I don’t know if I really am heartless, or if I’m just desensitized. Tragedies in the world seem to accelerate and get worse, and it doesn’t affect me all that much anymore.
Last night at a country music festival in Las Vegas, somebody with an automatic rifle managed to kill approximately 60 people and wound 500 (last estimates I saw.) I’m not going to provide a link because I’m sure you all know what I’m talking about.
I’m not going to bother going into the politics of the situation. I’m sure the media is PRAYING it was a white, Christian, conservative man. I’m assuming it was either a representative of the “Religion of Peace” or a deranged leftist. One report I saw indicated it was both.
But that doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. If you put yourself in a situation where bullets start flying, does it really matter in the moment if it’s a Southern Baptist, a Sunni Muslim, or a Bernie Bro? Save that for the talking heads and keyboard pounders after it’s over.
What really matters is, when the bullets start flying, don’t be there.
We’re at the point where, until some serious changes happen in the world, you are not safe in large gatherings. Hell, you’re barely safe in church anymore (although my church will put up a wall of lead to anybody entering with the intent to do harm.) A church shouldn’t have to have a security plan, (in a perfect world), but smart ones do. This can range from doing background checks on people who work with children to actually having a security force. A friend of mine is on his church’s security force. They’re armed. I know of other churches that have similar programs.
I suppose that’s one thing, in general, that I won’t give up. For me, the rest is easy. I can’t stand crowds and traffic, so I avoid them as much as possible. I don’t go to movie theaters. They cost too damned much anyway, and most of the previews don’t interest me. Plus, they play commercials. I live a commercial-free lifestyle. I avoid them as much as possible. I’m not going to PAY to watch them at a movie theater. I rarely watch movies anyway, but when I do, I like to stream them at home where I can hit the pause button to take a leak or get another beer.
Hating crowds and traffic keeps me out of city centers where “vans of peace” can plow through a crowd. I’ve told my wife not to bother going to the mall anymore. Nothing has happened at ours, but it’s only a matter of time.
I don’t like loud noise and I want my ears to work when I’m old, so I’ve never had a problem avoiding music festivals because I don’t go to them. Same for sporting events because sports bore the hell out of me. Plus, both have crowds and traffic so I wouldn’t be there anyway.
The rest of you might have a problem with my natural immunity to the current threat environment.
You can’t eliminate all risk from life, but you can take some reasonable steps.
- Avoid large crowds and gatherings. Don’t be shot like a proverbial fish in a barrel.
- If at all possible where you live, carry a weapon. When you’re not even safe in church, make sure you’re packing.
- Learn how to be aware of your situation and what is going on around you. (Situational Awareness.) You can find tons of material about this online. Who is walking in front of you? Who is walking behind you? Who is on an intercept course? What cars are around you? What are they doing? Are they looking down playing with their phone while tailgating you?
I don’t think things are likely to get better anytime soon. Maybe we’re entering “The Apocalypse.” We’re most likely in “The Fourth Turning” crisis.
What I worry about are people looking for bigger game. If some guy can knock a couple windows out of a hotel and hose down a crowd of country music fans, how long until somebody else knocks out a window of a hotel along a highway with malicious intent?
I don’t live very far from a bridge where if somebody knocked it out of commission, it could shut down traffic along the east coast.
There is some scary shit still to come in this world. Take some reasonable steps to keep yourself out of some of it.
