Watch your ‘six’
Personal Liberty Poll
Exercise your right to vote.
By John Caile – U.S. Concealed Carry Association
As a long-time firearms and self-defense trainer, I often observe people who seem utterly oblivious to what is going on around them. I’ve seen both men and women walking to or from a car in a dark parking lot or strolling along a path in the woods, who take no notice of others in their immediate vicinity.
With all of those scary YouTube videos of young thugs engaged in the “knock-out” game, you’d think that people would be more wary than ever. But practically every week, we read about someone who wound up getting stitches in the emergency room because they weren’t paying attention.
Occasionally though, I’m pleasantly surprised by someone who actually does practice proper awareness. Last weekend, I was walking in a forest preserve. As always, I made note of whether or not the other people I encountered gave some signal that they noticed me. Some did, giving a polite “hello” or simply nodding in recognition. Others, too many in my view, gave no indication of recognition, instead staring rigidly at the ground in front of them.
Eventually, because I normally walk at a rather fast pace, I found myself gradually catching up to a woman walking in front of me in the same direction. She was perhaps mid-30s, athletically built, and walking in a confident, purposeful manner. I also noted that she held her cell phone in her left hand and something else in her right hand.
Whenever other oncoming walkers passed her, I noticed that she turned her head toward them and nodded — unambiguously acknowledging their presence. But the behavior that pleased me most was that, as I was perhaps 25 yards from her, she very conspicuously turned her head to check out who was behind her. She smiled, I smiled back, and we both nodded.
As it turned out, only a few minutes later we both reached the parking lot where our respective cars were parked. As she opened the door to her car, which was a couple of spaces down from mine, she said in a pleasant tone, “Enjoy the rest of your day.” I replied, “You, too. By the way, good job checking to see who was behind you back there. I teach self-defense and I see too many women who don’t pay attention. Stay safe.” She held up her can of pepper spray for me to see and smiled, “Always do!”
Now, to the average person, this little incident would either be meaningless, or more often, be interpreted incorrectly. When teaching basic awareness in women’s self-defense classes, we often hear from women who were taught to never make eye contact — to never acknowledge another person, especially a man, because it “might be misconstrued as flirting.” They adopt the “blank urban stare” you see in most big cities.
But this is misguided. When predators are observing you, they are conducting what is called “the interview” — and this is one interview you want to flunk. What they are looking for is precisely the disconnected, unaware behavior that too many people, men and women, practice.
The woman I saw in the park was completely the opposite. And she wasn’t “flirting” at all. Sure, she was polite and friendly, but at the same time, her behavior clearly and constantly communicated to one and all that she was alert and aware. Her entire demeanor practically shouted, “Warning: Hard Target!”
Those of us who carry can take a lesson from her.
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