What Would You Do If Surrounded by A Violent Mob?
“We don’t rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training.”
― Archilochus, C. 650 BC
With the civil unrest of the past few months, I have been getting a lot of questions about firearms, training, and security. Multiple videos have surfaced of citizens in their vehicles getting surrounded by rioters who are often times armed. Some citizens have been pulled from their vehicles and savagely beaten. At least one person was shot in their vehicle while surrounded. What do you do if you turn a corner and find yourself confronting an angry, violent mob?
1. AVOID.
As a U.S. Army Special Forces Vietnam veteran and Los Angeles police officer told me a long time ago: “If it just doesn’t look right, it’s probably not.” TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS. All of us are here today because we had ancestors who trusted theirs. If you can’t avoid a violent encounter – FIGHT!
2. If you can’t avoid the mob, remember that your vehicle is a weapon.
If you can’t avoid the mob, remember that your vehicle is a weapon. As Pat McNamara says: “You are the agent in charge of your own executive protection detail.” You are responsible for protecting the gift of life, yours and lives of those you love. DO NOT ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE PULLED FROM YOUR VEHICLE. Keep the windows up and the doors locked. What if your vehicle is disabled and you have to go mobile? What if you have your family in the car? What do you do if you have a child in a car seat? I highly recommend a tactical / evasive driving school; they are a blast and will open your aperture as to what is possible with a vehicle. For shooting and fighting in and around your vehicle – Thunder Ranch, Gunsite and SIG SAUER Academy offer vehicle specific training courses.
3. If you do find yourself on foot, can you run? What about the rest of your family?
Can you use your “getaway sticks” (legs) to remove yourself from the situation? If you are forced to make a stand, have you trained with the firearm you are carrying? As my friend Mickey Schuch reminds us: “Be your own cavalry.” Though this is certainly not an all-inclusive list, I encourage you and anyone else in your family who carries a firearm to get on the range with Thunder Ranch, Larry Vickers, Fieldcraft Survival , SIG SAUER Academy, Kyle Lamb, Mickey Schuch, Pat McNamara, TAC 7, Gunsite, Tactical Response, AMTAC, Courses of Action, Dynamis Alliance or CTT Solutions.
If you were counting on law enforcement to protect you, video from the past few months should be all the evidence you need to confirm that the police WILL NOT BE THERE WHEN YOU NEED THEM. “The police are minutes away when seconds count.” And, if recent events have taught us anything, it is that they might not show up at all. At best, the police will be there AFTER THE FACT unless you are a government official who has a taxpayer funded armed security detail. Without that PSD, whose responsibility is it to protect your life and the lives of your family members?
Unless your cell phone is actually a Full Conceal Glock 19 or 43 you might want to consider investing in a weapon, and more importantly GETTING TRAINING WITH THAT WEAPON. My friend James Yeager ends all his videos with the mantra: “Your responsibility to be ready for the fight never ends.”
You don’t have to live a life of paranoia doing ninja rolls from shadow to shadow, but as a citizen of this great nation, I recommend you take responsibility for protecting yourself and your loved ones and not “hoping” that someone else will do it for you. As my friends at Thirty Seconds Out say: “No one is coming. It’s up to us.”
Quite frequently these days, I am asked what I carry for personal defense. Though it does change depending on where I am and what I’m doing, I trust, carry, and train with my SIG SAUER P365 and P320 XCompact in a Black Point Tactical mini-wing holster. I have either my Dynamis Blade or AMTAC Northman on me as well. I use a smaller New West KnifeWorks folder for daily tasks like opening packages; the Dynamis and AMTAC are just for fighting.
“The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in combat.”
How far away is my closest rifle? Not far . . .
Remember, “We don’t rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training.” ― Archilochus, C. 650 BC