On self-defense

In light of the atrocity at Virginia Tech yesterday, self-defense is naturally on everybody's mind. Glenn Reynolds offers links to a couple of highly-regarded books on what you should do when subjected to violence or threats of violence. Glenn also links to an excellent discussion of the psychology of self-defense by the Insta-wife. Dr. Helen is not just a random blogger on this topic. She is a forensic psychologist by profession, which means she has interviewed thousands of violent criminals to better understand how to control such violence.

You should also take a few minutes to read the comments thread at Dr. Helen's post. Whether one advocates actively defending oneself and one's property or passively complying with attacker's demands for property, a crucial component of survival is considering what you will do before the crisis arises. Once you are confronted with a loaded gun, you won't be capable of much high-level thought; you will react on instincts, habit, and training. If you've thought through a scenario ahead of time, your chances of reacting wisely will greatly increase if you ever encounter that scenario in life. The comments at Dr. Helen's describe a plethora of real life attacks, usually by the person who experienced (and survived) them.

One caveat I would make about the anecdotes in the thread. Keep in mind that they all necessarily came from survivors. There will be no anecdotes from the people who fumbled for the gun under the seat and were shot in the process; those guys didn't live to tell the tale. So while the comments are full of stories showing that, for the author, fighting back or standing up to the attacker worked, that doesn't mean that fighting back will always work, or even that fighting back will work most of the time. Nobody's around to give contrary examples like "I told the gangbanger who was carjacking me to step off, and then he shot me in the head."

For myself, I think there are just a couple of key points to keep in mind.

• Be aware of your environment. Pay attention to what's going on around you and where the threats may come from.
• Avoid potential danger early wherever possible. If the fidgety guy across the street makes you nervous for some reason, start moving away from him immediately; don't wait until you are sure that he's a bad guy. If you feel like there's a car following you, drive to a public, lighted area before they make any overt moves against you. If you can't take such preemptive action, at least start planning what you will do if the other car does turn aggressive.
• Never, under any circumstances, go with an attacker to another location. The authorities are in almost universal agreement that your odds of being raped or killed increase dramatically if you allow the attacker to take you someplace else. Your best odds at escape or self-defense are when you are first attacked. Better to be shot in the public area where you were first attacked than shot after being tortured in the deep woods; at the very least, medical attention will come faster.
• Beyond that, trust your (now educated) instincts. If giving up your car or your wallet seems most likely to end this particular violent attack with you alive and unharmed, give it up. On the other hand, if your gut tells you that the attacker is determined to do violence to you or a loved one, then you need to be prepared to do violence in self-defense.

To elaborate on this last point a bit, I agree with Dr. Helen's professional observation that a great many violent criminals are not just after your car or your wallet. For various psychological and other reasons, many violent criminal want to intimidate and threaten you, and often ultimately to do you violence. The gun or knife they hold is not merely the tool they use to acquire money; they want to use it. At the same time, not all criminal are like this. Some, usually the less experienced ones, are genuinely nervous and really do only want your money so they can go buy some more dope. For these criminals, handing over your wallet or car may well be the safer option. But for the other, you must be prepared to fight. Your first goal should always be survival.