What, do you carry a gun to feel safe? Are you so scared of life that you have to carry a weapon everywhere??
➢ Seriously. How often does this question have to be asked?
Okay, fine. I'll answer.
You know how house robbers scout before picking their mark? They look for certain clues, certain visuals that indicate to them a good victim. Why? Because criminals are lazy. They'd rather pick an easy mark than prepare for a difficult mark. That's why house robbers prefer people who are on vacation, for example.
It's also why criminals are vastly in favor of increased gun regulation. They also tend to lean heavily democrat, but that's a story for another time. Side note: want to knock down the chances of a break-in by nearly 100%? Put a pro-NRA sign on your lawn, and a fake security system sticker in your window.
...but we were talking about me carrying a gun on my daily routine, not about me being smart in protecting my home.
In general, a person carrying a gun for self defense purposes will carry that gun for... well.. self defense. But just for fun, let's talk about one of the street crimes that will more commonly come to mind: getting mugged.
Muggers are criminals. And like all criminals, muggers are also lazy, and fond of success. So like all successful criminals, successful muggers target people who have the highest potential to be easy victims, and they use strategies that are the most effective on these easy targets.
"Duh," you may say. "Tell me something I don't know."
Sure. I'll tell you how muggers pick their marks.
Muggers pick people with bad body language who appear unaware of their surroundings.
Muggers us the tools of fear and intimidation to get what they want.
Read that again, and let it sink in. And if that describes you, you should probably work on that.
This is a fairly simple and straightforward formula, but you see... people are incredibly stupid - which is why they wander around all day with their face in their iPhone and hunched shoulders.
The body language is important because people who have poor body language tend to be people who are lower on the social ladder - which means that they are more easily cowed and controlled (sorry to say it. It's true. If you're offended, you're the problem, and should immediately invest in growing a spine.). Lack of situational awareness means that you are easily thrown off guard, and when threatened, will most likely freeze in fear rather than actually defend yourself.
By the way, this is a good time to address a common myth: there is no such thing as a fight-or-flight response. There is, however, a fight-or-flight-or-freeze response. And it's that last response that muggers count on when they pick their target.
This is why I carry a gun, and train with it. This is also why I work on my posture and body language, and try to be aware of my surroundings. Here comes the counter-intuitive part...
I do this not necessarily because I want to be able to shoot any potential muggers dead in their tracks, but because my training makes it far less likely that I will need to do so. By improving my body language and situational awareness and carrying a gun (in my case, I currently open carry), I immediately put myself in the "do not fuck with" category of any mugger I happen to pass. Why?
Because muggers are lazy. And hey, if I happen to come across someone else being mugged, I now have the bonus of being able to stop it, because (surprise) guns trump knives.
In short, I don't carry a gun because I'm scared... I carry a gun because I'm not. I just happen to recognize a good tool when I see it.
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