This was a really good article. You could probably expand each of the factors into its own article, but that might be a lot of work.
“ I’ve said it before and I’ll repeat it now: The focus on legal gun ownership is a serious distraction and stumbling block towards true solutions.”
I agree entirely. But I find it hard to convince friends and family who come from a posture of dislike towards firearms. The examples of the Nice attacks and similar ones may be instructive. Most people don’t realize that some of the most deadly technology in society are the vehicles they use to drive to work each day.
“ To address a specific grievance I have, I’ve never been a fan of the “Run, hide, fight” mantra often utilized in training videos to prepare people to respond to an active shooting. If the first option you give someone who’s entering the flight-or-fight mentality is to run, then that’s what they’re going to immediately do. And, they won’t stop running.
I much prefer training that teaches people to “Stop, think, act.” This is a thought process that can mitigate the flight-or-fight instinct and allow people to consider their circumstances and take the best course of action. When people get trained to stop and think before they act, they can make a conscious choice to run, hide, or fight based on the actual circumstances.”
Thank you! I’m so glad you said this. I’ve always felt a little uncomfortable with the Run, Hide, Fight training too. But it was hard to articulate the problem with it without running into the, “don’t try to be a hero,” or “you’re glorifying violence by encouraging resistance,” arguments. In some scenarios, running and hiding IS the best option. But in other scenarios, running or hiding only get you killed.
Very good conclusion and I like your final thoughts:
“ We need to remember how to come together as a society and mourn for our dead. ”
Exactly! That is the purpose of “thoughts and prayers.” By rushing into our partisan camps and attacking the “thoughts and prayers,” we thwart the natural process of coming together and grieving. We live in a society that doesn’t understand the power of ritual and we run into the danger of removing Chesterton’s fence when we assume that “just” offering thoughts and prayers is a meaningless gesture.
This was a really good article. You could probably expand each of the factors into its own article, but that might be a lot of work.
“ I’ve said it before and I’ll repeat it now: The focus on legal gun ownership is a serious distraction and stumbling block towards true solutions.”
I agree entirely. But I find it hard to convince friends and family who come from a posture of dislike towards firearms. The examples of the Nice attacks and similar ones may be instructive. Most people don’t realize that some of the most deadly technology in society are the vehicles they use to drive to work each day.
“ To address a specific grievance I have, I’ve never been a fan of the “Run, hide, fight” mantra often utilized in training videos to prepare people to respond to an active shooting. If the first option you give someone who’s entering the flight-or-fight mentality is to run, then that’s what they’re going to immediately do. And, they won’t stop running.
I much prefer training that teaches people to “Stop, think, act.” This is a thought process that can mitigate the flight-or-fight instinct and allow people to consider their circumstances and take the best course of action. When people get trained to stop and think before they act, they can make a conscious choice to run, hide, or fight based on the actual circumstances.”
Thank you! I’m so glad you said this. I’ve always felt a little uncomfortable with the Run, Hide, Fight training too. But it was hard to articulate the problem with it without running into the, “don’t try to be a hero,” or “you’re glorifying violence by encouraging resistance,” arguments. In some scenarios, running and hiding IS the best option. But in other scenarios, running or hiding only get you killed.
Very good conclusion and I like your final thoughts:
“ We need to remember how to come together as a society and mourn for our dead. ”
Exactly! That is the purpose of “thoughts and prayers.” By rushing into our partisan camps and attacking the “thoughts and prayers,” we thwart the natural process of coming together and grieving. We live in a society that doesn’t understand the power of ritual and we run into the danger of removing Chesterton’s fence when we assume that “just” offering thoughts and prayers is a meaningless gesture.