadly force on the force continuum, which skips at least two steps if not three on that continuum. You just made it a life threatening confrontation by bringing a gun to what was essentially an argument. And just by carrying a gun you turn any dispute with anyone into an armed confrontation, because you brought the gun.
You should do some "scenario" training sometime and get put into these kinds of situations and see how fast it can escalate out of control and you can get yourself killed with your own gun. Or someone else's knife. I've done it, and it's an eye opener for sure. Things happen way faster than you can imagine.
Oh and one other thing. Shooting someone doesn't necessarily stop them at all. Some people get shot in confrontations and don't even know it. So that gun isn't a guarantee of anything except making a bad situation way worse. There are very limited situations and circumstances where a gun is useful. But it isn't going to stop people in most situations, and in some cases, it's just going to make them even more aggressive.
The truest statement yet on this subject. "It's impossible to know how things will turn out" and you could stop there. Period. And those pond scum have no way of knowing who's carrying or not, and drunk they don't even think about it. You're about as likely to get yourself killed or at a minimum get ready for a lot of legal bills pulling out a gun in these situations.
Here's what my suggestion would have been to Wallace. Keep your head down, mouth shut, move away from people who are being loud and obnoxious, try to get near a larger group who aren't drunk or looking like redneck trash, keep your distance and avoid the problem. Don't talk to anyone in a parking lot anywhere, ever, for any reason. Be alert, vigilant and watch people and how they are acting and avoid the loud, rowdy, etc.
Keep your eyes open on the edges of where you are for people who are looking around for a victim. I can't tell you the amount of times I have seen people in public places scoping things out, looking for people who were not paying attention to maybe try and rob them. Just looking for people not paying attention to their surroundings, sizing up who would be a soft target. I've lived and worked in the hood or in inner city areas where people have been stabbed/shot in parking lots, etc, so I have seen a lot of the seedier side of life and the people who commit crime.
Guns aren't nearly as effective as keeping your distance, being aware of your surroundings and staying away from people who are even remotely looking like they might be trouble. That's my take. Like the Bible says "see trouble and flee." Nothing cowardly about keeping yourself and your family safe and in one piece without confrontation. To me, that's just being smart.
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