The following is my essay that explains the 2nd Amendment, with the issues distilled down to essential truths.
The right to keep and bear arms is a God-given right to self defense against any source who would force their unlawful will on you. Whether that is to violate your person, relieve you of your property, or physically attack you, or as an extension, to protect others in the same dire situation. For such a right to be capable of performing in the real world it would have to be able to meet a threatening force with an equal or greater force. Enough force capable of diffusing or ending the present threat.
I will illustrate how you in essence have two parties: One we will call “Perp” (Perpetrator) and the other we will call “Innocent”. These labels could be substituted with other words: Nazis versus Jews, or Lords versus Peasants, or Bureaucrats versus Patriots. But you get the point.
So, the scenario is that Perp approaches Innocent and demands something that Innocent is not obligated or required to provide. Perp is trying to force their will on Innocent without cause or justification. The demand is usually motivated by greed, lust, hate, a quest for power, or just plain old meanness. But it matters not, the demand is there. What will innocent do?
Basically, Perp wants to control Innocent to perform or provide for them. Perp wants something for nothing and will use force to get it, if needed. The verbal demand from Perp is met with an equal and opposite verbal response, which often is simply “No”. Perp insists, Innocent again says “No”, Perp escalates the situation from a demand into a threat of physical force. Innocent responds with another “No!”, which is often immediately followed by physical, perhaps deadly force.
The Innocent has four responses or choices during this violent escalation. At the beginning of this threat four responses will be discussed in this imaginary scenario:
Response 1- Force – Meet with equal or greater force so that Perp stops, retreats, or ends the violence. AKA “stop the threat”.
Response 2- Defer – Wait for (or expect) others, usually the authorities, to respond to Perp with equal or greater force to stop the threat.
Response 3- Run or Escape – If possible or practical.
Response 4- Compliance – Meet Perps demand with the action requested.
Some Complicating Issues
There are some issues with each response, and they are as follows (although there may be more):
Response 1- Force – Since Innocent is not sure what the response to a little force will be from Perp, how much force should
Innocent use? Innocent needs to use at least an amount of force to stop the threat. Is Innocent strong enough to apply the physical amount of force required to stop Perp? If Innocent is not strong enough, does Innocent have tools that can provide the necessary force? Would there even be a way to show force without actually applying that force to its fullest extent? (By the way, there is.) And will equal or greater force always work?
Response 2- Deferring – Innocent has no guarantee someone else will help. How long will it take for help to come while deferring, will it come in time to prevent loss of life, limb, or property? When and if help responds will it be enough force to stop Perp? Will deferring always work?
Response 3- Run or Escape – Innocent has no guarantee they can outrun Perp. Is there a safe place to run to? If Innocent runs, then will Perp ambush Innocent later and in such a manner that Innocent can’t escape or run? Will Innocent always be able to run? Will running always work?
Response 4- Compliance/Surrender – Innocent has no guarantee that compliance will be the end of the demands from Perp. If Innocent complies, then will Perp respond by demanding the same or more, next time? Is Perp capable of and willing to kill Innocent to silence them and prevent retaliation and a report to the authorities? Compliance may lead to severe hardship, trauma, slavery, or death for Innocent.
Perp might weigh Innocent’s motive, which would be driven by fear or terror of a recurrence of their threat. It might go something like this: When this demand is met, will Innocent report it to others who might become Perps next victims or to those that would stop, confine, or kill Perp? In the final analysis, will compliance always work?
Of all the foregoing potential responses the only one that works almost all the time is #1 – to meet force with equal or greater force. By this I don’t mean showing force and then complying or surrendering.
It’s all about CONTROL
Why does force work? Because it’s all about control of a situation.
Force is the only response that allows the potential for a transfer of control from Perp to Innocent. And according to statistics just showing deadly force can diffuse or eliminate a deadly threat. We can find many examples of innocent people just displaying the will to use a firearm resulting in the end of a robbery, rape, or other altercation.
Deferring does nothing to transfer control from Perp to Innocent. When seconds count, we know the authorities are many minutes away. And in rural settings they may be hours away. In remote settings you have to go and get the authorities. Forget about them coming or even knowing that your problem exists.
Running does nothing to transfer control from Perp to Innocent. It merely shows or demonstrates who is the hunter and who is the hunted. Or, who is in control.
Complying does nothing to transfer control from Perp to Innocent. It gives complete control to Perp and often encourages Perp to do more of the same in the future. Compliance or surrender rewards Perp for bad behavior. Compliance may also put Innocent in a more dangerous situation if demands lead to isolation, kidnapping, or worse.
The beauty of the Second Amendment
The 2nd Amendment is about self defense and situational control, both privately and publicly. Show me an out of control government and I’ll show you a government that has a monopoly or near monopoly on coercive deadly force.
This understanding of force is why most, if not all, of the folks that preach against anyone having a right to defense via the 2nd Amendment (an instrument of force) have recourse to their own personal force. This personal force is there to deal with unreasonable demands from others, like Perp in the above scenario. It may not always prevent violence from starting, but it will surely stop violence from continuing. When “No” doesn’t work, force does, it’s the ultimate in your face “No”. These cowards know perfectly well how the 2nd Amendment works. But to allow them to control you they don’t want you to have that same option of force.
This is why nations have armies, this is why governments at all levels (federal, state, county, city) and even many bureaucracies, have some kind of police or military style deadly force in tow. When another nation wants what your nation has and uses force to invade and take it, force works. It works as the ultimate “No”, and it works as the ultimate tool for thieves and tyrants. So, the military strength of a nation stands as a deterrent to invaders, to those who would use force to take what is not theirs.
This is why many government leaders constantly have Secret Service and special protection details that are armed to the teeth. Because deferring to the local police (or waiting for “rescue”) to protect them doesn’t work. And because it doesn’t, these folks have their own police forces at the ready. When the deferred protection takes too long, a portable force at your disposal works.
County police (sheriffs and their deputies in the USA) are the only level of police that are elected by the will of the people governed. Study this, you will find some interesting things regarding authority there. And there is accountability when the people have a say in who their police are.
Despots Rule by Terror
Despotic governments and dictators have learned that violent, deadly, unaccountable force (also known as terror) works very well to cement their agenda and dominance! It is why many of these folks sucker other nations into giving them aid – which they use for their armies and spare very little for the people this aid is intended to help. They are too busy building up their force (power base) to bother with the needs of the people.
This is also why overweight, lazy, and/or out of shape celebrities, who can’t run, or are too weak to protect themselves hire bodyguards. Because when fight or flight kicks in, and you’re too out of shape to fight or too fat to run, force works.
These hypocrites usually have at their beck and call response #1, as discussed above. They have violent, deadly, and sometimes unaccountable force. They preach and expect all others to always defer to police. They preach that while waiting for police you can run. And if you can’t run just comply, and if you can possibly escape then don’t even think about defending yourself with deadly force. They really don’t like the competition when it comes to their monopoly on deadly force.
And this is why we have the Founders’ wisdom in outlining the 2nd Amendment in our founding documents. Because when it comes to unreasonable, unethical, demeaning, illegal demands from criminals, kooks or government (I know, that’s redundant) deferring, running, and compliance doesn’t work. It merely encourages bullies, criminals, and governments to demand more and more from the innocent populace until liberty is dead and we are all slaves of the state! Because when peaceful means or civil disobedience fails to change corrupt leaders, as a last resort – force works.
righteous force versus evil force
And this is what those who oppose the 2nd Amendment hope we will forget. They hope we forget the truth that righteous force works against violent, evil force. The kind of unlawful force from people demanding things they ought not from innocent, civil, peaceful people.
They hope we will forget force works because when they acquire a monopoly on force we are finished, freedom is finished, liberty is finished, and civilized society governed by law is finished! Then they can do as they please without any opposing force to stop them from imposing their will and control on everyone.
The birth of America is proof that righteous force works! The expansion of certain religious elements around the world is proof that, even unrighteous force works, to a degree. And the ultimate end of human government in the Bible is proof that righteous force works. The Lord isn’t charging back into the world with lollipops and butterflies! On the next visit He is bringing His Sword! Even when righteousness, love,and true tolerance is rejected, force – properly applied – works.
Amen, brother, amen. And they are not going to wait while you go home, unlock the gun safe, load the weapon and come back. The only defensive weapon is the one you carry! Anything else you might as well not even own.
I work at a small rural grocery/gas/convenience store owned by a woman. She carries and encourages the employees, also women, to carry. Open or concealed, our choice. In the three years she has had the store it has NEVER been robbed. Even when last summer a guy started in the town north of us and robbed the Circle K, then came to our wide spot in the road and robbed the Family Dollar. Skipped us. Skipped the next store at the next wide spot in the road which is privately owned and encourages the employees to carry and robbed the Dollar General across the street. Then continued on to the next town to rob a store there.
The simple fact that the community knows there is a high probability we are carrying is enough to deter theives and violence. This is the premise that socialist/liberal/Democrats do not or choose not to understand.
Your store’s gun policy is an effort to harden the target to encourage the criminal to move on to an easier target. We do it when we put up fences, we put alarms on our houses, banks build strong safes, banks hire security guards, etc. This strategy of arming employees works when the intent of the attacker is to use his weapon to threaten and intimidate with no real intent to actually use it. If you are threatened by a perpetrator who has no qualms about using their weapon for violence, the playing field would be level or a disadvantage to you. The perpetrator already knows his limits and has his plans. They will shoot or attack without warning when they have the advantage, when you least expect it, maybe distracted by another customer or a cohort. There is a reason preppers are encouraged to group together to guard a compound. Think like your enemy. Next, are you well trained? Have you mastered dealing with adrenaline? Do you practice regularly? If the answers to my questions are no, you could be relying on threats and intimidation like the attacker. Guns or having a gun does not provide protection. Guns are only a tool. Their effectiveness is dependent on the skills and training of the user, and most gun owners overestimate the skills and thus the protection a gun can provide in their hands. Overestimating your safety leads to underestimating your risks and not mitigating them enough.
I like this article. It stresses the ability to enforce the word, “NO”.
I was once asked by a woman in my area why my wife carries a pistol. My response was easy: “My wife is very picky who she sleeps with.” it is the ultimate expression of free will.
This letter is worth printing and framing, and hanging on the wall!
The right to self defense is indeed God given. Man is a tool maker. Using tools for self defense, whether a rock, a stick, a club, an arrow, a firearm – the method by which self defense occurs matters not. The second amendment enshrines the principal of the God given right to use the best tools of the time in ones self defense against aggressors, or tyrants, or beasts – the against whom matters not, only that it is in defense of other God given rights.
Idaho Department of Transportation??!!
WNC, when insulting people about their intelligence, perhaps you should put in enough effort to actually spell I-D-I-O-T correctly… Or, maybe, not make insults (unless, of course, you have no case). Perhaps Our Nation’s decline in civility is not due to “them” but to >us< ??
I agree with the premise of this article. The use of force or a believable show of force that convinces the perp of the innocent’s willingness to use force can decide the issue and keep the perps from imposing their will. The big question is when to use force or a show of force. In many cases the ‘when’ is self evident. Most of the self evident cases involve a bad guy threat to my person, family, or possessions. There are other cases where the use of force or a show of force is not so clear. Many of these cases involve the civil or governmental authorities. That begs the question: When is it appropriate to use force or a show of force when the ‘perp’ is the duly appointed and recognized civil governmental authority. Where is the line when the police or sheriff’s deputies are enforcing the will of the local government? The article stated “Because when peaceful means or civil disobedience fails to change corrupt leaders, as a last resort – force works”. Great. Are we there yet? When is it OK to oppose law enforcement officers doing their jobs? What does that look like? And for those who argue that the time is NOW … will you be the first to take up arms and make a stand? Will you be in the right if you do? Is there a better way?
I’m a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment, “by which all other rights and freedoms survive”. I agree with the thoughts presented above. However, I want to stress a particular category of thought that must be respected even when it’s frustrating. While sometimes there are situations that are CLEARLY The Good, and others that are clearly The Evil, often it’s complex and incomplete. What if a decent person, working hard to build family and community, help the less fortunate and serve the greater good (and thus I’ll define as a “Patriot”) has different ideas on the path forward than you do? Can more than one philosophy be worthy?? Can only one philosophy be right for everyone?? And how do we respect other Patriots’ ideas while we all strive, each in our own ways, to make the world a better place?! I fear ANY absolutist ideas, values, loyalty tests and societal pressures to the exclusion of all else. They are at least part-Evil for rejecting the good judgement of decent people who happen to disagree over methods and strategies. Are ALL conservative motivations wholesome and good while ALL liberal ideas are evil and deliberately trying to destroy the country??!! Maybe, just maybe, those folks want to build a just and healthy community every bit as much as you/we/I do?…
“I fear ANY absolutist ideas, values, loyalty tests and societal pressures to the exclusion of all else.”
You and Jesus wouldn’t get along. Jesus said there are absolutes… “There’s only the lost and found in any pocket of human history”. John the Revelator stated, “They’re only Christ principles and antichrist principles.” Absolute. The patriot was just another name for the born again Christian in colonial times. In other words upholding the patriot values absolute, is what Jesus upholds in heaven. All other principles outside of Christian principles need to be expunged from planet Earth. In fact Jesus is coming back at the end of the apocalypse to do just that. He’s going to toss all antichrist principled souls into the pit of hell. That is for the devil is going also.
There are absolutes sir. To make a statement that there are no absolutes on either side of the spectrum is in fact standing upon sand, nothing. Jesus said take a stand, after all these Marxists in America are taking a stand.
These liberals in Congress, the antichrist principled souls in the Democratic Party, are writing antichrist principled laws every day through congressional hearings. Their laws are upheld by law enforcement, which are upheld by firearms.
The jist of this article, the founding fathers premise who built the nation upon Christian principles, is to use firearms when needed to uphold Christian principles. After all the liberal left are utilizing law-enforcement firearms to uphold antichrist principle laws.
That’s the line drawn right there.
Well JD, you are illustrating my point. I strive to be a good person every day (I fail too much, too often but make some progress). I consider myself obligated to follow a strong moral and ethical code. Is my code superior to yours? Is yours superior to mine or others? Remember JD, there are over 200 Christian sects in the USA with over 100,000 congregations. I bow to your expertise on the Bible but there are oodles of various translations, and oodles of good Christians reading each in their own way.They are NOT all are in lock step. Is yours the MOST Holy and true?? Should a Christian Bureau of Truth rank each of them? If so, who would accept that?! Life is full of variable and shifting circumstances. I fall back on my moral code to figure out how to cope with a new challenge, just as you refer to your preferred version of the Bible. I see too much hatred and intolerance from folks convinced they stand on the summit of righteousness. What does the Bible say about that? Meanwhile, I hope we can accept that good people are out there striving to do good deeds, even if they’re in a different group than ours. THAT’s my point.
GeoGuy…when one examines the Scriptures one can see there are absolutes….Jesus said ,” I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me .” ( John 14:6 ) …in Acts 10:1-3 one reads the account of Cornelius … “ a devout man…feared God… gave alms generously… prayed to God always “ … sounds like a man who follows a strong moral and ethical code and was a praying man… yet Peter was sent to Cornelius “ to testify that it is He ( Jesus ) who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead…that through His name whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins “ ( Acts 10:42-43 ) …Peter had the revelation from The Father as to who was Jesus ( Matthew 16:17 ) … Paul had the Damascus road encounter with Jesus (Acts 9 ) and Paul goes on to state “ But when it pleased God … to reveal His Son in me that I might preach Him ( Galatians 1:15-16 ) …what WE ALL must fall back on is “ the Word became flesh and dwelt among us “ (John 1:14 ) … Jesus is the absolute… Jesus promised “ the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name He will teach you all things ( John 14:26 )…this is the plan for how men are to live with each other… there is an absolute and His name is Jesus ( Philippians 2:9-11)
GeoGuy, I agree with your stance on asking who has the “correct” Christianity. Of course, each of us is convinced we are right. Many conflicts flow from that.
I, as others, like to choose those quotes from Jesus that support my position. We humans do that.
John 13:34-35 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Matthew25, 43-46
43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
Jude 17-20 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Keep Yourselves in the Love of God
17 But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, 18 that they were saying to you, “In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.” 19 These are the ones who cause divisions, [a]worldly-minded, [b]devoid of the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.
Let us all Keep ourselves in the Love of God, no matter which of us is right.
Carry on, in grace
I sincerely appreciate the thoughtful and loving responses to my remarks. Thank you for your “gentle guidance” toward relevant scriptures! You’ll probably see that I’m being dodgy about my precise religious beliefs, and that’s to keep from distracting from my point. Frankly, I’m concerned when ANY person or group feels justified in, to paraphrase the comments from JD, gunning down anyone who does not follow the “correct” version of [Christianity, or whatever]. WHO decides which version is The Truth? What if God is Catholic or Baptist or Mormon or Hindu or ….. ?? To me, such self-righteousness is always wrong, damaging and directly EVIL. Similar to what dictators say. Doesn’t scripture say a thing or 2 about ONLY God being qualified to pass judgement on others? Isn’t it each Christian’s job to make sure >they< strive to follow God & Jesus' teaching and standards, maybe promote their religion to others but then stand back, not worry what others are doing or not, and let God decide who burns in Hell? But I won't attempt to out-quote the Bible to anyone because I am no expert. I wasn't "triggered" by the concept of absolutes, but rather by the ego/gall/audacity of some who think they're qualified to judge their fellow, also-flawed humans.
The 2 sentences I expected responses on were "I see too much hatred and intolerance from folks convinced they stand on the summit of righteousness.", and "I hope we can accept that good people are out there striving to do good deeds, even if they’re in a different group than ours." I'm a smart guy but I understand that NONE of us have all the answers, no matter what your beliefs are. So, humility might be more, um, Christian.
Either Hugh or James said sometime in the past year or two that he'd be fine with a person of different [faith. color, background, age, education – frankly I can't remember what] joining his retreat group if they proved to be trustworthy, hardworking, of good character etc. What more can we ask of each other??!! Can't good people work together, even if we don't share exactly every philosophical item on someone's master check list? Do Christians come with a rating system??!! If so, what's your score? 😉
Thank you for considering my suggestions. Stay well!!
RCB5472TN, thank you for the truth. When Jesus came up out of the water, after John the Baptist baptized him, the Bible says that the Holy Spirit came down from heaven like a dove. It was the first time in world history that the Holy Spirit entered the earth for all to harness.
The New Testament is replete with scripture on that the Holy Spirit will guide your steps, meaning if you are in tune with the Holy Spirit you will have absolute truth in your walk. You don’t need to know what gospel version is right, whether the Dead Sea scrolls back up the Old Testament, or whether the new living translation is better than the King James version, or whether the Geneva Bible that the pilgrims used is the inherent word of God. It sounds like you two gentlemen, once a Marine, and Geoguy, may have some issues in walking in the Spirit of Christ.
There is a scripture that says when you’re questioned someday to keep your mouth shut because the Holy Spirit will do your speaking for you – Luke 21:15. You don’t need to know what version of the Bible is correct, the Holy Spirit will be your truth.
To clarify from my earlier post… I am talking about the blatant antichrist principles written until laws in this country.
Homosexuality is a sin, it is not to be written under the definition of a Christian marriage.
Abortion is murder.
Women are to have no authority over man, God granted man to have spiritual authority over women. Spiritual authority means all authority. Feminism is a sin- women are not to be equal to men nor are they to become men.
Socialism is antichrist principled. That includes communism, Marxism, Nazism, leftism, because God does not do a number account in heaven and dole out rewards equally. God judges every individual soul, by themselves, and doles out rewards individually according to their individual good works.
I can go on and on, but maybe I will write an article and submitted to survival blog.
Jeff D, I clearly do not agree with your superiority opinion. You are presumptuous to “divine” that my steps are wrong because you don’t recognize where my inner spirit voice is coming from. I’m fine with that. You follow your path, I’ll do my best to follow the correct path for me (even tho frankly it can be “dang” difficult at times). I don’t even care that there are millions of liberal Christians that must surely think you are an angry and sad person following a false path. Maybe they’re wrong. or maybe they’re right for themselves but not for you. I’m not about to second guess God’s big plans. But I’m pretty sure your judgements are best focused on your own issues before you look further. Again, I stress that good people should include humility among their better qualities.
I have made my points, and I regret feeling personal about some of our exchanges.So I will withdraw from further comments. My remarks stand or fall on their merits. Thank you all for caring about Our Nation’s future – participation by citizens is crucial!
One final remark; JD, I think it would be awesome if someday, after “fighting side-by-side” together , we were surprised to discover that you were JD and I was GeoGuy AFTER we had earned each other’s trust and brotherhood (albeit perhaps not worshiping in the same church). We share many values – don’t lose track of what’s crucial (and it might include more than just religious sects). Best wishes
@GeoGuy- “I see too much hatred and intolerance from folks convinced they stand on the summit of righteousness.” Tolerance is no virtue when it comes to moral behavior. Tolerance is why we have men using public restrooms where young girls go. Tolerance is why ‘drag queens’ perform in front of young children in public libraries. Tolerance is why the liberals on the ‘supreme court’ felt free to re-define the centuries-old holy institution of marriage to allow homosexuals and lesbians to ‘marry’. And tolerance is the reason that so-called lawmakers in New York and other states feel free to pass laws legalize infanticide and the murder of babies up to their birth days. Tolerance is also why the communists allow and encourage all kinds of foreigners to enter our country illegally, and try to give them every benefit for free that American taxpayers are forced to pay for. In other words, tolerance is the reason that our society, and Western Civilization, are crumbling. This kind of tolerance must end before it is too late.
Amen!
This is the bill of rights.
https://billofrightsinstitute.org/founding-documents/bill-of-rights/
They are very specific. They are very simple.
You have the right to keep and bare arms period in the second amendment.
You have the right to a well regulated militia.
That is what it preserves as it states clearly that you have the right to not have these rights violated.
Where ever the rights come from (us citizenship, god, natural law) is entirely inconsequential. They are recognized as a basic right and are protected from removal.
It’s worth noting that The Constitution was written by the same men who wrote The Declaration Of Independence.
https://www.latinorebels.com/2012/07/04/the-declaration-of-independence-the-full-text-in-english-and-spanish/
And that in this document rights were given by God, nature, and the consent of the govered.
In short they laid claim to any and all authority that could be used to issue rights.
The long and short of it is…
Our rights are our rights from the moment we are alive until the day we die. And they are our rights because they are our rights. Because they are universal and because they are our rights period.
And every one has them period.
Faethor,
The framers/signers of the DOI are **not** the same set of individuals who framed/signed the USC eleven years later. True, a few of them participated in both, but it is patently erroneous to say the same people created both documents.
If you intended to group all the “Founding Fathers” who were party to the DOI, AOC, and USC together, then it would be beneficial to clarify so we can understand your meaning.
re:
force
This week’s discussion at BisonPrepper centers on this topic.
Decades ago, we studied force and fatigue.
We hit a heavy-bag (for martial arts) at full-force as long as we could.
The results were identical.
The fittest strongest went twenty-four seconds.
The weakest… same.
We burned through muscle-stored glycogen that fast.
Replenishment required a half-hour.. while shaky and brain-fogged.
Fist-fight?
Wrestling a tiger?
Losing proposals.
My only hope to survive — instantly destroy the target’s ability to attack and be mobile.
Eyes, throat, knees, solar plexus, pubic.
Spine, brain.
Permanent disability.
Me, or the target/series of targets?
I boxed as a kid in the Boy’s club. This was over 60 years ago I doubt that they do it now. I to Kung Fu as a sport during the time I was in the military and our practice would often include full contact. IMHO The are three critical factors in a fight are: speed, strength, skill, attitude and being aggressive. It does not happen as it does in the movies or the gym. Typically it is the guy who strikes first who wins, and/or the strongest, and/or the most skilled and/or the fastest. It is almost never the one who targets the eyes, throat, knees, solar plexus. Most of the time it will be a solid punch to the chin that ends the fight. The second most likely end will be the stronger guy physically picks up his opponent and drops him on his head or back. A good solid punch to the stomach probably ties for 2nd place. It is unlikely that someone who regularly gets into fights will be beaten by some karate move.
The two best ways to win a fight:
1. Backup, apologize and refuse to be baited into a fight; walk away.
2. Act like you plan to apologize and refuse to fight and then sucker punch the other guy in a quick unexpected move.
There are no Marquess of Queensberry Rules in a street fight and if you cannot win you are likely to be seriously injured. Typically the guy trying to get into a fight knows what he is doing and he does it often and for sport.
K.M., This is my favorite article of all time. It resonates with me to the depth of my soul. At times, I could not read the words as tears flowed down my face. When I was twenty, I did not understand how this worked. In your:
“I will illustrate how you in essence have two parties: One we will call “Perp” (Perpetrator) and the other we will call “Innocent”. These labels could be substituted with other words: Nazis versus Jews, or Lords versus Peasants, or Bureaucrats versus Patriots…” For me, I substitute husband versus wife.
In the beginning, I tried force, but it was not enough. He was stronger. Plus, I didn’t see it coming.
“Response 1- Force – Meet with equal or greater force so that Perp stops, retreats, or ends the violence. AKA “stop the threat”.” IMO, this is absolute truth.
I believe we will all face the predicament in the future of, “Didn’t see it coming.” We have time now to train our thinking and understanding, so we can respond with a strong resolve to do Response #1. I have thirty-one years of proof that #2, 3, and 4 do not work.
“Compliance may lead to severe hardship, trauma, slavery, or death for Innocent.”
This is so true.
Even after escaping to a place of safety, the trauma goes with you and affects who you are. Trauma changes you. I went from having a sweet, innocent mindset, to transforming into more of a Clint Eastwood, “Go ahead. Make my day.”
God bless you for writing.
Physical violence is tough and I will pray for your healing. However, women are not out of the ball park of blame. It is noted today that 99% of domestic violence is caused by domestic button pushing. Let me explain. Today feminists are taught, to get married for five years, kick out two babies, get a domestic violence charge on there future “ex whatever they call him” in a court of law, net custody of the children, and a monthly income to the children are age 18. This is sad, but so true.
I can tell that you are probably a woman between the ages of 30 and 50. You’re not a woman of my generation. We very seldom had domestic violence in our generation of womanhood. The reason for this is men do not come from broken homes in my generation, they had a male mentor in their lives, and a housewife was the only position for a woman, and should be even today the only position for a woman to hold.
I bet as you think back on the domestic violence, that You realize that there’re some things that you could’ve done differently, to avoid it altogether. This is what happens when women have careers-jobs, they mentally place their role at exactly equal to their husbands. That’s also one of the curses in the garden of Eden, “the woman will desire her husband’s authority but is beneath her husband in leadership.”
I don’t want to go on too long in writing, I feel bad that you had those circumstances in your life, but there is a place for a woman and it is under the leadership of her husband only. When these modern-day women try to escape the authority of their husbands, take men’s careers, file lawsuits for gender equality, divorce men, raise single parent boys, and try to be equal to their husband’s authority, it “attempts” to break God’s spiritual law which can’t be broken. That’s when domestic violence happens as men know they have the leadership authority (placed there by God) and they protect it with force as is how a man deals with issues (look at war-physical violence is used when another nation tries to usurp another nation’s authority).
Search your heart maybe these hurts are from breaking God’s spiritual law. I will be praying for you!
Dear Ole Granny, I am touched that you would pray for me. Thank you for that kind blessing! I believe the Holy Spirit receives our prayers and intercedes them in the best way possible. Although I can’t agree on the generalization of 99% statistics that was given (without a cited study), like you, I feel sad that type of situation would ever occur. I’m sure we can both agree that injustice and oppression are always wrong.
It is a mistake to think that I am a young feminist. Far from it. I was a GARB Baptist, before becoming reformed, whose greatest calling was to be a wife and mother. Indeed, having been a latchkey kid, my fiancé’ agreed prior to marriage that I would be a stay at home mom. I homeschooled until our youngest was special needs and needed to go to children’s hospital every week for several years. I even suffered the persecution of relatives when I refused to put my four children in daycare and run their business for them.
I am older than you think and the age group given, hence my thirty-one years of experience in an abusive marriage.
I did not believe in divorce and believed I should:
“forgive seventy times seven,” (Matt. 18:21-22),
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Rom. 3:23),
“Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you.” (Matt. 5:44)
I have not researched studies on domestic violence statistics via different age groups, but one thing I do know, is that it is something that is not talked about enough, especially in the church. I think this is because there is so much shame involved. Because I loved him, his shame was my shame.
You are partly right when you said,
“I bet as you think back on the domestic violence, that You realize that there’re some things that you could’ve done differently, to avoid it altogether.”
If I would have called the police the first time he hurt me, I could have avoided nearly thirty-one years of pain.
“Not calling the police and having him arrested,” is what I did wrong.
Case in point, in 2010 we went to Christian counseling three times together, and then separately. After this counselor, with 30 years of experience met with him several times, she held a meeting with her colleagues, consisting of doctors and counselors, and told them that, “if she should accidentally die, they needed to have the police look into my husband first!”
So, do you think this professional was at fault too?
Should she have done something different to avoid his wrath?
Or is it possible, that he is the one responsible for his own anger, aggression and control issues?
I do not blame you at all for thinking I am at fault and could have prevented things. There are some things we just can’t wrap our head around because they do not make any sense, so there must be a reason he did xyz.
The following book title was extremely helpful to me, so I share it:
“Why Does He Do That? Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men”
Bestseller by Lundy Bancroft (He specializes in working with abusive men.)
I believe K.M. is spot on when he says it is all about control. Doing #1, meeting with the same or equal force, will save so much time and suffering.
Thank you, Ole Granny for posting and praying, Krissy
“Be not deceived, God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” (Gal.6:7)
I agree with you on: “there is a place for a woman and it is under the leadership of her husband only.”
Minus being kicked in the stomach, Julia Roberts encapsulates what I went through in the movie, “Sleeping with the Enemy.”
Krissy! You are a wonderful thoughtful, God-fearing woman! What a kind heart-felt answer to Ole-Granny. We can see that your heart beat is so close to our Lord God! Your soft answers turn away the wrath of men. What a close walk with the Lord you must have??? You have been refined in the fires of painful adversity and come through shining as His Light!!!
Honestly, I struggle when I see conflict developing in these comments. I want to delete and run and hide, when I read some comments. When I read certain possible conflictive comments, I leave them for Jim to decide whether to Post them or not. I do not have Jim’s tough-skinned journalistic stance. I left Ole-Granny’s comment for Jim to decide, and he felt there was some truth to it and that her opinion was valid and allowed it to go up. I LOVE the way you responded. May our Lord continue to bless you and bless you. In fact with all of us readers, but especially you, I pray that He will sustain you in peace to see His coming in the clouds on that great and glorious day of His return!! May He use you mightily to continue spreading His Word and love in these terrible days that are approaching. You dear Krissy have my utmost respect. May you have a very sweet day. 😉
Much Love in Yeshua,
Lily
Dear Lily, Just like you, I know that my Redeemer liveth. Your kind words amaze me. Thank you. I’m sure you understand and agree that I am a great sinner with a greater Savior.
I love knowing that God cannot break His word, and He said if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. (1 John 1:9)
To me, that is the coolest thing in life.
If there is any respect for me, let it be in my pedigree of whose I am: I am the adopted daughter of the Most High God. He loves me, forgives me and blesses me. Just today, He heard you say for me to “have a very sweet day,” and He answered your request. I did. Thank you for that!!!
May the Lord bless you for your kindness, Krissy
Dear Ole Granny
I am over the age you state and in fact am fast approaching 45 years of marriage.
I agree that there are some women who are instigators, but not many. Even so, I’m not sure where you got your statistics about domestic button pushing. They do not match my experience or even observations and I am pretty quick to notice abuse from either spouse that most others may not see.
I have worked with abused women and most of them know when they need to “walk on eggshells” because they see tension building in their husbands.
I see those in church who turn away from dealing with the situations because they don’t think it’s true, or think she wasn’t being subservient enough, or he’s such a good man, or he’s an elder, or, or, or whatever they come up with for not protecting the woman or her children (domestic violence changes the brains of children exposed to it).
To me, these women need the support of their church because if a husband is supposed to love his wife as Christ loves the church (Eph 5:25) they have a man in their home who doesn’t qualify for that definition and thus need those who will “visit orphans & widows in their distress”. See all of James 1:27
And possibly part of the difference in what you see now and what you see in the older women is that older women were taught “we don’t talk about those things”.
The only difference in an Elder’s wife crying in my room and a non-believer crying in my room is not age but that one husband has to look good at church so she had better not cause him any problems, on top of all the other things he comes up with as the control cycles into tighter and tighter issues. Then once he blows up and says he was wrong and it will never happen again and everyone sees how loving and devoted he is to her, until she once again begins walking on eggshells.
I have a great deal of concern for these women and children during this stay home time. It adds to his stress and he can’t even do many of the things that helped him relax a bit – so everything is all her fault all the time. They are frequently on my prayer list.
And I know some of those “don’t talk about it” women. They are tough but emotionally scarred
I am thankful that you believe in a Godly structure in the home, but unfortunately we are fallen humans and some of us are better at covering up our sins. (Abusers) Or covering for other’s sins (Victim covering for Abuser)
While I do believe that the man is the Head of the House, I do not believe that gives him the authority to be abusive (pretty far from the command in Ephesians).
Blessings
Oh, that we were all like Jesus!
“We”l know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false.” – William Casey, CIA Director
It’s currently my belief that a covid-19 vaccination could possibly set off a cytokine storm in people who’ve been vaccinated when covid 2.0 comes back around in the fall. Except this time, it will attack the healthy. In fact, the healthy will be worse off because there own immune system will be fighting itself. Do your own homework, but remember Gates’s own admonition is to reduce the world population through vaccination. Dr Judy Mikovits has some interesting information on big pharma and vaxes that’s worth listening to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wHzrYtV5lw
Not to be contrary but I like to do my own research.
Where exactly did the bill gates depopulation via vaccine come from?
FF… https://thefreedomarticles.com/bill-gates-vaccines-reduce-population-growth/. Maybe this can help
Not a fan of Bill Gates and not a fan of what his actual point in this argument was. Which is: In third world countries couples choose to have as many kids as they can because of their high death rate and they need adult children to head the household so that they, the parents, can survive when they are old. The theory is that if the children or third world parents had the same death rate as the first world that then they would have fewer children, thus a lower population.
There never was any implication that the vaccine would reduce the population as in poisoning them. The quotes are totally out of context and the intent is exactly reversed.
I have been promoting Second Amendment Protections since 1955. I have written many articles in local publications about firearms ownership/ But, I never saw a better essay than this one. I am so glad I was able to post on my Facebook page the ability to come to Survival blog and read it. ALL gunowners should read this one!
Excellent information, thank you.
A few thoughts:
I am reminded of the words of Musashi – one of the greatest warriors to ever walk the earth: “Bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask them to stop. If they do not, destroy them.” Obviously he lived in a different time and place, but the sentiment is timeless. True violence must be met with equal or (most likely) greater violence, period. It is an ugly fact that many in today’s society do not wish to face, yet it is what it is.
We have all read about people who have drawn their weapon, hoping to use it only to “bluff” their attacker, only to have it taken away and used against them. This occurs because the person behind the weapon has not mentally prepared long beforehand to take another human being’s life, if necessary. This is absolutely crucial – you must be able to act without hesitation (but not recklessly – there is an enormous difference), without questioning yourself in that crucial moment as to whether you can really do all that may be required.
Throughout my training, I have known of female martial arts practitioners who technically had a “black belt”, but because they received it through a strip mall franchise dojo that does not require extensive, full-contact, realistic high stress training, when they were attacked out in the “real world”, they completely froze. Again, mentally unprepared.
I would highly recommend that all women read “The Gift of Fear” by Gavin de Becker – this book has literally saved many lives.
To better understand the psychology at work here, I would recommend reading “On Killing”, and “On Combat” by Col. Grossman.
Regarding rights:
To anyone still under the illusion that no one can/will infringe on our rights, look no further than Governor Northam’s recent disgraces in Virginia, the post-Katrina gun grab, or talk to a surviving member of the thousands of United States citizens who were rounded up under Executive Order 9066 and put into internment camps, their lives utterly destroyed. There are many other examples, and unfortunately, they will most likely not be the last.
I will leave you with Mike Bloomberg’s response as to why he should be allowed to have a heavily armed security team, while we, the unwashed masses, should be unarmed:
https://thefederalist.com/2020/03/03/voter-confronts-mike-bloomberg-over-armed-security-detail/
Second the book recommendations
Wow! Well said fellow patriot… well said.
Musashi was Buddhist, not a Christian. That may have simplified his thinking. Being a Christian in today’s world and living without conflict with those who are not, is a difficult thing, not at all simple. The guidelines given by Scripture for interacting with your enemies seems rather utopian, rather conflicting with the dystopian society that we now live in. The choice of how you do that as a Christian may create a profound psychological change in you, not necessarily healthy..but still necessary.
Recently in Michigan, there was a protest of Gov. (Dim)Whitmer and her lockdown of the entire state, because coronavirus. Many showed up heavily armed. Michigan citizens looking like special forces. It was a terrific move. There was no violence, the police were held at bay by the mere threat of a violent response by people armed as heavily as the police. All was peaceful, fear is a wonderful deterrent to official violence. Michigan is an open carry state.
Our “friend” Sean Hannity, was complaining about these citizens showing up armed. He thought is was “inappropriate” for citizens to express their displeasure prepared to defend themselves. He attempted to get Mike Huckabee to agree with him. Huckabee has a far superior intelligence as compared to Hannity. He let the question slide without answering directly.
The fact that there was an armed civilian presence is what kept the situation from escalating. There were many who were not wearing masks or engaging in (anti)social distancing, who might have been arrested had the armed presence not been on the scene. There was only one arrest of a person who probably deserved it. From what I saw, he was being a serious a**hole.
DESPOTS RULE BY TERROR/Snitches . The greatest surprise that Covid 19 has taught me is how fast Americans will turn rat on other Americans . These cheese eaters are anxious to find fault and make the call .
I will never open carry and I carry a subcompact 9mm. Also I keep the camping adage “Leave No Trace ” , there are zero fingerprints on every round I carry..
Posted on jsmineset.com on 27april2020 by NHAB, a MUST READ FOR ALL PATRIOTS……His article titled, ‘A Constitution Up For Grabs’. Patriots need to read this and act accordingly when challenged locally by ‘communist politicians’ over stepping their roles and infringing upon Americans ‘Civil Liberities’.
I hope someone here can reach out to some of our fellow Patriots in Michigan and Virginia to alert them to this article on jsmineset.com.
The ‘next time’ any State officials attempt to ‘lock down’ the populace illegally with their ‘executive orders’, EACH State needs it’s Patriots to file Class Action Lawsuits against ALL The State Officials AND The State for MILLIONS in damages. If the US Supreme Court fails to IMMEDIATELY take up the Cases then, as Patriots, we know where we stand. It is UNCONSTIUTIONAL for ANY State Official to demand citizens ‘obey’ an ‘executive order’ that restricts ANY of Our Constitutional Rights as Americans! We were born free and shall remain so!