Mr. Rawles,
The most vital point, I think, of Buckshot’s piece is not that feral dogs will eat us all alive, but that [applying] current attitudes in future scenarios CAN GET YOU KILLED!
You’d better get you mind wrapped around the hard decisions now the best you can. Buckshot is exactly right: if you’re making decisions on the fly as a situation unfolds, you’re dog food. The same goes for any, shall we say, less-than-polite social encounters with humans. ARIES (Autonomic Response In Extreme Stress) is an acronym we used when I taught self-defense. Most guys would pooh-pooh the idea because they were super-fit and could kick you right in the face with ease. They never got the idea of Spiritual Point of Origin, a concept that one attains when you’ve wrestled with all the moral-ethical dilemmas, as well as realizing one’s physical capabilities AND limitations. The “dojo jock” never prepared for any real conflict; it’s all a game, but the minute things changed up, they end up getting the cr*p beat out of them. When you are under stress, you will become much less coordinated, particularly in fine motor skills (read: sight acquisition, operating safety levers, firing-and moving maneuvers) unless they have been practiced to the point of neuro-muscular memory (i.e. second nature). You WILL perform AS you have practiced, not just WHAT you have practiced. Remember, practice DOES NOT make perfect; practice makes permanent what is practiced. Now is the time to deal with the mental aspects of what you will need to keep you and yours, safe and alive, not when the wolves (dog pack, murderous thugs) are at your door. A perfect example is the horrific Manson Family murders: while testifying at their trials the women of Charlie’s lovely little clan complained bitterly how hard it was to kill Sharon Tate, that she pulled their hair and kicked and pushed them away. She possessed the will to fight back, but apparently lacked either the skill to fight effectively, or, more likely, the willingness to injure a fellow human being. Students in self-defense classes get squeamish when the idea of eye-gouging or kicking to the trachea comes up, but in reality, if you’re not willing to do what it takes to win the fight, WHY ARE YOU IN A FIGHT? Better to surrender now, save yourself the beating, and pray that you will be rescued by some unforeseen circumstance. Remember, suspect first, prospect later. You are only paranoid if they’re not out to get you. – Bonehedz