As crime rates surge and an increasingly ineffective state looks indifferently on, more and more armed legally armed civilians have switched to conceal carrying weapons for self defence.
Some prefer non lethal weaponry such as pepper sprays and stun guns, while other realise that deadly force needs almost always be countered with… deadly force. And prefer either edged weapons honed to razor sharpness or the most common of all deadly weapons i.e. the hand gun.
These days a veritable plethora of conceal carry handgun options are available to the discerning buyer. From snub nosed revolvers chambered for the light .32 S&W to the fearsome .45 hollow point.
A lot of people have acquired licenses and the requisite carry permits and now happily carry weapons safe in the belief that, that’s all that is required to protect them.
Some indulge in the colossal stupidity of aerial firing every now and then while the more responsible members of society actually take the time to go and learn the basics of combat shooting. For such people different organisations exist globally, such as IPSC and the IDPA. These organisations do help carriers of licensed weapons acquire the skills with which they may defend their lives and those of their loved ones. Instead of being a threat both to their own selves as well as those around them should they be in the ‘gravest of extremes’ situation where deadly force may be required in self defence.
However, merely learning to defend is not just the only part of the equation. What is of equal, in fact far more importance is the “attitude” of the individual who is thus armed.
Society typically consists of lambs and sheep. And then there are the wolves: The predators that would prey on the sheep and tear apart the helpless lambs.
In theory, the law abiding licensed fire arm owner is the sheepdog who would deliberately step into harm’s way and come between the lamb and the wolf.
Note that I use the term “in theory”. Why? Because all the training and expertise in the world cannot help you until you have the “mindset” of the sheep dog. The raw courage needed to drop a fellow human being who would otherwise do the same to you.
Pakistani SSG commandoes are reputed to shoot apples from the heads of their colleagues before passing out. Initially we made fun of this brazen display of “bravado” as being over rated. But Not anymore.
Read: International journal counts Pakistan’s SSG amongst top 10 best special forces of the world
I asked a fellow self defence training enthusiast to shoot an apple off my head with an airgun. Now this individual regularly makes multiple holes in a two rupee coin from 20 yards. To shoot a full sized apple from my head at half the distance would be a walk in the park…. Or so I surmised.
Unfortunately, he refused point blank to oblige me. Even if I were to wear impact resistant glasses. The very idea of aiming a weapon at another human being absolutely repulsed him as being outrightly beyond consideration!
It’s all very well for us to practice and train ourselves well, but without the element of courage to take on an armed and dangerous assailant, all the training is wasted. And worse still, because it gives a person a false sense of security.
Most of us, I am sure would take the appropriate steps when our loved ones are threatened, but when we are alone and the threat is directed at us only. Then a single moment of hesitation will almost certainly cost us our lives.
It may well be wise to remember that the armed and desperate criminal lives his life by the gun. Killing and pillaging is what he does for a living. Most of us living our lives cocooned in our self created bubbles, of job and family may not be well equipped mentally, for just such a confrontation. Visions of the after effects, the broken twitching corpse lying near our feet, the police, and the court cases may well force us to hesitate for that crucial minute.
Also Read: Guns: Why we need them more then ever before
The criminal on the other hand, has no such handicaps. He will do his job, jump on his bike and be off to continue his depredations… at will.
So, if you are one of the few who have decided to defend yourself with deadly force should you and yours be threatened, Please do take the time and effort to assess yourself and your emotional capability of taking the appropriate action. Quite simply, if you do not have what it takes, lock your weapon in a safe because otherwise… you are as good as carrying your own death warrant.
Written By: Tahir Shabbir Attarwala
