The knockout game, situational awareness, and you

This story is going around.  That “knockout game” thing is still going on.

I was going to put the video on, but, no… that’s what these barbarians want, isn’t it?

In New York City, a creepy selfish loser sucker-punches a 72-year old man, knocking him down.  The man has to be treated for a blood clot in his skull.

However… in other news, this comes from WND:

Are you armed? ‘Knockout’ thugs begin checking [Hmmm….]

The “knockout game” has become a nationwide menace in which roaming mobs randomly select victims and without warning hit them as hard as they can in an attempt to knock them out.

But there’s a new twist now, with attackers checking their victims first to find out whether they are armed.

The Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville reported a witness called police claiming she saw a male juvenile punch a man in the face, “apparently without provocation.”

The victim, who told police he believed the boys were playing the knockout game, said one of the boys approached him and asked if he had a “Glock.” [“Glock” is about the level of monosyllable that these kids can handle.] The man was punched after admitting he was unarmed, the paper said. [LESSON: BE ARMED or DON’T say that you AREN’T!]

Four juveniles were arrested.

Black mobs routinely terrorize cities across the country, [“black mobs”… will that make people go crazy?  Stop reading?  It is clearly stereotyping, or, what do they call it, “profiling”.] but the media and government are silent. Read the detailed account of rampant racial crime in “White Girl Bleed A Lot: The Return of Racial Violence to America and How the Media Ignore It.”

But the report said the victim wised up quickly.

“Fearing that the boy would continue to hit him until he was unconscious, the man grabbed at a folding knife that he had tucked into his waistband and pretended to have a gun. The boys fled, and the man enlisted the help of his neighbor to search for the boys.”

[…]

“My favorite is the story of Marvell Weaver. He used a Taser to attack a father waiting for his daughter at a school bus stop. Only one thing: The Taser misfired. While his friends waited in the getaway car nearby, the father pulled out a .40 caliber Smith and Wesson and shot Weaver two times. He [the assailant] did a year in prison and admitted he had played the knockout game several other times.

“So to hear that the people involved in the knockout game are starting to worry about whether their victims can defend themselves is good news. Because once more people do, they won’t be victims anymore.”

The Guns Save Lives blog commented: “We have already documented one story where a potential victim has turned the tables on ‘Knockout Game’ players by pulling a gun. It looks like those incidents have instilled a fear in at least some of these ‘players.’”

What a mess.

What strikes me is the sheer cowardice of these violent crimes.

Everyone, please, dear readers, list… O list!

Situational awareness!  To my mind, having looked at the video of the attack in NYC described at the top, I can’t imagine how someone who was watching carefully, aware of his surroundings, the placement of people and what they are doing, would have walked directly into that particular attack.  Thugs tend to pick on people whom they can see are unaware of their surroundings, whom they can tell are distracted by, say, a mobile phone or music headphones or earbuds.  The attack scenarios vary, but they pick someone whom they think isn’t going to see it coming.

Heads on swivels, friends. Watch your six.  Ask yourself: Does that guy look like he belongs here?  Is he overly interested in me?  Acting appropriately?

Not everyone who behaves a little oddly is an actual threat.  But, until the scenario changes, know where they are.

Watch people the next time you are out and about.  You will see that the great majority seem to be unaware of their surroundings.  They barely look left or right.  Often they are looking down at the stupid screen in their hand.  A fluffy pink yak in lime green feather boas could do a tap dance routine at the edge of their field of vision and they wouldn’t even notice.

If you are walking around like that, or going to and from your car in a parking lot, oblivious, inattentive, distracted, spaced out, you are asking to be mugged.  “MUG ME!”  Save the thug some work: just wear a sign on your back.

Some situations ask for a heightened awareness.  Not only will thugs see that you are not going to be an easy victim – they want easy victims – but you will be in a better position to avoid conflict altogether.  If you can avoid, AVOID!  If you can’t, at least have your eyes open.

I won’t go into the issue of carrying a firearm, openly or concealed.  That’s a more complicated issue.  However, having the classes and training that come with obtaining the licence/permit can help you understand situational awareness and strategies for avoiding conflicts, including deescalating potential conflicts before they turn into something else.

I warmly recommend the training, especially if you are out and about a lot and even more if you are women.

Please, dear readers, don’t be easy victims.