With the holidays coming up and many shopping trips planned in the near future, everyone needs to be aware of their surroundings and not become a victim in a crime of opportunity. This is the first of a series of self defense articles to help keep the holidays a happy time of celebration and giving.
In the self defense world, experts divide the population into three categories: sheep; sheepdogs; and wolves.
Most people are considered to be like sheep, going about their activities not thinking about their surroundings or watching for wolves.
The wolves look for prey that are easy targets; those who are not alert, are isolated from other sheep, and those who appear to be the physically weaker sheep.
Then there are sheepdogs. These know there are real dangers. They have a gift of aggression but would only use it to defend themself or others from the wolf. They are alert and aware of the real dangers. Sheepdogs are not paranoid, but know that real dangers exist. The problem in being a sheepdog, however, is that the sheep are frequently as scared of the sheepdogs as they are the wolf. So, don’t be surprised if friends are not always thrilled about your sheep-doggish-ness. They are just doing what sheep do.
This and following articles in this series will help the reader to be “less edible” to the wolves.
During the holidays, we all do some shopping, whether buying foods for holiday meals or shopping for gifts.
Self defense tips while shopping:
- Always think of what the parking lot will look like when you come out of the store. Will it be dark? Is this where you would park if it were dark now?
- Is there some barrier (i.e., dumpster, sign) someone could hide behind?
- Check to see what number lane you parked in so you can get to your vehicle quickly.
- Do not load up both hands with shopping bags, but leave one free in case you need to push back an attacker; grab your purse; or reach for gun or pepper spray. If you have that much to carry, take a shopping cart which can be a good weapon in itself to ram someone and run.
Another thing to remember is to trust your instincts. The human mind processes approximately one BILLION bits of information a second. It cannot translate all of that into cognitive thought, it’s just too much to handle. Much of it translates into feelings, hair raising on the back of your neck, etc. If you walk into a store and feel you shouldn’t be there, leave. There is nothing they have that some other store doesn’t. It doesn’t mean you are psychic, it means your brain may have been picking up on something subtly that you didn’t consciously notice. Maybe it detected unsavory looking characters. Maybe something that looked out of place, i.e. a man with a coat on when it is 90 degrees; or someone with their hands in the pockets and a hoodie covering their face.
When shopping at many locations, remember to lock your vehicle and hide valuables left inside. Either take them with you or put them out of sight. Placing items in the trunk of a car can prevent a smash and grab car burglary.
Keep the holidays a festive happy time by being aware of your surroundings and observing the simple tips above.
About the author: Wayne Goforth is a Brownwood resident who acts as an NRA instructor for the “Refuse To Be A Victim” seminars (available for your school or business or organization), as well as instructing in various forms of self defense and the use of firearms through his business Castle Keep Services (Facebook ) and www.castlekeepservices.com. Certified and trained by both DPS as well as NRA.
