Appointed to SCROTUS
That look says only one thing to me: "There is going to be a HUGE strap-on under my robe."
06 August 2010
We Are SO Screwed
That look says only one thing to me: "There is going to be a HUGE strap-on under my robe."
04 August 2010
Militarization Of Local Cops
In an article today, at Lew Rockwell's site, the writer asks the question: Are local cops being trained and equipped to be an army of occupation over Americans... in America.
Over the years, I have known and worked with a few cops, both young and old, who are arrogant and / or ignorant enough to believe they could pull this off, and who would accept the orders if given.
To these few I say; At Your Own Peril.
I have known and worked with far more cops who will turn and walk rather than goose-step to the tune of a despotic regime. A lot of military troops will present the American Eagle salute and walk off too. So, what I consider to be a conservative guesstimate; you few would be going up against an opponent force of 800 to 1 ... give or take.
Are ya still feelin cocky?
MikeH.
Over the years, I have known and worked with a few cops, both young and old, who are arrogant and / or ignorant enough to believe they could pull this off, and who would accept the orders if given.
To these few I say; At Your Own Peril.
I have known and worked with far more cops who will turn and walk rather than goose-step to the tune of a despotic regime. A lot of military troops will present the American Eagle salute and walk off too. So, what I consider to be a conservative guesstimate; you few would be going up against an opponent force of 800 to 1 ... give or take.
Are ya still feelin cocky?
MikeH.
02 August 2010
Feces Occurs
We preppers prep for logical reasons, with the primary reason being that, when TSHTF, necessary products and services may suddenly become non-existent. A recent post over at "Sipsey Street" got me to thinking about firearms that suddenly stop going boom. As we say in the old country, feces occurs (stuff happens?) and should something occur that makes any of your battle weapons stop working, mechanically, are you prepared to deal with it? Especially if gunsmithing services become extinct.
One of the respondents to the Sipsey Street post said he has never had a broken parts related failure with his favored weapon in all the years he's owned and used it. And there is the very real possibility that his gun will work every single time he squeezes the trigger. But, to this person I say, "are you willing to bet your life on the idea that such a failure could never happen? It very well could happen within the next 1000 rounds fired through it. Or maybe the next 100 rounds. Or, maybe he might get one more ka-boom before his weapon becomes ka-put.
Repeat after me; "Feces Occurs." And it could have occurred during a critical heat treating process, during manufacturing, leaving a small yet critical metal part too brittle or too soft. An undersized retaining pin that may back out and drop off from the vibrations of firing the weapon. A machining burr that prevents full force transfer on a hammer or firing pin. Of course, there is always the very real causes from normal wear and tear. Metals do suffer from such things as wearing and, well, shearing. You just have to stock up on some parts and tools to prepare for that special, just in case moment.
An emergency use tool that I recommend having is a Broken Shell Extractor for every rifle / rifle caliber you have in your arsenal. For that fact, their cheap and their small; buy several for each rifle. Again... repeat after me, "Feces Occurs." And it can happen to parts and tools too.
Maintenance Tools: Most weapon platforms (AR, AK, FAL, 1911, Glock, etc.) require proprietary specialty tools for maintaining certain parts on their weapons. The remainder of the jobs can be performed using general use tools. You do need to determine what those specialty tools are and what they are used for. Imagine my total disappointment when I learned that a particular manufacturer's proprietary, specialty "armorer's tool" was nothing more than a high priced short piece of 3/32" diameter rod stock with a plastic handle (with company name, of course) that any sub quality 3/32" pin punch can replicate in physical function.
Maintenance / Repair Manuals: Depending on the weapon, some manuals are available free, downloaded from the internet. There are quite a few websites dedicated to specific firearms that contain tons of maintain / repair / upgrade information and the majority only require a free membership registration in order to access that information. Other manuals you would have to purchase from your firearm manufacturer, gunsmith supply houses or other specialty suppliers. Obtain and keep a library for your specific arsenal. Do I need to twist your arm to make you say it? Feces Occurs!!! You need to consider these things NOW. Whatcha gonna do when / if Big Zero shuts off the internet or an EMP shuts off all electricity service before ya get 'round to downloading this stuff?
Parts: There is no getting around it. Prepping is not for the weak of monetary assets. Not only do I most highly recommend you buy replacement parts for every weapon you own, I suggest you buy several of each part. Push comes to shove, you may be the only source of available parts when the stinky stuff smacks those high speed fan blades. Most manufacturers and parts suppliers, for the AR rifle platform, sell prepacked kits containing all of upper and lower receiver parts. These are all of the parts most likely to break, or be lost during maintenance duties. Again, buy two or three of each pack because you don't know how long it may take until normalcy returns (if at all). Considering the price or barter value they could potentially command in a TEOTWAWKI situation, consider buying several. God knows the AR rifle platform is the most popular weapon out there. Just look at a copy of Shotgun News and you'll confirm that statement. Learn how to fix'em and you just tripled your barter value.
My advice on parts is; don't be bashful. Buy replacement barrels for your drop in barreled weapons. (1911, Glock, etc.) If buying a complete upper receiver for an AR is out of your price range, putting a new barrel on an upper receiver is not an overly complicated job and the barrels alone are fairly inexpensive. Used stocks, grips and other parts can be had from several sources and are worth having on hand for your own needs and / or barter use. (I bought a bunch of H&K G-3 mags for .97 cents each... just for barter value)
Almost anyone can perform general, non technical type gunsmith work to their own firearms. Knowing what to do, what you need and having the tools / parts on hand to get it done is just as much a high priority as fully stocked pantries and having a source of potable water. Without them, your life won't be worth a pile of feces.
MikeH.
One of the respondents to the Sipsey Street post said he has never had a broken parts related failure with his favored weapon in all the years he's owned and used it. And there is the very real possibility that his gun will work every single time he squeezes the trigger. But, to this person I say, "are you willing to bet your life on the idea that such a failure could never happen? It very well could happen within the next 1000 rounds fired through it. Or maybe the next 100 rounds. Or, maybe he might get one more ka-boom before his weapon becomes ka-put.
Repeat after me; "Feces Occurs." And it could have occurred during a critical heat treating process, during manufacturing, leaving a small yet critical metal part too brittle or too soft. An undersized retaining pin that may back out and drop off from the vibrations of firing the weapon. A machining burr that prevents full force transfer on a hammer or firing pin. Of course, there is always the very real causes from normal wear and tear. Metals do suffer from such things as wearing and, well, shearing. You just have to stock up on some parts and tools to prepare for that special, just in case moment.
An emergency use tool that I recommend having is a Broken Shell Extractor for every rifle / rifle caliber you have in your arsenal. For that fact, their cheap and their small; buy several for each rifle. Again... repeat after me, "Feces Occurs." And it can happen to parts and tools too.
Maintenance Tools: Most weapon platforms (AR, AK, FAL, 1911, Glock, etc.) require proprietary specialty tools for maintaining certain parts on their weapons. The remainder of the jobs can be performed using general use tools. You do need to determine what those specialty tools are and what they are used for. Imagine my total disappointment when I learned that a particular manufacturer's proprietary, specialty "armorer's tool" was nothing more than a high priced short piece of 3/32" diameter rod stock with a plastic handle (with company name, of course) that any sub quality 3/32" pin punch can replicate in physical function.
Maintenance / Repair Manuals: Depending on the weapon, some manuals are available free, downloaded from the internet. There are quite a few websites dedicated to specific firearms that contain tons of maintain / repair / upgrade information and the majority only require a free membership registration in order to access that information. Other manuals you would have to purchase from your firearm manufacturer, gunsmith supply houses or other specialty suppliers. Obtain and keep a library for your specific arsenal. Do I need to twist your arm to make you say it? Feces Occurs!!! You need to consider these things NOW. Whatcha gonna do when / if Big Zero shuts off the internet or an EMP shuts off all electricity service before ya get 'round to downloading this stuff?
Parts: There is no getting around it. Prepping is not for the weak of monetary assets. Not only do I most highly recommend you buy replacement parts for every weapon you own, I suggest you buy several of each part. Push comes to shove, you may be the only source of available parts when the stinky stuff smacks those high speed fan blades. Most manufacturers and parts suppliers, for the AR rifle platform, sell prepacked kits containing all of upper and lower receiver parts. These are all of the parts most likely to break, or be lost during maintenance duties. Again, buy two or three of each pack because you don't know how long it may take until normalcy returns (if at all). Considering the price or barter value they could potentially command in a TEOTWAWKI situation, consider buying several. God knows the AR rifle platform is the most popular weapon out there. Just look at a copy of Shotgun News and you'll confirm that statement. Learn how to fix'em and you just tripled your barter value.
My advice on parts is; don't be bashful. Buy replacement barrels for your drop in barreled weapons. (1911, Glock, etc.) If buying a complete upper receiver for an AR is out of your price range, putting a new barrel on an upper receiver is not an overly complicated job and the barrels alone are fairly inexpensive. Used stocks, grips and other parts can be had from several sources and are worth having on hand for your own needs and / or barter use. (I bought a bunch of H&K G-3 mags for .97 cents each... just for barter value)
Almost anyone can perform general, non technical type gunsmith work to their own firearms. Knowing what to do, what you need and having the tools / parts on hand to get it done is just as much a high priority as fully stocked pantries and having a source of potable water. Without them, your life won't be worth a pile of feces.
MikeH.
27 July 2010
The Warrior Spirit . . . Part IV
Some people may think I have reached my full mark, of the proverbial bovine fecal matter, when I talk about the warrior spirit being a mental process rather than physical, or of being a combination of the two. The physical aspect comes from the mind driving the body. The body won't do what the mind doesn't demand of it. And a major part of that mental process has to do with self perception; if you can not perceive yourself as, let's say, becoming and staying "physically fit," you won't have the drive to achieve that state or live a lifestyle to maintain it.
As another example of this mental / self perception process; have you ever seen "unattractive" people who, under any other circumstance, couldn't attract much attention from the opposite sex? Perhaps a chubber with low self-esteem, who avoids eye contact, moves head down and always watching the ground. In short, the type of person who doesn't feel it would do them any good to put a little time or effort into "fixing up" because, in their mind, no one would be attracted to them regardless. On the flip side to that coin, I have seen unattractive people who put in a little time and effort, project a ton of self confidence, and score big with "the pretty people." It isn't the physical aspect at work here, it's the positive mental attitude. Perceive yourself as attractive (or as a warrior) and you will be perceived as such.
Now if you still think I might be full of it, pushing the "it's all a mental thing," there are sites on the internet that have galleries of jail booking photos of "C-lebs" who, after a night of boozing or packing their snot lockers with nose candy, couldn't project, or receive, attraction from Hannibal Lecter. Even if they came prepared with a side of Fava beans and a nice Chianti. (Yasmine Bleeth immediately comes to my mind... what a total let down!!!) Take away the makeup artists, the hair stylists, the buff bod "Silly Putty" implant clinics and the mental attitude and what do you get? Just another, not so unique, brick in the wall.
What I am trying to stress here; mental attitude runs both ways. Project it and others will respond to it. Create it within yourself, and YOU will respond to it. Create the warrior spirit within yourself, hold on to it, live it every single day and believe you ARE a warrior, YOU WILL go farther, longer, than the millions who will fall and perish soon after the SHTF; the millions who will, without that warrior's spirit, answer the door when the angel of death comes knocking, say f**k-it and give in without a fight.
Now, repeat after me: I am a warrior. I will not quit. I will not give in. I am a survivor and I WILL survive. And when the angel of death comes knocking at my door, I may be taken, by force, BUT bet your ass that sissy bitch will go home bruised, beaten, broken wings and deflowered. And the angel knows this to be true, because I say it's so. (Now that's a warrior's attitude)
HOWEVER, if you can not see this concept as being a relevant conditioning for preppers, as the handwriting on the wall of things to come suggests, then I ask you, PLEASE, stop prepping. Sell or give whatever preps you have to a warrior. Otherwise, all you will become is just another free meal and resupply "convenience stop" for the "golden hoard" of zombies, that will, this way cometh... We warriors prefer our zombie enemies to be starving and weak rather than fed and feisty.
MikeH.
As another example of this mental / self perception process; have you ever seen "unattractive" people who, under any other circumstance, couldn't attract much attention from the opposite sex? Perhaps a chubber with low self-esteem, who avoids eye contact, moves head down and always watching the ground. In short, the type of person who doesn't feel it would do them any good to put a little time or effort into "fixing up" because, in their mind, no one would be attracted to them regardless. On the flip side to that coin, I have seen unattractive people who put in a little time and effort, project a ton of self confidence, and score big with "the pretty people." It isn't the physical aspect at work here, it's the positive mental attitude. Perceive yourself as attractive (or as a warrior) and you will be perceived as such.
Now if you still think I might be full of it, pushing the "it's all a mental thing," there are sites on the internet that have galleries of jail booking photos of "C-lebs" who, after a night of boozing or packing their snot lockers with nose candy, couldn't project, or receive, attraction from Hannibal Lecter. Even if they came prepared with a side of Fava beans and a nice Chianti. (Yasmine Bleeth immediately comes to my mind... what a total let down!!!) Take away the makeup artists, the hair stylists, the buff bod "Silly Putty" implant clinics and the mental attitude and what do you get? Just another, not so unique, brick in the wall.
What I am trying to stress here; mental attitude runs both ways. Project it and others will respond to it. Create it within yourself, and YOU will respond to it. Create the warrior spirit within yourself, hold on to it, live it every single day and believe you ARE a warrior, YOU WILL go farther, longer, than the millions who will fall and perish soon after the SHTF; the millions who will, without that warrior's spirit, answer the door when the angel of death comes knocking, say f**k-it and give in without a fight.
....................
Now, repeat after me: I am a warrior. I will not quit. I will not give in. I am a survivor and I WILL survive. And when the angel of death comes knocking at my door, I may be taken, by force, BUT bet your ass that sissy bitch will go home bruised, beaten, broken wings and deflowered. And the angel knows this to be true, because I say it's so. (Now that's a warrior's attitude)
HOWEVER, if you can not see this concept as being a relevant conditioning for preppers, as the handwriting on the wall of things to come suggests, then I ask you, PLEASE, stop prepping. Sell or give whatever preps you have to a warrior. Otherwise, all you will become is just another free meal and resupply "convenience stop" for the "golden hoard" of zombies, that will, this way cometh... We warriors prefer our zombie enemies to be starving and weak rather than fed and feisty.
MikeH.
25 July 2010
The Warrior Spirit . . . Part III
Most of us have heard those immortal words of wisdom, "If you want to win, you have to think like a winner." But even those who think like a winner can, and do, lose from time to time. On the other hand, those who go through life with a defeatist attitude will always be defeated. In survival, there are only winners and corpses. The winners will be the ones with a warrior's spirit.
Make no mistake about what a warrior spirit is. It does encompass far more than being capable of a decision to take the life of another. Any sociopath can make that decision. A warrior will make a decision of conscience to kill another only in self-defense, in defense of others and when defending his stronghold. Otherwise, a warrior will make every effort to avoid a possible "to the death" confrontation, even if it means staying low in the tall grass. In order to survive, you have to live, in order to live a longer life, you don't tempt fate by jumping out in front of those who could damn well have a tad stronger winning attitude than yours.
A warrior spirit is also a lifestyle. Most people conduct the majority of their lives in condition white; a state of being wherein they are not concerned enough to be, and / or remain, aware of all of the things going on around them. These folks make the best victims, almost to the point of being looked at as "professional victims," by those who make their profession from the victimization of others. When suddenly thrust into a situation of condition red, (the state where the fight or flight instinct kicks in) people in condition white will become so overcome by surprise that they will do neither, fight or flight, but rather end up raped, robbed, beaten or dead.
A warrior remains in various levels of condition orange at all times, even when at home in front of the television... or the computer. (What??? You've never heard of home invasions?) Condition orange is a very conscience state of heightened awareness. (but not to be confused with paranoia, which is a heightened state of mental illness) And condition orange expands beyond a heightened level of awareness regarding only physical confrontations with others. You are wide aware while driving because so many others are not. Or, you are aware of the very subtle changes that occur within nature, prior to a weather change. In my neighborhood, one has to be very aware just putzing about in the garden, least one might learn condition red first hand, when one discovers a Copperhead attached to that hand.
Being in a constant state of condition orange gives the warrior certain advantages. The most important advantage being, the time to access a situation before it has a chance to turn to shit, to mentally prepare a defense if fight, of a retreat if flight. However, it goes a step further by preparing the warrior for those event when things do go wrong. In the garden / ill tempered Copperhead scenario, condition orange would give you an advantage even if you slip up some and are bitten. A warrior would take control of and access the situation, remain calm, apply a tourniquet to slow the travel of the venom and not suck the venom from the bite, and into the mouth. Panic will cause the heart to pump harder and push the venom farther into the system. Shock will bring severely diminished motor skills and confusion. Lose that control and you're done.
During my time as a field training officer, I could usually drive the point home on both FNGs and "seasoned officers."
Thirty one years ago, I had gotten lazy and way too comfortable with keeping up that condition orange stuff. I mean NO ONE would be dumb enough to try to take on 6 feet 4 inches, 250 pounds of me, especially since I had my uniform, badge and 1911 to comfort me. It was about 0330 in the AM and I was all by my lonesome, when I allowed a guy to slip into my personal zone, because I wasn't paying attention to my situational awareness. Of course, I became very much aware when I took, what I thought, was a punch to the side of my face, through the open car window. And the guy stood there for a second or two before he took off running.
It took that second or two for me to fully comprehend that someone actually suffered from such an advanced form of retardation. As I exited the vehicle and moved into the illumination of a streetlight, I became aware of something wet and shinny on the front of my uniform shirt. It only took another second for me to come to the brilliant conclusion that somebody was bleeding like, as the saying goes, a stuck pig. Considering I was the only one standing there...
I reached up and felt around my face and discovered I was bleeding from the area of my left eye. There's an old saying among professional fighters, "he who bleeds first, loses." And I'm here to tell ya that's a true statement. Blood tends to spark panic and panic will take the wind out of your sails and the central dangling extremities right out of your basic machismo, post haste. Even though my assailant was now more that have a block away, and moving faster with each step, visions of my bleeding to death in the middle of E. 18th street danced in my head, and it scared the hell out of me. I drew my weapon and dropped the safety. At that moment in time, a man, woman, child or, a moth from the streetlight would have entered my personal zone and come under fire.
I was literally on the verge of going into condition "yellow." That's yellow as in the color I was about to turn my tighty-whities. Except for the fact they were already red... with blood; as was both outside and in of my vest, the underside of my gun belt and even just into the tops of my boots. I was gushing more blood than the Deepwater Horizon and I wasn't into a full thirty seconds of this little episode, yet. I started shaking so bad that, had my weapon discharged, I probably would have triple tapped myself. I couldn't think straight. In short, I was pushing myself into a mental / physical melt down.
I think it was the recurring thought of bleeding to death, alone, in that street that caused some semi dormant braincells to start firing. I realized I had to overcome the panic and regain all control of the situation. I had been taught, and was well aware, that panic can induce shock. And shock usually means the skinny dirt bedroom. As I fought to bring myself under control, I realized I had to become "un-dangerous" first and foremost. I returned my weapon to safe and holstered it. I then conducted a more detailed physical examination of my injury, knowing that face / head wounds tend to bleed far more freely than wounds to most other areas. When I concluded that my left eye was collapsed and the source of the majority of blood, I forced myself to remain focused. I did what I could at my disposal to control the bleeding. Fortunately, I was only a few blocks from a hospital.
As it turned out, I hadn't been punched. My attacker had pushed a broken bottle into my eye. Had I known the criminal seriousness involved at the time, I might not have questioned my having any justification and shot the son of a bitch. But, then again, maybe having known I had been stabbed in such a manner would have contributed to a non recoverable state of shock, via a higher sense of panic, and I might well have died there in the street. Better late than never, it was the warrior spirit that kept me from curling up into a fetal position on the pavement and accepting a f**k-it mindset.
A far better example of using the warrior spirit under some real adverse conditions would be the 66 year old man whose leg became trapped under a tree he was felling, and was forced to amputate his own leg with a pocket knife in order to free himself. Or the 36 year old who was forced to amputate his own arm with a pocket knife and then twist and fall to the ground to break the bone, to free himself from his farm machinery. THAT, in my book, is the absolute epitome of having a warrior spirit.
If you are critically injured, you stand a far better chance of survival by willing it to happen than not; by telling yourself YOU WILL survive, that you will not allow yourself to succumb to a panic and shock induced death, that you will do whatever it takes to cheat the angel of death out of your life.
To be continued
MikeH.
Make no mistake about what a warrior spirit is. It does encompass far more than being capable of a decision to take the life of another. Any sociopath can make that decision. A warrior will make a decision of conscience to kill another only in self-defense, in defense of others and when defending his stronghold. Otherwise, a warrior will make every effort to avoid a possible "to the death" confrontation, even if it means staying low in the tall grass. In order to survive, you have to live, in order to live a longer life, you don't tempt fate by jumping out in front of those who could damn well have a tad stronger winning attitude than yours.
A warrior spirit is also a lifestyle. Most people conduct the majority of their lives in condition white; a state of being wherein they are not concerned enough to be, and / or remain, aware of all of the things going on around them. These folks make the best victims, almost to the point of being looked at as "professional victims," by those who make their profession from the victimization of others. When suddenly thrust into a situation of condition red, (the state where the fight or flight instinct kicks in) people in condition white will become so overcome by surprise that they will do neither, fight or flight, but rather end up raped, robbed, beaten or dead.
A warrior remains in various levels of condition orange at all times, even when at home in front of the television... or the computer. (What??? You've never heard of home invasions?) Condition orange is a very conscience state of heightened awareness. (but not to be confused with paranoia, which is a heightened state of mental illness) And condition orange expands beyond a heightened level of awareness regarding only physical confrontations with others. You are wide aware while driving because so many others are not. Or, you are aware of the very subtle changes that occur within nature, prior to a weather change. In my neighborhood, one has to be very aware just putzing about in the garden, least one might learn condition red first hand, when one discovers a Copperhead attached to that hand.
Being in a constant state of condition orange gives the warrior certain advantages. The most important advantage being, the time to access a situation before it has a chance to turn to shit, to mentally prepare a defense if fight, of a retreat if flight. However, it goes a step further by preparing the warrior for those event when things do go wrong. In the garden / ill tempered Copperhead scenario, condition orange would give you an advantage even if you slip up some and are bitten. A warrior would take control of and access the situation, remain calm, apply a tourniquet to slow the travel of the venom and not suck the venom from the bite, and into the mouth. Panic will cause the heart to pump harder and push the venom farther into the system. Shock will bring severely diminished motor skills and confusion. Lose that control and you're done.
During my time as a field training officer, I could usually drive the point home on both FNGs and "seasoned officers."
Thirty one years ago, I had gotten lazy and way too comfortable with keeping up that condition orange stuff. I mean NO ONE would be dumb enough to try to take on 6 feet 4 inches, 250 pounds of me, especially since I had my uniform, badge and 1911 to comfort me. It was about 0330 in the AM and I was all by my lonesome, when I allowed a guy to slip into my personal zone, because I wasn't paying attention to my situational awareness. Of course, I became very much aware when I took, what I thought, was a punch to the side of my face, through the open car window. And the guy stood there for a second or two before he took off running.
It took that second or two for me to fully comprehend that someone actually suffered from such an advanced form of retardation. As I exited the vehicle and moved into the illumination of a streetlight, I became aware of something wet and shinny on the front of my uniform shirt. It only took another second for me to come to the brilliant conclusion that somebody was bleeding like, as the saying goes, a stuck pig. Considering I was the only one standing there...
I reached up and felt around my face and discovered I was bleeding from the area of my left eye. There's an old saying among professional fighters, "he who bleeds first, loses." And I'm here to tell ya that's a true statement. Blood tends to spark panic and panic will take the wind out of your sails and the central dangling extremities right out of your basic machismo, post haste. Even though my assailant was now more that have a block away, and moving faster with each step, visions of my bleeding to death in the middle of E. 18th street danced in my head, and it scared the hell out of me. I drew my weapon and dropped the safety. At that moment in time, a man, woman, child or, a moth from the streetlight would have entered my personal zone and come under fire.
I was literally on the verge of going into condition "yellow." That's yellow as in the color I was about to turn my tighty-whities. Except for the fact they were already red... with blood; as was both outside and in of my vest, the underside of my gun belt and even just into the tops of my boots. I was gushing more blood than the Deepwater Horizon and I wasn't into a full thirty seconds of this little episode, yet. I started shaking so bad that, had my weapon discharged, I probably would have triple tapped myself. I couldn't think straight. In short, I was pushing myself into a mental / physical melt down.
I think it was the recurring thought of bleeding to death, alone, in that street that caused some semi dormant braincells to start firing. I realized I had to overcome the panic and regain all control of the situation. I had been taught, and was well aware, that panic can induce shock. And shock usually means the skinny dirt bedroom. As I fought to bring myself under control, I realized I had to become "un-dangerous" first and foremost. I returned my weapon to safe and holstered it. I then conducted a more detailed physical examination of my injury, knowing that face / head wounds tend to bleed far more freely than wounds to most other areas. When I concluded that my left eye was collapsed and the source of the majority of blood, I forced myself to remain focused. I did what I could at my disposal to control the bleeding. Fortunately, I was only a few blocks from a hospital.
As it turned out, I hadn't been punched. My attacker had pushed a broken bottle into my eye. Had I known the criminal seriousness involved at the time, I might not have questioned my having any justification and shot the son of a bitch. But, then again, maybe having known I had been stabbed in such a manner would have contributed to a non recoverable state of shock, via a higher sense of panic, and I might well have died there in the street. Better late than never, it was the warrior spirit that kept me from curling up into a fetal position on the pavement and accepting a f**k-it mindset.
A far better example of using the warrior spirit under some real adverse conditions would be the 66 year old man whose leg became trapped under a tree he was felling, and was forced to amputate his own leg with a pocket knife in order to free himself. Or the 36 year old who was forced to amputate his own arm with a pocket knife and then twist and fall to the ground to break the bone, to free himself from his farm machinery. THAT, in my book, is the absolute epitome of having a warrior spirit.
If you are critically injured, you stand a far better chance of survival by willing it to happen than not; by telling yourself YOU WILL survive, that you will not allow yourself to succumb to a panic and shock induced death, that you will do whatever it takes to cheat the angel of death out of your life.
To be continued
MikeH.
23 July 2010
The Warrior Spirit . . . Part II
For as much as I wish I did, I have no super power that allows me to see into the future. But then, no one does. Despite this, there are "experts," in various fields, who predict certain cataclysmic events are looming on our horizon. They warn of a societal collapse as a result of economic conditions, wars from both internal and external forces, events that are naturally occurring and, deliberate human planned events. Regardless of the triggering event, any one of these acts may well put all of us into such a fight for our very lives that it will make the word "survival" seem like a simplistic description of what will be required to outlive the event and it's aftermath.
Many of us have listened to these warnings, or are following personal gut assessments of the events around us, and we are preparing to provide for ourselves and our loved ones. We are stuffing our pantries with long shelf life foods, stocking and / or planning the restocking of potable water, purchasing medical supplies, buying firearms and cases of ammunition and making time to practice with those weapons. We are buying and reading books on a multitude of survival topics and many of us are developing self reliant skill-sets that have been all but forgotten in modern day life. But, despite all the money spent, regardless of all the time and efforts invested and the amount of physical survival assets we have amassed; how many of us have put ANY time and effort into analyzing and preparing our survival mindset? How many of us are preparing our minds to meet and accept the challenges that could force us into actually living in a post collapse fight for life?
I'm sure the majority of us have seen television programs or movies where an actor has to jump from one rooftop to another. As is usually the case, the actor falls just short of a perfect touchdown on the other side and, just barely, grabs on to a short wall around that roof-line. (called a parapet, by the way) The drama builds until the actor either drags himself up and over that parapet wall, to safety, or struggles until he eventually falls to his death.
I have seen a couple of different "he doesn't make it" scenes portrayed in separate films. In one, the actor struggles until his strength is depleted, then falls. In the other, I've seen the actor struggle then project a look of having deduced some "logical conclusion" that, no amount of struggle will save him, he accepts this as his fate and lets go to fall to his death without so much as a whimper. I've seen Dennis Leary's character in "Rescue Me" dream (or nightmare) himself in this situation and take on a "f**k-it kind of look on his face as he lets go and falls.
So now that I have set the stage, imagine YOU are in some life or death situation that is forcing YOU to make that rooftop to rooftop jump. YOU have fallen just a wee bit short of that perfect landing and YOU are now holding on to the long drop side of the parapet wall, with safety being just behind the other side. (there's something almost tapping on my brain-stem here. Safety on the other side of this short wall. Being safe if I can just get myself, dare I say, behind the parapet... hmmm!)
Logic and common sense dictates that certain event will happen; some will struggle, fight, with every fiber of their being only to succumb to exhaustion, then fall. Others will hang on, in hopes of some miracle of rescue, only to succumb to exhaustion, then fall. And though I find it highly unlikely, there may be a few who will realize they will become exhausted and then fall, that there is no miracle about to happen in the nick of time so why even fight it, they'll take the f**k-it attitude and just let go.
Enter now the other side of this coin; the people who would find themselves in the situation and, rather than think f**k-it will instead think f**k-this!!! and force themselves up and over the parapet. In this kind of situation, there IS NO time to waste struggling yourself into exhaustion. There IS NO time, or energy, to waste by just holding on. You have to focus all of your mental and physical resources to immediate action and get over that wall. Why? Because you are a survivor. You refuse to accept the failure that is giving into death simply because death has come knocking at your door. You do this not out of fear of death, but rather, because you know that in life there is an everyday struggle; the continuing daily challenge that demands you prove your right to life. And you accept the fight, without hesitation, because you are being challenged and, because you have within you a warrior's spirit. And it is this spirit that separates those who will survive and thrive from those who will not.
According to the so called experts, when the "big event" (whatever that will be) hits, MILLIONS of people will die in a very short time frame. The experts predict food shortages, even food riots. So it seems logical to assume many will die from starvation, others will die when they try to take from those who have and, many of those who have will die trying to defend what they have. It's safe to speculate that many will succumb to disease and that, with all this death, bodies will lay where they fall. And as bodies deteriorate, there will be ungodly sights and smell. Many of us will no doubt bear witness to ungodly acts committed by others, against others and there is a real possibility many of us may be force to commit some of these acts ourselves, such as kill another human being. The question is, are you prepared MENTALLY to see these things, to smell these things or, in the worse case, fight to retain what's yours, even if that means killing someone? In the absolute worse case... would you be prepared to turn away a close friend or close neighbor who comes to you for food or supplies?
If you are not prepared for any of these, or any number of other tough choice (life or death) decision possibilities, and without hesitation, my advice to you is start working on instilling a warrior spirit within yourself right now or, say f**k-it and let go of the parapet. Without a warrior's spirit, YOU WILL NOT SURVIVE... period.
To be continued
MikeH.
Many of us have listened to these warnings, or are following personal gut assessments of the events around us, and we are preparing to provide for ourselves and our loved ones. We are stuffing our pantries with long shelf life foods, stocking and / or planning the restocking of potable water, purchasing medical supplies, buying firearms and cases of ammunition and making time to practice with those weapons. We are buying and reading books on a multitude of survival topics and many of us are developing self reliant skill-sets that have been all but forgotten in modern day life. But, despite all the money spent, regardless of all the time and efforts invested and the amount of physical survival assets we have amassed; how many of us have put ANY time and effort into analyzing and preparing our survival mindset? How many of us are preparing our minds to meet and accept the challenges that could force us into actually living in a post collapse fight for life?
I'm sure the majority of us have seen television programs or movies where an actor has to jump from one rooftop to another. As is usually the case, the actor falls just short of a perfect touchdown on the other side and, just barely, grabs on to a short wall around that roof-line. (called a parapet, by the way) The drama builds until the actor either drags himself up and over that parapet wall, to safety, or struggles until he eventually falls to his death.
I have seen a couple of different "he doesn't make it" scenes portrayed in separate films. In one, the actor struggles until his strength is depleted, then falls. In the other, I've seen the actor struggle then project a look of having deduced some "logical conclusion" that, no amount of struggle will save him, he accepts this as his fate and lets go to fall to his death without so much as a whimper. I've seen Dennis Leary's character in "Rescue Me" dream (or nightmare) himself in this situation and take on a "f**k-it kind of look on his face as he lets go and falls.
So now that I have set the stage, imagine YOU are in some life or death situation that is forcing YOU to make that rooftop to rooftop jump. YOU have fallen just a wee bit short of that perfect landing and YOU are now holding on to the long drop side of the parapet wall, with safety being just behind the other side. (there's something almost tapping on my brain-stem here. Safety on the other side of this short wall. Being safe if I can just get myself, dare I say, behind the parapet... hmmm!)
Logic and common sense dictates that certain event will happen; some will struggle, fight, with every fiber of their being only to succumb to exhaustion, then fall. Others will hang on, in hopes of some miracle of rescue, only to succumb to exhaustion, then fall. And though I find it highly unlikely, there may be a few who will realize they will become exhausted and then fall, that there is no miracle about to happen in the nick of time so why even fight it, they'll take the f**k-it attitude and just let go.
Enter now the other side of this coin; the people who would find themselves in the situation and, rather than think f**k-it will instead think f**k-this!!! and force themselves up and over the parapet. In this kind of situation, there IS NO time to waste struggling yourself into exhaustion. There IS NO time, or energy, to waste by just holding on. You have to focus all of your mental and physical resources to immediate action and get over that wall. Why? Because you are a survivor. You refuse to accept the failure that is giving into death simply because death has come knocking at your door. You do this not out of fear of death, but rather, because you know that in life there is an everyday struggle; the continuing daily challenge that demands you prove your right to life. And you accept the fight, without hesitation, because you are being challenged and, because you have within you a warrior's spirit. And it is this spirit that separates those who will survive and thrive from those who will not.
According to the so called experts, when the "big event" (whatever that will be) hits, MILLIONS of people will die in a very short time frame. The experts predict food shortages, even food riots. So it seems logical to assume many will die from starvation, others will die when they try to take from those who have and, many of those who have will die trying to defend what they have. It's safe to speculate that many will succumb to disease and that, with all this death, bodies will lay where they fall. And as bodies deteriorate, there will be ungodly sights and smell. Many of us will no doubt bear witness to ungodly acts committed by others, against others and there is a real possibility many of us may be force to commit some of these acts ourselves, such as kill another human being. The question is, are you prepared MENTALLY to see these things, to smell these things or, in the worse case, fight to retain what's yours, even if that means killing someone? In the absolute worse case... would you be prepared to turn away a close friend or close neighbor who comes to you for food or supplies?
If you are not prepared for any of these, or any number of other tough choice (life or death) decision possibilities, and without hesitation, my advice to you is start working on instilling a warrior spirit within yourself right now or, say f**k-it and let go of the parapet. Without a warrior's spirit, YOU WILL NOT SURVIVE... period.
To be continued
MikeH.
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