Two Dangers

Dear Fellow Survivalist;

As the situation has unfolded after the murder of George Floyd, there have been a lot of demonstrations, some demonstrations and rioting, and a lot of destruction. From what I’ve seen, I’m pretty much convinced that the people doing the majority of the destruction aren’t the same as those who are trying to hold peaceful demonstrations. We’ve had those here, where I live, and none of them turned violent.

What we’re seeing is professional agitators; people who are paid to use the cover of the protests to stir up trouble, get people mad and start the destruction. Once they get that started, these people fade into the woodwork, awaiting their next opportunity to cause trouble. I’d really like to know who is paying them. I think that I know; but I don’t know that I know.

I’m not sure what the death count is at now, but it is still rising. After police killed Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta, Georgia, the epicenter of the protests have moved from Minnesota to there. But they don’t show any sign of slowing.

But that doesn’t mean that everything is centered in Atlanta. A man guarding a statue in Albuquerque ended up in an altercation with protesters who chased him, hitting him with a long skateboard. He was carrying and shot the main assailant. As of this time, it’s hard to say whether he will be charged with that shooting or whether it will be adjudged to be self-defense.

The situation seems to be getting increasingly dangerous. And it’s getting more dangerous in two different, but interrelated ways:

• Mobs are becoming even more willing to attack those who don’t agree with them.
• Government officials are becoming more willing to throw anyone who defends themselves to the wolves, regardless of what the law says.

What this means for you and I is that our normal right to self-defense might be sacrificed for “the greater good” should we find ourselves in a position where we need to defend ourselves.

I’ve looked at the video in the case of the police officer who shot Rayshard Brooks. From a self-defense point of view, I would have to say that the police officer didn’t have justified cause to shoot. However, this wasn’t just a self-defense situation, it was police, working together, trying to make an arrest. The suspect stole a taser pistol from one of the officers and turned to shoot the officer as he ran away. The other officer shot him, defending his partner.

This is a sticky one, because the taser isn’t normally considered a deadly weapon. However, two weeks earlier, the same district attorney who charged the shooting police officer with felony murder, said charged another police officer with brandishing a deadly weapon, when he used at the scene of another crime. So is it a deadly weapon or not? The courts will have to decide.

But to me, the really scary part of this is that the police department moved so quickly to fire the police officer and the DA moved so quickly to file charges against him. The way that’s supposed to work is that the police officer is placed on administrative leave while the investigation is completed, and only then will he or she be charged. But according to the investigators, the investigation isn’t anywhere near complete. It looks like the police department and the DA are just throwing that officer to the wolves, in hopes of protecting themselves.

In the case of the man who shot the demonstrator who was trying to take down the statue in Albuquerque, the videos makes it look like a clear case of self-defense. While we don’t know what happened before that, at least two men had him on the ground and were beating him, with more running to join in. He managed to get free and shot his assailant.

Yet that man is under arrest at the time of this writing. While it’s not unusual for someone to be arrested when they shoot in self-defense, it usually happens right away. That’s not the case here. He was let go, then arrested later. Once again, it looks like a case of him being thrown to the wolves.

So where does this leave the rest of us? I’d have to say that it’s a very dangerous time to act in self-defense; especially to use deadly force in self-defense. Regardless of what the laws say, it looks like there’s a concerted effort to appease the mob, and if that costs the life of someone who was just trying to defend themselves, it doesn’t look like anyone is going to lose any sleep over it.

This is what we’re facing. I’d advise caution, if you find yourself in a position where you have to defend yourself. Better to avoid it altogether. But if you have to, then use the minimum necessary force to save yourself. Anything more seems to be just too dangerous right now. Maybe it’s a good time to go camping for a month. A good time to keep our powder dry and use that survival gear for something other than just to keep close at hand.

Dr. Rich