Would you take matters into your own hands if you were in the middle of a terrorist attack? (enemies, Mexican)
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I actually have experienced ground combat and as strange as it may sound, you do get used to being shot at.
That doesn't sound strange at all. There's an old saying that's applicable here: in an emergency a person doesn't rise to the occasion, he falls to the level of his training. You've had the training and experience that allows you to think and plan while under severe adrenal stress, and if you freeze it will only be for a second, so the second and third options (Play Harriet Tubman, and Go Hunting) are more feasible for you to pull off.
I always imagine myself becoming this 007 badass and killing all the bad guys without even breaking a sweat. What would you do?
Having had guns pointed at my face, poked into my side, surrounding me in a jungle, I know for sure I'm not Bond or Bourne.
I've also had the opportunity to do tactical pistol games with some Navy SEALs and Air Force ParaRescue, and I know I'm not one of those guys, either. Those guys are genetically gifted for what they do, like an Olympic athlete.
I'm mostly depending on the bad guys shooting someone else first to give me a moment to gather my wits. I do practice a degree of situational management wherever I am so that I can make the most of that moment, but I'm not kidding myself that I'll notice the bad guys and make my move before they actually make theirs.
If I'm armed, the purpose for that is defensive--and armed retreat covering myself and anyone I have a moral duty to protect (which would be my wife and daughter). If we can retreat without being seen, we're doing that.
Last edited by Ralph_Kirk; 12-10-2015 at 07:27 AM..
I have no idea. I'm sitting in front of a keyboard, and I've never been 'in the middle of a terrorist attack'. I have enough perspective to understand that I cannot really know how I'd react until I was there.
This I do know - there are a whole lot more "I'll go down fighting tooth and nail!" types online than there are in the real-world when actual terrorist incidents occur. So either the bravest of the brave spend more time online than your average person, or it's a lot easier to talk tough in hypotheticals than it is to act tough when actually faced with the threat of a terrorist attack.
Without SIGNIFICANT training, for the first moments, most humans will freeze, go into a kind of shock when confronted with a situation like a mass shooting. Following that, they will try and run and scramble away.
You have to train yourself to NOT do that - professionals put in hundreds of hours of training to counter-act that natural impulse. Even if you have a CCW and have put in time at the range, that is not the kind of training that will help. Especially if you're firing a handgun, you will only shoot it marginally more accurately than an untrained person in a chaotic situation.
So I don't believe most of the armchair Jason Bournes on here.
Without SIGNIFICANT training, for the first moments, most humans will freeze, go into a kind of shock when confronted with a situation like a mass shooting. Following that, they will try and run and scramble away.
You have to train yourself to NOT do that - professionals put in hundreds of hours of training to counter-act that natural impulse. Even if you have a CCW and have put in time at the range, that is not the kind of training that will help. Especially if you're firing a handgun, you will only shoot it marginally more accurately than an untrained person in a chaotic situation.
And even if you DO have that sort of training, you're only armed with a wussy little handgun. Handguns are primarily defensive weapons, optimized for ease of carry. In every respect that matters in this sort of situation (accuracy, range, stopping power) they are markedly inferior to rifles and shotguns.
For those of you who didn't read the article I linked to, there WAS an armed and highly trained individual at the Nairobi Mall that day; he was a British ex-Marine. The option he quite heroically chose was Play Harriett Tubman; he went into the mall multiple times to get innocent people out. He saved a hundred people's lives! But knowing he was hopelessly outgunned, he didn't try to take on the terrorists mano-a-mano; he used his weapon defensively, only engaging with the terrorists long enough to buy the necessary time for the people he was escorting to get away.
Since my own shooting skills can be summed up as "can hit the broad side of a barn while under mild adrenal stress," I'm not about to try to emulate that hero, and I'm certainly not choosing the option of Go Hunting. I'll get out, and I'll try to get out as many other people as I can get to follow me, but that's as far as I'll be going. If I shoot at a terrorist, it will be because he's between me and the only feasible exit, and that's the last option left. (And I'll probably die attempting it - but if I CAN manage to hit the SOB, maybe some of the other people who are with me will be able to escape. That's not 007, but it's not chopped liver, either.)
I have a fantasy of pulling out one of my handguns and shooting from the floor at their ankles...in the fantasy ...I hit them!
Hahaha...my hands aren't shaking at ALL!
In these terrorist attacks it is best to stop them before they get going like the 3 guys did on the train in Paris and the guard did at the lets draw mohammed cartoon contest.
If the terrorists start shooting it is best to get out of the way, run, hide, barricade and wait for the police to arrive.
If you have a sidearm don't be a Rambo but get ready with it if the shooters find you.
Imagine barricading a door and the shooter is right outside of it intent on getting in. I think even the most liberal anti gun person would be happy that there is a good guy or gal present to put up a fight.
There's nothing much a crazy old lady could do to a strong young man, unless that crazy old lady had a gun and was a good shot. So unless I get a concealed carry and I'm highly trained I will have to run and hide. It's a wonderful fantasy to think of capping one in the head though.
If I'm on an airplane and someone tries to hijack it I would be out of my seat, especially if I could get them from behind. At that point you're probably going to die anyway so I'll go down with a fight.
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